Our first Mystery Book Club selection of 2020 was Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.
About: "Jason Dessen is walking home through the chilly Chicago streets one night, looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the fireplace with his wife, Daniela, and their son, Charlie—when his reality shatters.
It starts with a man in a mask kidnapping him at gunpoint, for reasons Jason can’t begin to fathom—what would anyone want with an ordinary physics professor?—and grows even more terrifying from there, as Jason’s abductor injects him with some unknown drug and watches while he loses consciousness.
When Jason awakes, he’s in a lab, strapped to a gurney—and a man he’s never seen before is cheerily telling him “welcome back!”
Jason soon learns that in this world he’s woken up to, his house is not his house. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born.
And someone is hunting him."
It starts with a man in a mask kidnapping him at gunpoint, for reasons Jason can’t begin to fathom—what would anyone want with an ordinary physics professor?—and grows even more terrifying from there, as Jason’s abductor injects him with some unknown drug and watches while he loses consciousness.
When Jason awakes, he’s in a lab, strapped to a gurney—and a man he’s never seen before is cheerily telling him “welcome back!”
Jason soon learns that in this world he’s woken up to, his house is not his house. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born.
And someone is hunting him."
This was an appropriate choice to start 2020. Just seeing that year written is kind of sci-fi-y.
I had wondered what the MBC group would think of it. I would call it a Sci Fi Thriller. Although some of the members attend other book groups, some seem interested in certain kinds of, perhaps traditional mysteries. Well, surprise. Everyone seemed to like it.
My thoughts; The story starts with a nice family evening at home, let's you into the family dynamics and sets the scene as the near perfect family. It quickly changes, grabs you right away and takes you for a bumpy ride. This really is a page turner and you could finish it in one setting.
We ended up having a pretty interesting discussion on the story. After the typical what we thought about it, the discussion turned to quantum physics, quantum mechanics, and could this happen. A few of the members have read up on this subject...for fun. (My brain doesn't understand that, but that's ok.)We talked about was this book really a "mystery" but we decided mysteries fall into so many different types these days that it is a mystery with a science fiction theme. Several people were planning on getting Blake Crouch's next book, Recursion after we finished for the evening. Most felt there is an opening for another book? A screenplay may be in the works.
I am a big fan of Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch. I never read the books, but loved the series. I thought that left an opening for more but so far that hasn't happened. If you liked Wayward Pines, you would like this book.
I was really surprised at how well this book was liked and also that the discussion delved into all the quantum stuff. I thought it might not be to everyone's taste. I want to read Recursion and then we'll see if I get to any of this other books.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised really too. I think our horizons are expanding.lol
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