If there was a cure for depression, one that required brain surgery to implant a microchip, would you try it? Lisa Newberry joins a study researching the effects of the Empowerment Chip, which is purported to modify neural pathways and memories, helping those with depression and PTSD. Her life is in shambles due to recent horrible circumstances. She has suffered three miscarriages, her husband Ryan died in a car accident, and then a mugger nearly strangled her to death. To top it off, memories of her mother’s condescension haunts her years later. She is desperate to resume a somewhat normal life again. But since the study is double blind and placebo-controlled, there’s a chance Lisa may get the placebo. No way she can handle that after all she has been through.
After her surgery, Lisa is thrilled and relieved to find that she isn’t depressed anymore. Though feeling tons better, she starts to see waking visions of a woman’s murder, repeated over and over, with new information each time. So realistic in their nature, she is terrified that her chip has been tainted and that she will never have a moment’s peace again, even without the depression. Her search for answers leads her to mortal danger. Will she have the strength and ability to find those responsible while keeping her sanity and her life intact?
Collins has hit the jackpot with this story, and readers will feel like they have as well. It has all the elements one has come to expect in her riveting fiction. The use of first person point of view makes Double Blind read more like a detective novel than a suspense. I loved that about the book. One feels more intimately connected with the character in first person.
For those never having dealt with depression, it may be hard to relate to Lisa on that level, though Collins does a great job of describing her despair. However, we all know the stress of making life-changing decisions and the self-doubt that can come with it. Some may identify more with Lisa’s friend Sherry, a loyal young mom who helps a friend in need. Others may relate more to Lisa’s mom, a person who may be a little overbearing, but protective.
I’ve been reading Collins since her Bradleyville series…a long time. Her Chelsea Adams and Hidden Faces series were my favorites. Collins has a knack for getting you deep inside her characters’ minds while executing a suspenseful and mysterious plot. Call me desensitized or jaded, but I don’t find her stories to be all that scary—they’re masterful nonetheless, and many readers may indeed be more frightened than me. Regardless, this one’s a worthwhile read.
