Jeremy Logan, one of Lincoln Child’s most unique protagonists, is an enigmalogist --- an investigator of unexplained things. In his latest mission, CHRYSALIS, he will be asked to help with a situation that might be out of his normal realm of strength but one that he still finds fascinating. However, if he doesn’t succeed, the results could have a devastating effect on the world as we know it.

Randall Pike and Wing Kaupei are at the base of a glacier in Alaska taking important samples. As Randall is discussing the results while they’re packing up, Wing suddenly attacks him with an ax and drives him into a gorge to his death. Eight months later, at a board meeting in New York City for Chrysalis Film Studios, producer Russell Spearman is discussing the use of the latest technology they’re utilizing on an upcoming superhero movie when he suddenly collapses on the glass table and impales himself on one of the many large shards, ending his life.

"CHRYSALIS is such a different type of thriller for Lincoln Child and so unlike the previous five installments in the series that it makes for a truly interesting read."

Here we have two random, violent incidents and enough to alarm the global multibillion-dollar tech company, Chrysalis. They call in Jeremy Logan for his perspective and to prevent further damage. His primary contact is General Counsel Claire Asperton, who gives him extremely high clearance at the company. With Logan there, they receive an anonymous message: Spearman Was the First. No Accident. The Second Will Drop the Day After Tomorrow.

The second does literally drop as board member Piers Bridger’s plane falls from the sky after a health issue while flying. Logan discovers that Bridger had a medical implant designed by the company BioCertain, one of Chrysalis’s subsidiaries, for his bad knee. Although he doesn’t see anything terribly suspicious at BioCertain, Logan learns not only about Spearman’s implant, but that the company has been demonstrating implants with their customers for use with some of their virtual reality products.

It has now become apparent that whoever murdered Spearman and Bridger, as well as other board members in different ways, are now threatening to kill random end users with implants that they’re controlling. This is a nightmare that will destroy Chrysalis, as well as their product rollouts, not to mention countless lives. Logan and the security team realize that it’s not just hackers doing this and that there must be at least one person on the inside helping to set this up. It was already obvious that someone was controlling Wing Kaupei based on her behavior in Alaska, and she is now inside the Chrysalis Tower. But she is far from the only threat who will stop at nothing to see that this deadly agenda is carried out.

CHRYSALIS is such a different type of thriller for Lincoln Child and so unlike the previous five installments in the series that it makes for a truly interesting read. The virtual reality scenes are something else and reminded me at times of some moments in the film Ant-Man. Is there no problem that Jeremy Logan can’t handle?