The Black Tea Experiments: Ray Atkinson

Logan Bauer, a rather brilliant college student, has a bright future ahead of him. That is, until his girlfriend is accused of killing a fellow classmate. The story Tia Wells has to share is bordering on the impossible but believing in her innocence, he sets out to prove it...only to find that nothing is what it seems.

From her jailhouse statements, Logan finds himself on a twisting trail that ultimately leads to the former Soviet Union, where he comes face-to-face with Cold War-era scientist, Dr. Vladimir Rostov. Dr. Rostov was a busy man during those dark days, running secret medical projects on children in hopes of boosting their learning capabilities...and boosting the intelligence of the next generations in order to make the Soviet Union the ultimate superpower.

Those projects aren't so secret anymore and Logan uncovers pieces that bring this mystery to a shocking, unpredictable conclusion.

On the author's website, he describes this thriller as an 'airplane novel.' The concept is to build a great story and yet keep it to a scant 150 pages or less...just enough to fill in the gap on a short flight. I truly hope this format catches on, and I'm sure I am not the only reader out there that would appreciate it. Today's jam packed schedules don't exactly allow for a leisurely romp through 300+ pages.

Although it's skinny by comparison to its genre counterparts, The Black Tea Experiments is densely packed with all the hallmarks of a good thriller...in half the space. I had my misgivings in the beginning given the short format, and expected the character and plot developments to fall short. I was never disappointed. It's smart, fast-paced and the author doesn't waste words on unnecessary descriptions or dialog. The mystery is held together with plenty of twists and turns (and death...and mayhem...) The author jumped with ease from the college town of Crandon, Illinois to post-Cold War Russia and never missed a beat in between – and made it quite believable in the process.

If this debut is any indication of this author's talent, I'll be waiting (impatiently) for his next 'bite-sized' offering!

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Perfect Paperback: 152 pages
Publisher: American Book Publishing (March 22, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1589823702
ISBN-13: 978-1589823709
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