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Specimen: A Technothriller
One dead body. One missing friend. One deadly game she never agreed to play.
Thea Riggs was supposed to have two months of freedom before college, partying with her friends, and relaxing before she had to leave it all behind. But when her best friend summons her in the middle of the night and then vanishes without a trace, Thea walks straight into a nightmare.
Her friend's mother is dead, and Thea is the one who finds the body. In a split-second decision, Thea snaps a picture of the dead body and the game begins.
Without intending to be, Thea is now a player in the Dead Sevens Club, an underground viral challenge that doesn't just exist online—it follows Thea into real life. The rules? No one knows. The players? Invisible. The stakes? Life or death. Someone wanted Thea in this game. Someone set her up. Someone is watching her every move.
To escape, Thea has to do more than solve a murder. She has to uncover the truth—about the game, about the people behind it, about why she was chosen. And to do this, she must risk everything.
This game isn't just about winning. It's about survival.
Because in the Dead Sevens Club, the only way out is to play.
Specimen is a fast-paced thriller book packed with shocking twists and dark secrets. Are you brave enough to play the game with Thea?
Thea Riggs was supposed to have two months of freedom before college, partying with her friends, and relaxing before she had to leave it all behind. But when her best friend summons her in the middle of the night and then vanishes without a trace, Thea walks straight into a nightmare.
Her friend's mother is dead, and Thea is the one who finds the body. In a split-second decision, Thea snaps a picture of the dead body and the game begins.
Without intending to be, Thea is now a player in the Dead Sevens Club, an underground viral challenge that doesn't just exist online—it follows Thea into real life. The rules? No one knows. The players? Invisible. The stakes? Life or death. Someone wanted Thea in this game. Someone set her up. Someone is watching her every move.
To escape, Thea has to do more than solve a murder. She has to uncover the truth—about the game, about the people behind it, about why she was chosen. And to do this, she must risk everything.
This game isn't just about winning. It's about survival.
Because in the Dead Sevens Club, the only way out is to play.
Specimen is a fast-paced thriller book packed with shocking twists and dark secrets. Are you brave enough to play the game with Thea?
354 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 3, 2024
1 person is currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Towles
12 books165 followersLisa Towles is an award-winning crime novelist and a passionate speaker on the topics of fiction writing, creativity, and self care. She has eleven crime thrillers in print including Terror Bay - a psychological thriller published in November of 2023. Her previous thriller, Salt Island, was the winner of The BookFest, Pencraft, Readers Choice, Readers Favorite, and Literary Titan awards. The Ridders (November, 2022) won an American Fiction Award, and her psychological thriller Hot House (June 2022) was a #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller. Lisa is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers and is deeply committed to supporting other writers. She is Board President of a Bay Area nonprofit (Bridgegood.org) and speaks frequently to groups of business leaders and writers about her platform Strategic Self Care. She has an MBA in IT Management and works full-time in the tech industry in the San Francisco Bay area. Learn more at www.lisatowles.com, strategicselfcare.blog, or follow Lisa on social media: linktr.ee/authortowles.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 22, 2024
It’s the summer before college and 17-year-old Thea Riggs is looking forward to some leisure time before going back to school. The last thing she expects is that she’ll get tangled up in a mysterious death. Her friend Lise Fenning invites Thea to her house but when she gets there, Lise is nowhere to be found. Instead, Thea finds an empty house and a dead body that bears a strong resemblance to Roberta Fenning, Lise’s mother. When she tries to call Lise, she gets the runaround. Upon closer examination, the crime scene feels like a setup, which makes Thea believe she is being framed for murder.
She reaches out to her best friend Fergus Wilde, who she has known since junior high, to help her make sense of the madness taking over her life. To make matters worse, someone is watching her every move and sending her threatening text messages. When she discovers the connection between the body and the internet game everyone’s playing, it becomes clear that she’s a major player and the next target of a secret crime syndicate. She knows too much and is in way over her head, but when they threaten her mother, she must act fast. Together with Fergus, their ‘fixer’ friend Kit Fury, and a kind Uber driver named Bharat, Thea must untangle the mysteries and the secrets surrounding a cold case tied to unethical scientific experiments and find some much-needed justice.
Thea Riggs is not just smart, she’s methodical and when she’s in a bind, she stops to assess the situation and make a plan. In “Specimen,” Lisa Towles gives readers an action-packed thriller that takes place in San Francisco and involves an internet puzzle game. The game designers post clues involving photos, links, and riddles and the more clues you solve, the more you level up. Rumor has it that it’s connected to a series of unsolved murders so that makes it even more enticing but dangerous. Thea becomes unwillingly involved in it and with danger all around her, has to think on her feet and trust her instincts, and her friends, to clear her name and find the truth once and for all.
