Book Review - The Trial by Jo Spain

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Title: The Trial

Author: Jo Spain

Format reviewed: Ebook 

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Quercus

Publication Date: 25th April 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

2014, Dublin: at St Edmunds, an elite college on the outskirts of the city, twenty-year-old medical student Theo gets up one morning, leaving behind his sleeping girlfriend, Dani, and his studies - never to be seen again. With too many unanswered questions, Dani simply can't accept Theo's disappearance and reports him missing, even though no one else seems concerned, including Theo's father.

Ten years later, Dani returns to the college as a history professor. With her mother suffering from severe dementia, and her past at St Edmunds still haunting her, she's trying for a new start. But not all is as it seems behind the cloistered college walls - meanwhile, Dani is hiding secrets of her own.

Wow, well that got under my skin and totally hooked me in. 

I'm not necessarily a fan of books with detailed medical research as frankly it goes over my head, but the story around the clinical trial at the centre of this book was utterly compelling reasoning. 

Dani has always been haunted by what happened ten years ago with Theo, even more so when she is back at the same college, in her new job and reminders are absolutely everywhere. 

There are so many layers to this fascinating story, which is told in dual timeline, both featuring Dani's time at this college - both as a student and now as a professor.  And I felt for her a lot during the book, she's really not had an easy time of it since the events in 2014 that kicked everything off. 

There are secrets galore, and I was totally hooked, to the extent I ignored real life for a couple of hours in order to finish the second half of the book in one sitting.  I had to know how things were going to turn out and I was definitely in for some surprises.

Another brilliant book from the always talented Jo Spain. 

Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.