Published by Doubleday on July 12, 2022
Chrysalis is a mega-corporation. Two of its divisions are key to the plot. One makes drugs and medical devices. The other produces smart technology. The company makes a wireless device that consists of an earbud and a small screen that the user wears like glasses on the bridge of the nose, giving users a personal assistant and access to whatever data they need. The next phase of the product’s development will add an immersive virtual reality experience. The VR gadgets have been sent to a thousand lucky customers in the first round of the product rollout.
The novel begins with two researchers in Alaska searching for samples in a Neanderthal mass grave. One researcher murders the other to conceal an important find.
The main story begins several months later. Chrysalis has received an untraceable email that forecasts a death. Two more deaths occur, each victim a director of the company who attended a demonstration of the new VR device. This leads to a final email advising Chrysalis that the customers who received the new VR device will be killed if Chrysalis doesn’t pay a billion dollars. The email warns that recalling the device or notifying customers will trigger the mass killing. Another couple of deaths occur to solidify the threat.
Instead of contacting the FBI like any sensible corporate counsel would advise, Chrysalis’ counsel decides to hire Jeremy Logan, the internationally known ghostbuster. Why anyone thinks his unique talents are suited to corporate espionage is beyond me. Still, it wouldn’t be a Jeremy Logan novel without Jeremy Logan, so the reader needs to let that pass.
The novel’s twin mysteries are (1) how (and if) Chrysalis technology is behind the deaths that the extortionists have caused, and (2) who at Chrysalis is involved in the extortion. The answers are revealed more by luck and coincidence than the efforts of Logan, who spends most of his time following Chrysalis employees and asking questions that glue the plot elements together.
When it comes time to save the day by entering the VR world, Logan does the work instead of someone with IT knowledge because, he says, “I know as much as anybody.” Logan took one brief VR tour so he knows as much as the people who developed the technology? Well, he has as much hubris as anybody, but it makes zero sense that he would take on the task of virtually running around the insides of server architecture. Why isn’t the tech guru who guides Logan doing the work instead of Logan? And why is it left to Logan to save the day by pushing a button at the end of the novel? Only because it's a Jeremey Logan novel. Logan needs to do so something, and after making no serious contribution to the plot, he has to justify his starring role. I can’t imagine any reader buying into this story.
Chrysalis is interesting, but it develops little suspense. Obligatory machine gunning near the story’s end fails to rectify that problem. The conspiracy is too ridiculous to take seriously, a common failing of modern thrillers. Logan’s journey through fiber optic lines is just silly. Characters are devoid of personality, apart from bad guys being bad and everyone but Logan being afraid to take necessary action.
On the bright side, Lincoln Child keeps the story moving and creates a credible corporate atmosphere. Readers who enjoy tech thrillers and don’t care whether the plot is plausible might find something of value in Chrysalis. Readers who are looking for a credible, meatier story should look elsewhere.
RECOMMENED WITH RESERVATIONS