A suspicious death at a renowned Swiss laboratory raises unnerving questions in this “science-based thriller that fuses physics and philosophy in mind-bending ways” (Booklist)—from the Edgar Award–nominated author Nova Jacobs.

Deep beneath the ground outside of Geneva, where CERN’s Large Hadron Collider smashes subatomic particles at breathtaking speeds, a shocking discovery is made when the tunnel is down for maintenance: the body of Howard Anderby, a brilliant and recently arrived young physicist. But security shows no evidence of him entering the tunnel.

Eager to keep the death under wraps until more is known, CERN brings in private investigator Sabine Leroux, who has her own ties to the lab’s administration—and more than a passing interest in particle physics. Meanwhile, Howard’s colleague and budding love interest Eve, shattered by his death, determines to reconcile what she knew of Howard with his gruesome fate.

“Science, love, greed, and betrayal collide in a tense read that never loses its deliciously eerie edge” (Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal) as Sabine digs into petty academic rivalries and personal secrets. At the same time, an escalating international physics arms race heightens tensions and fuels speculation of a mole at the lab—throwing loyalties into question and revealing what sort of knowledge may be worth killing for.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Nova Jacobs has an MFA from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and is the recipient of a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the author of The Stars Turned Inside Out and The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, which was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jeremy.