The Human Trial is a complex and unusual novel that is described as a historical medical thriller. It blends a classic story of a love triangle of three friends with historical fiction about innovative medical research in the traditional medical establishment of the 1930s. It incorporates narratives about class distinction, betrayal, sexism, wealth, and power into the storyline.

Magnificent. I loved it from the premise to the execution of the story. The characters are strong and very well constructed. I highly recommend it!

I expected this book to be more about medicine. The characters are doctors doing research on a new treatment, but the book is more a character. Dr Randall Archer escapes an unhappy home life at 16. He completes medical school at Harvard ata young age and marries a Boston Brahmin whose family disowns her when they marry. Her family and their feelings toward him eventually cause them to leave Boston and follow them to California. Most of the book is about how they deal with this and with each other. It was interesting but not what I expected. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was very well done.

Yikes. There’s a SA (adult with minor) within the first couple chapters that served no purpose to the plot, and was written in a way that was trying to justify it as if it was an appropriate relationship? Left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Even with that aside, it was so boring and I really couldn’t figure out where it was going. I still pushed through and then it just… ends. There seemed to be no real resolution, it almost seemed to set up for another book but there doesn’t seem to be one planned. Lastly, I’m not an expert on the early 20th century, but so much of the dialogue and actions felt really progressive and out of place..

THE HUMAN TRIAL
𝙰𝚞𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚢 𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚎
9/17/23

🧪 𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜 & 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Randall Archer has a pretty bad home life in Pennsylvania. He dreams of going to medical school and getting away. His guidance counselor makes it happen and off to Harvard he goes, on a full scholarship at 16, to study to be a pathologist. There he connects with people who are richer than anyone he’s ever known; including his future wife, Elizabeth Perrish and his lab mate, a physicist named Adam Wakefield.

Elizabeth’s family are “the” Perrishes whose family go all the way back to the beginning of time… ok, just Boston. This being the 1920s her family does not take to Elizabeth being an outspoken woman and definitely doesn’t approve of her new relationship with someone with a blue collar instead of blue blood. So, what does Elizabeth do? She marries him and they move into a one room apartment and she becomes a teacher. While Elizabeth is challenging her upbringing, Randy and Adam are challenging science as it’s been known up to this point. The two come together and take huge risks… but do they pay off?? You won’t believe the ending.

I listened to the audio and the narrator, Scott Graff, kept me fully engaged. His narration fit in with the era, sounding like a Hitchcock vibe. My only drawback in this area was the tinny sound for the inner thoughts. But that was a me thing.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed getting to know about this time in medical history (and having looked up the author’s notes, her personal reason for the subject.) I hope more of that goes into the series later.

The Human Trial is the first in a trilogy which will span decades and a plethora of medical issues.

💜𝚁𝙸𝚈𝙻:
-Medical thrillers
-1920s/1930s
-Independent women
-Love triangles

Available NOW!

🧑‍🏫Thank you @booksforwardpr for including me on this tour and @audreygale and @netgalley for the audio review copy.
These thoughts are my own.
#supportindieauthors

I'm not sure if I’ve ever given a DNF on a review, but I guess there’s always a first. Unfortunately, the story and narration just didn’t work for me. From the get-go, we were thrown into a character’s situation without knowing about him or caring. And the echo-y portions where it was indicating a character’s inner thoughts, were extremely distracting. The more I listened the more I was ready to go to another audiobook and come back to this, which I did.

I’m sorry to have to leave this review, but I could only make it to about 60 percent. I was told much of the story and didn’t feel there was any character development.

‘The Human Trial’ written by Audrey Gale and narrated by Scott Graff, is a mystery regarding one student, Randall Archer’s life and challenges he faces both personally and professionally. I loved the concept of this book, a medical fictional novel that could be considered a factual scenario. However, the ending was less than impressive. Personally, I think the author should have continued on with the book as it just ends abruptly. There was a ton of build up to just to fall flat on its face. I would have loved it if it would have been a choose your own ending and the story could have taken a different path.

Gale quickly grabs your attention with this book, making it fast paced. I just wanted to gobble up the crumbs as they were left along the way. However, even in the beginning of this book, the author leaves you a bit perplexed by why certain story lines are included. I wish I could have provided feedback before publishing to try to get the author to tease out different story lines.

