An excellent bait and switch at the start gets us right to the heart of this tense medical drama, with a touching family drama at its heart. Jo Spain tells her story at breakneck speed and this book is the definition of a page turner.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. A brilliantly written, gripping thriller that had me hooked right from the start. The story was written through a dual timeline that blended really well and definitely kept me guessing right until the end. The relationship between Dani and her mother was so heartfelt and I found myself shedding a few tears throughout. This book had everything and the details regarding medical research were so interesting and relevant at the moment. Highly recommended 5 stars

I work with Alzheimer and dementia patients and see the struggles for the person and family
How fantastic it would be to find a cure

Jo Spain is one of my favourite authors

I found this plot addictive - 2014 Dani's boyfriend Theo up and leaves
2024 Dani is now working undercover, this book sucks you in
And leaves you wanting more

Thank you netgalley, Jo Spain and Quercus

Another great twisty crime thriller from Jo Spain.

The action is split into two timelines - 2014 when our protagonist, Dani, is studying at St Edmunds. She is young and in love with Theo, a brilliant medical student. However Theo has walked out early one morning and disappeared. Dani's time at uni becomes a nightmare as she tries to find Theo while chasing down leads of where he may have gone and why.

We jump forward to 2024 where Dani is now a detective for the Garda Siochana, investigating the college she was a student at. The medical science research facility for which St Edmunds is famous is under scrutiny following concerns raised over their testing of a saviour drug that could stop or even reverse the effects of Alzheimer's.

Dani is torn between wanting the drug to work because her mother has been suffering the effects of Alzheimer's for 10 years but also because she suspects that St Edmunds aren't just covering up dodgy research but also that it has something to do with Theo's disappearance.

As usual Jo Spain manages to throw us several curveballs along the twisty way to the end of this book. I'm afraid that it missed out on full marks because there were times when it felt like we were going slowly around in circles. However if you like a slow burn it'll be right up your street. The end itself is at breakneck speed with a twist or two right at the finish.

Altogether a really good book that I'd highly recommend. The subject matter of dementia runs throughout the book and its not an easy read in that respect but dementia of all types touches so many lives and, as we've seen in the past, Big Pharma is not above massaging figures and results to earn the big bucks.

Thankyou so much to Quercus Books and Netgalley for pre-approval of the advance review copy. Delighted to receive it.

Wow! This book was amazing … I didn’t want to put it down.

Ten years ago Dani was a history student at a prestigious college in Ireland where she had fallen head over heels in love with Theo a medical student. One early morning Theo left her room never to be seen again. Dani was distraught and tried to search for him. She was convinced there were secrets being kept and that the reasons for Theo’s disappearance was being covered up.

Now she is back at the college, lecturing in History. Memories and feelings are resurfacing - can Dani let go or will she find the answers she couldn’t 10 years ago? This time around though Dani is harbouring secrets of her own.

I was absolutely blown away with this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Told from one POV but in a dual timeline, Jo does an amazing job of showing Dani as a young college student and a more mature Dani, a decade later. I really enjoyed spending time with Dani in both timelines; it’s clear there are mysteries to uncover in each. The real reason why Dani has returned to her alma mater becomes clear in an early twist in the present. But there is much to resolve in the past for Dani to move on in the future. Whether you know someone with Alzheimer’s or not you can’t help but feel for those affected in the story and the hope that there will one day be more help available.

The story took several turns that I just didn’t see coming, and while both timelines are entwined nicely at the end of the book, I didn’t expect Jo to break my heart not once but twice in the final pages! An easy 5 stars for me.

Thank you so much to Quercus and NetGalley for the ARC.

Dani is a student at prestigious college St Edmunds in 2014. While she is there her boyfriend Theo disappears and leaves Dani with a lot of unanswered questions. Ten years later Dani returns as a professor and is still haunted by what happened before, although she quickly comes to realise not everything is as it seems.

I have read a few of Jo Spain’s books before and enjoyed them. This is my favourite of hers that I have read. I really enjoy medical thrillers and dark academia and this had both of those in abundance. The story is not only compelling and original but also has a lot of emotional moments. It explores the progression of Alzheimers and the family dynamics that can result from this. Both timelines are done very well and you really get a feel of the characters. There are some good twists and the ending comes together well. Overall this was a clever, intriguing thriller and one that I would recommend. Thanks very much to the publisher for this gifted copy and to NetGalley.

