Thriller Spotlight with Joel C. Rosenberg

In the spotlight this month is author Lincoln Child, who just released his eighth solo novel, Chrysalis. This techno-thriller is the sixth in his Jeremy Logan series, the most recent dropping in 2017. You may be wondering what this New York Times bestselling author was doing during that five-year hiatus. Writing and publishing eight other thrillers with his writing partner Douglas Preston, of course.

Dating back almost thirty years, this prolific writing duo has released thirty-three novels together. Usually bannered as Preston & Child on the cover, they began in 1995 with their bestselling debut, Relic, which was later adapted onto the big screen in a film starring Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, and Linda Hunt. That first book has led to twenty more in the very popular Agent Pendergast series. Over the years, they have also branched off writing the Gideon Crew series and their more recent Nora Kelly series.

Quite obviously, Lincoln Child has had a lot of experience putting out exciting novels, and he puts that skill to great use with Chrysalis. Set in the near future of technology, it is a time when virtual reality is king. Among the competitors, no one does VR better than the tech giant Chrysalis, with their line of devices. The Chrysalis product is a wearable virtual assistant; think Siri, but with a display that incorporates into special eyeglasses. Built into the system is the Internet, virtual shopping, gaming, and whatever you might use a computer for—all accessible without ever having to pick up your phone or type on a keyboard. It’s a very intriguing concept and one that we are likely not far from culturally or technologically.

As they are about to make public the latest version of the system, board members of the company suddenly begin dying in unusual ways. Could their deaths be related to the soon-to-be released device? In walks noted enigmalogist Jeremy Logan, hired by the company to get to the bottom of the mystery. And yes, you read that description correctly. Logan is an enigmalogist, one who seeks to find explanations for the seemingly unexplainable.

After Logan’s arrival, it soon becomes evident that this is actually a blackmailing scheme. A mysterious texter warns that if Chrysalis doesn’t put up a ridiculously large sum of money, the thousands of preferred customers who have received the latest version of the device will end up like the dead board members. Can Logan discover who is at the bottom of this plot before it’s too late?

Jeremy Logan is a captivating protagonist with a history that makes him sympathetic and likable. Child does a very good job at moving the story along toward a fast-paced and surprising conclusion. He finishes the book with an epilogue that will have any reader reaching for the Kleenex box. There is some language, so use your discretion. With a vision of what can happen when advanced technology goes wrong, Chrysalis just may have you looking at the new iPhone 14 and thinking, Hmmm, should I really?

—Joel C. Rosenberg