I picked up Interference as part of Kindle Unlimited Book Club. Matt Bronik, tenured physicist professor and researcher at Dartmouth, is sick and no one knows why. He is taken to the hospital twice for his fits and the doctors have no possible explanation for what might be causing his illness. On his third set of fits, Bronik is kidnapped. At the center of the manhunt for Professor Bronik are his wife Brigid, Detective Emmett Webster, and billionaire investor Sean Plottner.
Author Brad Parks jumps around in his focus between these three characters. He manages to effortlessly weave all of their stories and points of view into a cohesive and well paced thriller. Brigid works in the campus library and suffers from hearing loss. Detective Webster is a recent widower dealing with a department reassignment under new police department leadership. Plottner is a calculated investor who goes after what he wants with the assuredness of his billions. Overall, Brigid and Detective Webster are the most compelling characters. Plottner gets a final third act development but is stale throughout most of the novel.
Parks also does a great job of pulling together the various aspects of the story without getting bogged down with technicalities. At times, the novel takes a dip into the intricacies of academia and office politics. We get a taste of international relations and military secrets. We, of course, deal with police investigations and interviews and the process of following the evidence. The physics of quantum mechanics lends a slight supernatural air. There’s even a brief courtroom drama moment. All together, Interference is a wholly enjoyable ride, start to finish.
BINGO – Book Club
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