I'm a huge fan of Jo's and this book didn't disappoint. Complex, academic book - this drew me in from the opening pages. Highly entertaining. I hope it does so well for her.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my early copy of this book. Love Jo Spain’s writing and this book didn’t disappoint. Crossing two timelines it investigates the reasons behind the disappearance of Theo Laurent through his girfriend Dani’s eyes. Great storyline, writing and characters. I recommend this one!

A gripping, fast paced crime thriller set in a respected Irish university. I was hooked from the beginning, an undercover Garda officer haunted by the loss of her college boyfriend, is sent to gather information on a major Alzheimer's drug trial. Well crafted story and characters. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

A fantastically well-written and complex academic thriller. My first of the author and now I'm going to read the others! Great plotting and well-drawn, complex characters and an engaging plot.. A really great read.

This is a well written dramatic tale about a trial, but, not the legal one you may imagine, but, rather a clinical one.
There’s murder, intrigue, complex relationships and it moves along at a good pace. I’m a fan of this author and this doesn’t disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the opportunity to preview.

What a ride! I read this over a day as it totally sucked me in. And while I figured out one of the twists very early on I was still sucked in and really enjoyed the other twists and red herrings.
A very smart thriller.

I love Jo Spain and couldn't wait to read this. Another brilliant twisty, mystery thriller. I didn't read the blurb of this book as I knew I would love it, so I was pleased to discover that it is a brilliant academic thriller (my favourite genre). Set in a prestigious university with a brilliant main character who will never quit till she's discovered the truth. Brilliant, absolutely recommended xx

This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in AGES. I was hooked from page one, it is so compelling and emotional and believable and stressful and heartbreaking and just SO GOOD!
I have a ginormous TBR but now also allll of Jo Spain’s backlist to read.
I highly, highly recommend it - it’s a book I really struggled to put down.

As soon as I started reading this book I knew I was going to be hooked and it would have me racing through the pages which is exactly what it did. One sitting read with a 4am bedtime. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for an arc of this suspenseful thriller.

Dual timeline dialogue 2014 and 2024, we slip easily from then and now. Back then Dani wakes in her room at St Edmunds college to find her boyfriend Theo has disappeared, she begins her frantic search for him as the days turn into weeks. Now Dani is back at St Edmunds as a professor teaching history, she becomes friends with Colm who is part of the medical research team who claim to have a groundbreaking discovery of a drug that’s under trial that can slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and claim back some lost memories in the patient, she is Intrigued by this as Dani’s mum is an Alzheimer’s sufferer.

As Theo’s disappearance is still raw for Dani ten years on the story carries on uncovering the truths and secrets that were hidden back in 2014. I loved Dani’s character and the reveals as the story progressed. Short snappy chapters that have you wanting just one more which is also always a huge hit for me. First but definitely not the last of Jo Spain for me.

One of the best books I have read in the last while, it has everything a reader could ask for from beginning to end.. it really showed one woman’s journey and determination over a 10 year period to solve a mysterious disappearance and bring the bad boys responsible for it down ..

Many thanks to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Jo Spain for my ARC of 'The Trail' in return for an honest review. As a huge fan of this author I was delighted to receive my advanced copy and was not disappointed.

The story deals with big pharmaceutical companies selling new drugs and how they find these drugs way to market. Dani is back at St Edmunds, the college she dropped out from, as a lecturer although she has secrets of her own to hide. Her mother suffers from dementia the college is involved with a drug which can stop dementia and possibly reverse it.

Another winner from Jo Spain.

highly recommended

The trial is another wonderful book from Jo Spain. Her 13th incredibly. The Trial deals with big pharma and drug trials for Alzheimer's drugs involving college medical research departments. The main premise of the story is where there is big money the way is open to unscrupulous people falsifying results. Dani (our heroine) is determined to get to the bottom of the two problems central to the story, murder and medical fraud. I really enjoyed the way Jo wove the two stories together. They never got in each other's way. She also gives Dani's mother Alzheimer's but doesn't overwork it as there is always a danger of doing especially if one has personal experience of the disease. The twists at the end were fantastic. I really did not expect them and they finished the book off nicely. A 5* book I'm happy to recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Wow wow wow. Jo Spain has done it again I devoured this book. Dani has returned to her former college as a lecturer. Ten years previously Theo her boyfriend vanished without a trace. Dani is determined to find out what really happened him This book has plenty of twists and turns and will have you on the edge of your seat.