Archer grows up in a family where he is bullied by his brothers and father and escapes the bullying by focusing on school. He has a guidance counselor who encourages him to graduate early and attend Harvard, of which she obtains a full ride for him. He breezes through undergrad and moves on to medical school, all the while assisting one of his professors in obtaining information regarding tests being conducted in the lab. He ends up while working in the lab making a best friend in Adam, another lab rat. They create medical advances in secrecy and hope one day to tell the world. Adam also meets, Elizabeth, who becomes his wife, during his time in medical school. Elizabeth and Adam knew each other before because their families ran around in the same circles, high society. This is the story of mystery, romance and medical fiction.

Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this early audio edition in exchange for a review. All opinions and thoughts are those of my own. #TheHumanTrial #NetGalley #HumanTrial

I struggled with this book. I couldn’t get into the plot and I wasn’t drawn to the characters. The narration was good but it didn’t pull me in.

The talented Dr. Randall Archer's life began with hardship. Being the weakest member of the family, he endured being bullied from his father and brothers, which compelled him to seek solace in school. With the aid of his guidance counselor whom Archer later becomes very close with, he receives a full scholarship to Harvard after graduating from elementary school two years ahead of schedule. Once more, he finishes college quickly, marries a bright and gifted young woman while there, and successfully succeeds in medical school. Sadly, his wife's wealthy family is against her new spouse and tries to remove him from his Harvard job by using their power. This happens in the midst of the Great Depression, which prompts him and his wife Elizabeth to go to California to pursue fresh career opportunities. In California his wife struggles with her career while Archer career takes off. Archer and Elizabeth run into a former college and friend who helps Archer with a great work opportunity, and pretty soon the two spend a lot of time working and researching. Archer is also very busy working on a project for his new boss which keeps him pretty occupied, and lending less time to his wife who is very disappointed and feeling left alone in a big city. Soon however, Elizabeth takes her life by the reigns and forges her own way and Archer is offer a new opportunity with a short window to accept. Will Archer accept this offer? What are the stakes?

This was a pretty good read. While it started off a bit slow, it fully developed the characters and atmosphere surrounding these characters. The story was told so well that I could actually see the events unfolding. Once the story was well developed, the momentum picked up and kept going. I totally did not see that ending coming. The ending was definitely a shocker! I really like the characters and really loved seeing how they developed, especially Elizabeth. I feel that this book could definitely easily have a sequel. I also loved that the book touches on the issues and secrets of the medical and pharmaceutical society that are kept under wraps and that are not allowed to be spoken, given or shared with the world.

Thanks to Netgalley and Books Fluent for this ARC for my honest review.

I thought the idea of this book was different and interesting. I think the author did a good job of building the atmosphere of the book, although the Great Depression wasn’t really as big of an impact like I expected on the story. Also, the timing was a little off and the book was a little sluggish at times. The characters were interesting too, although I think the main character Randall was difficult to relate to. That’s probably the point though. Overall I thought it was a good book and I was entertained.

The brilliant Dr. Randall Archer had a tough start to life. Essentially the runt of his family, he was bullied by his father and brothers forcing him to turn to education as an escape. He graduates grade school two years early and with the help of his guidance counselor, gains a full ride to Harvard. He once again completes college in record time, marries a smart and talented girl while there, and breezes through medical school as well. Unfortunately, his wife's privileged family disapproves of her new husband and uses their influence to push him out of his position at Harvard. This occurs in the midst of The Great Depression, leading he and his wife to pursue new professional endeavors in California.

In California, Archer is tasked with re-building his new employer's laboratory, taking up much of his personal time. He is also reunited with a former colleague, and together they begin research that takes up even more of his personal time, leaving his wife Elizabeth all alone in a new city. Just as he is about to gain some of his personal time back, an old friend from his days at Harvard appears with a job offer that has high demands and even higher consequences when he chooses to reject the opportunity.

