This book presents a chilling premise: a paid clinical trial with undisclosed side effects that lead to paranoia and suspicion among participants. Set in the scenic Canary Islands, the story unfolds with gripping tension as headaches escalate into a deadly mystery.

I found "The Drug Trial" to be an average read. The characters didn't resonate with me, and the ending felt too unrealistic, even for a reader like me who enjoys escapism in books. However, I did appreciate the final resolution. The abundance of characters was also a drawback for me.

fascinating concept that i didn't enjoy the execution of. i think this book could benefit from more editing. DNF at 10%

A medical trial. 20,000 pounds (or 24,000 dollars). A month away on a Canary Island. All you have to do... take a pill a day. But you also don't know the side effects.

I have mixed feelings about this. I enjoyed it because it only took me 4 days to read this, but I also found myself waiting and waiting for it to finally be done. There were a LOT of characters that became hard to keep track of (debated starting a list of all the characters). The idea was excellent. As a nurse, drug trials are very interesting and to have a rogue drug trial is super up my alley! The characters were all unreliable and unlikeable. I was convinced I knew who was behind everything but was proven wrong, which is always nice. The ending felt a bit rushed while the first half dragged on. I also don't know how I feel about the ending itself, I wished there was more.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me. Thanks for the copy in exchange for an honest review. But only two stars for me. Thanks

Elle is in desperate need of a vacation. But when her narcissistic mother takes the money she's saved up for vacation and wastes it, she finds herself out of luck - or so she thinks. When she finds an advertisement for a drug trial offering four weeks all. expenses paid in the Canary Islands, plus a $20,000 payment for complete of the trial, she applies and, much to her surprise, is accepted. Next thing she knows she's on a tropical island relaxing. That is, until her fellow trial participants start complaining of headaches. Then the erratic behavior starts. Before long, things start to get dangerous - and Elle believes she may be in way over her head.

This book is a unique twist on the locked room premise, as it adds in the fun little detail with the medication where we don't know what the medication is doing to people and who is taking the "Real" medication and who was given the placebo in the trial. Which, now adds another layer of who can you trust because not only could someone be killing people, but someone could "turn" at any moment due to the affects of the drugs, completely unaware that they're at risk.

It's all deliciously messy. I loved it.

The action really starts slowly but then once it gets going, WOW - it really takes off and doesn't stop. And with all the variables and characters trying to decide what to do and who to trust, there's just so much suspense and tension. I was holding my breath for the last quarter of the book, waiting to figure out what was going to happen and what the solution to everything was.

The ending was a little abrupt. I wold have liked it fleshed out a little more. But overall, it was well done.

I appreciated that this was a unique, well-done, and well-plotted book. It is a great addition to the thriller genre and is perfect for people looking for a great tension-filled read!

Was let down as this felt very basic for a thriller, something is wrong, etc etc Thank you Harper for the ARC for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, the premise sounded so interesting. It fell flat for me, and took some turns that felt a little wild and out there. It was a quick read but not one of my favorites of the year. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

2.5 ⭐️

The book hooks you with the question of what would you do for £20K? We follow a down on her luck female protagonist whose mother constantly takes advantage of her. She gets an application to participate in a drug trial on a tropical island which, upon completion, will award her £ 20,000. However, things are not what they seem with this motley crew of participants.

Suspense/thriller is not my usual genre, but I wanted to try something different! It was somewhat hard to keep track of the different characters, especially as their personality starts to evolve, but there were many strange happenstances that kept me reading. The different threads kept unraveling to a bigger reveal behind the trial. However, the ending left much to be desired; it felt very abrupt. Overall, a decent suspense with no explicit ending.

I enjoyed this book overall! The ending felt abrupt and incomplete, but didn't take away my enjoyment of the rest of the book.

A standalone thriller, The Trial by S R Masters sees ten strangers attending the Canary Islands for a randomised clinical medical trial. Elle’s planned holiday is thwarted when her manipulative mother uses a ruse to get her to pay her debts off. So, the tax free payment of £20,000 and a month on a tropical island is too much to pass up. Elle feels like a fraud for being part of the trial, yet she is determined to enjoy her holiday and get to know the other participants. However, all things aren’t as they seem to Elle and the odd behaviour and needless rules soon lead to the discovery of one trialist gone missing. Then a dead body is found and the communal bond is stained as the medical trial is threatened to be aborted without payment. An all too typical thriller, with a slow burning tension building to a dangerous finale that only reaches a three-star rating. With thanks to Harper Collins UK and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes.