It took me a couple chapters to hit my stride with this book, though in part due to the narrators accent. He did a great job, but it took me a moment to get used to his style. Starting out slow, the first portion of this book gives some much needed background on the main character, Archer, before diving into the meat and potatoes of the story. Well into the story, the plot was decent and the characters had plenty of depth. The romantic interest, Elizabeth, is a strong woman who honestly could have a book all on her own. There is a slightly spooky element to this story but I wouldn't call it a thriller. The twist at the end is on you won't see coming and will leave you wanting more.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Books Fluent for accepting my request to read and review The Human Trial.

Narrator: Scott Graff

Stars: 3

Scott Graff did an amazing job. His performance kept me going.

The story is a mixed bag of ideas, most workable when they are being read. Paragraphs were written well but didn't make reasonable sense overall.

As I was reading it felt different. The author wasn't trying too hard and wasn't following a template. In those regards the story is unique. The problem was none of the characters are likeable. And this made the ending outrageous. It didn't make sense.

This is just okay. It's worth a read for its simplicity.

This was a good read and I liked it more than I thought I would. It was kind of slow to start off but once I got into it I enjoyed it. This was my 1st book by Audrey Gale but will not be my last!

#TheHumanTria
#NetGalley

I don’t know where to start with this novel. It is not your standard medical fictional novel. When I read the description of this novel, I wasn’t entirely sure how I would like this novel, just because it is not my normal read (I enjoy mystery, murder, thriller, horror, etc). A mixture of history, depressions, science, hands on family, and so much more is not usually the first book I look at.

That said, something about that description also made me say let’s give it a try. I have never been so happy to step outside my comfort zone for reading. This novel grabbed my attention quickly and kept my attention throughout the novel. I enjoyed the characters and the their intertwining storylines. I could feel the pain the characters felt at many times throughout the novel and I feel that allowed me to enjoy/empathize with the characters more.

I will say, the ending took a different turn than what I expected and it wasn’t how I hoped it would end.

Special thanks to Netgalley & Books Fluent for providing me with an advanced listeners copy of this novel.

Nice! Fully enjoyed this bit of history even if I was expecting a totally different book. 😜🫣 Why exactly did I think this was dystopian??

I really thought that this book was going to be some thing that I enjoyed and had high hopes for, but I didn’t really enjoy the narrator. I thought it was very slow and I couldn’t really connect to the story. Therefore, I’m giving this a three star!

So I will admit the description and the cover is what peaked my interest in this book, however it’s nowhere near what I was expecting and with that I struggled to get through it though it wasn’t all bad and over time intrigued me. If you are looking for a straight out the gate mystery this isn’t the book for you, the entire first half of the book is plot build, setting the stage and then a GREAT deal of character build and moving key players into place for what I call the second half. The change up to go with a ‘forbidden attraction’ between Elizabeth and Adam really felt very misplaced given that it was budding in the last three chapters of the book and I will admit if there is a second book which given how things where left with a giant who done it, I will be picking up again because this ending left so many unanswered questions, but if she finishes it out in a second book I’ll be happy.

Lovely narrator, but not really drawn into the story, think it’s because I struggle with audiobooks.

The Human Trial is a compelling story of a man building himself up from a mining/anti-education single father-led family through sheer intellect and opportunity to a lofty research position at the forefront of medical pathology. Through a unique partnership and friendship with a physicist, they discover the use of electron frequencies to both improve microscopy and miraculously kill germs.
The book takes on quite a bit -- from depression-era cutbacks and social norms to stratified society, elitism, and the challenges to going against the vested interests of status quo. Although it's unclear why a few things didn't work and the ending is a bit rushed, this is a very creative and fun novel that asks great questions about how the establishment may scuttle or co-opt the perceived threats of progress.
One narrative track that got a bit old was the overuse of echo to signify interior monologue, but otherwise very well-done.

The author has provided us with an intriguing tale of entitlement and power that is entrenched in the old boy’s schools. As well she has provided us with an insight into the trials and tribulations of getting a product/procedure approved in the medical field. Her well-developed characters combined with the setting of the Great Depression make for an interesting look back in time. The contrast between Randall Archer, a poor, misfit but gifted child from the steel town of Pittsburgh and the rich socialite, Elizabeth Parish, who fights to escape the strictures imposed upon her by her family’s wealth and social stature; make for a compelling story line.

Thank you to NetGalley and Books Fluent who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.