The Drug Trial by S.R. Masters is the first I've read by him and was a VERY unique thriller centered around a group of study participants on a remote island near the Canary Islands where they have all agreed to take an experimental drug for a sizeable amount of money. None of the participants are told what the drug is supposedly doing to them and were told its completely safe and they were just checking for side effects. What the participants soon begin to realize is that it is altering their behaviors and thoughts and making them feel as if their personalities are changing because of the pills. I will say that this was evenly paced until the latter half which seemed to move too slowly for my taste. I have very mixed feelings on this because the first half of the book really built up the drama and made the climax seem like it was going to be crazy but I felt like there was never really a true climax and all of the build up led to almost nothing. I was so disappointed by the ending and it really felt like the book was so good up until the utterly disappointing ending. I would have recommend this a 100 times over until I finished it and realized I wouldn't recommend this because I wouldn't want anyone to be as disappointed as I was. I felt like I was left with a lot of unanswered questions as well. Overall, this had a ton of potential and I really enjoyed the characters and first half of the book, but the second half left a lot to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The only thing I wasn’t too keen on was Elle putting up with how her mother treats/cons her. did not see some of the twists that slapped me across the face!

I’ve tried reading this one a few times and just can’t get through it. Thank you for providing a free copy.

There are 10 of them. 10 people who sign up for a drug trial that really seems too good to be true. The story starts with Elle. We meet her and her mother and find Elle's reason to join the drug trial credible. When the trial group begins their "vacation", everything seems above board. Then the creepy music starts in your head and you know that someone is about to die. The psychological jolts to the senses are just as traumatizing as the side effects that are showing up. As the suspense builds until the tension can be felt off the written page, you think, I am never signing up for one of these!!!!!

5 stars and a couple of restless nights.

I really liked the set up of this book, and the setting was really interesting and made me want to travel there. The characters were somewhat developed, but there were so many of them that it was hard to keep track of who was who. And then when they all started dying it became very confusing and I got lost. By the end the twists were too much and I didn’t enjoy the second half of the book as much as the first. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book an exchange for my honest review

I really liked this book in the beginning, it was a page turner. But about 30% of the way through it started to feel disjointed.

The premise of this book caught my attention! A lovely vacation and $20,000 for a simple drug trial? For sure it was going to be too good to be true. My sinister imagination was running off with ideas right away! Elle is down and out, so the advertisement for a trip to the Canary Islands for a drug trial seems like a great way to earn some money and get away for awhile.

It was fun to get to know all of the characters and their differing reasons for joining the trial. However, I felt that the story was dragged out with a lot of monotony and did not produce as much action as I was anticipating. It was definitely a slow burn!

The premise of this book sounded like a great thriller - ten people go to an island to take part in a drug trial to get paid a large sum of money. It's in the Canary Islands and they will be in a resort. They just need to take the unknown drug and take part in the study. Elle is drawn to the study when the ad pops up on her mom's computer. Elle's mom is a major problem in Elle's life. The mom doesn't take care of herself and schemes ways to use the world and the people in it to her advantage. Elle wants a break and when this ad appears things have been very bad with her mother. While drunk Elle fills out the survey and is accepted into the trial. Once on the island it becomes clear something is wrong.

The first twenty five percent of this book pulled me in and I was interested. When the trial starts to fall apart the writing was not as polished as the first quarter of the book. There were too many characters to track and not enough action. The author would give details about things like food, but then write vaguely about the action. It was frustrating. The twist was interesting, but not well written. It needed less dialogue and more action. The ending felt rushed and incomplete.

The beginning of the book was well done and because off that I will check out the author's future works.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This thriller is a little more gritty, edgy, and clever than some of the others i've read recently. As a nurse this thriller itched a couple good spots in my brain, but wasn't too brainy that the general public couldn't enjoy this book. A bit of a slow start but it was worth it because the ending took me through a loop!

This wasn't awful, but it wasn't really my thing either. It was very drawn out and took entirely too long to get to the climax. I lost interest a few times and had to put it down to read other things in between.