I was drawn to this novel because I like mysteries and this one involves an internet game, so all the tech talk surrounding games, computers, and programming made it sound like fun. It’s suspenseful right from the start, with Thea finding a dead body and her reactions upon seeing the crime scene. She’s alone in a quiet house with Roberta Fenning’s bloody corpse and even though she knows she shouldn’t be there, she can’t help but calmly survey the scene. Until she hears a noise in the kitchen. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked and wanted to keep reading to find out who killed Roberta and why.
I pressed my hands over my mouth to suppress the urge to call out to her, because it could also mean that her killer was down there waiting for me.
This mystery thriller expertly balances technology, science, suspense, and ethical dilemmas in a narrative that keeps readers engaged. The characters are deeply developed, especially Thea, whose personal struggles, narrated in the first-person point of view, add depth and make her relatable. Towles creates a tense atmosphere, with sharp prose and a well-paced narrative that draws the reader in:
I might never be able to unsee the ghoulish cast to her skin, and the way rigor mortis had frozen her contorted fingers into these spectral claws belonging in a zombie movie.
Overall, “Specimen” is a suspenseful mystery and technical thrill ride that explores the themes of family, friendship, power and corruption, and identity. It’s a fast easy read with short chapters and unexpected twists and turns. It is recommended for fans of James Rollins and Dan Brown who enjoy a mixture of mystery and technical storylines.
Tears now, the ones I’d been suppressing, filled my eyes so I couldn’t see without blinking, spilling them down my cheeks. I balled my hands into fists, digging my fingernails into the flesh of my palms to stop their flow, short circuit the emotions Jeffrey Dade seemed hellbent on releasing.
She reaches out to her best friend Fergus Wilde, who she has known since junior high, to help her make sense of the madness taking over her life. To make matters worse, someone is watching her every move and sending her threatening text messages. When she discovers the connection between the body and the internet game everyone’s playing, it becomes clear that she’s a major player and the next target of a secret crime syndicate. She knows too much and is in way over her head, but when they threaten her mother, she must act fast. Together with Fergus, their ‘fixer’ friend Kit Fury, and a kind Uber driver named Bharat, Thea must untangle the mysteries and the secrets surrounding a cold case tied to unethical scientific experiments and find some much-needed justice.
Thea Riggs is not just smart, she’s methodical and when she’s in a bind, she stops to assess the situation and make a plan. In “Specimen,” Lisa Towles gives readers an action-packed thriller that takes place in San Francisco and involves an internet puzzle game. The game designers post clues involving photos, links, and riddles and the more clues you solve, the more you level up. Rumor has it that it’s connected to a series of unsolved murders so that makes it even more enticing but dangerous. Thea becomes unwillingly involved in it and with danger all around her, has to think on her feet and trust her instincts, and her friends, to clear her name and find the truth once and for all.
I was drawn to this novel because I like mysteries and this one involves an internet game, so all the tech talk surrounding games, computers, and programming made it sound like fun. It’s suspenseful right from the start, with Thea finding a dead body and her reactions upon seeing the crime scene. She’s alone in a quiet house with Roberta Fenning’s bloody corpse and even though she knows she shouldn’t be there, she can’t help but calmly survey the scene. Until she hears a noise in the kitchen. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked and wanted to keep reading to find out who killed Roberta and why.
I pressed my hands over my mouth to suppress the urge to call out to her, because it could also mean that her killer was down there waiting for me.
This mystery thriller expertly balances technology, science, suspense, and ethical dilemmas in a narrative that keeps readers engaged. The characters are deeply developed, especially Thea, whose personal struggles, narrated in the first-person point of view, add depth and make her relatable. Towles creates a tense atmosphere, with sharp prose and a well-paced narrative that draws the reader in:
I might never be able to unsee the ghoulish cast to her skin, and the way rigor mortis had frozen her contorted fingers into these spectral claws belonging in a zombie movie.
Overall, “Specimen” is a suspenseful mystery and technical thrill ride that explores the themes of family, friendship, power and corruption, and identity. It’s a fast easy read with short chapters and unexpected twists and turns. It is recommended for fans of James Rollins and Dan Brown who enjoy a mixture of mystery and technical storylines.
Tears now, the ones I’d been suppressing, filled my eyes so I couldn’t see without blinking, spilling them down my cheeks. I balled my hands into fists, digging my fingernails into the flesh of my palms to stop their flow, short circuit the emotions Jeffrey Dade seemed hellbent on releasing.
January 1, 2025
Intense!
Follow Thea Riggs through a series of strange encounters. The teenager seems like a magnet for trouble at times, but you'll struggle to put the book down until you can find out what really happened!
Follow Thea Riggs through a series of strange encounters. The teenager seems like a magnet for trouble at times, but you'll struggle to put the book down until you can find out what really happened!
December 24, 2024
The best yet.
A fun and fast moving story that treats the reader to an intellectual and physical experience. The twists keep you hooked and then there is another. We all like to think we can guess the outcome And this author doesn't let you.
A fun and fast moving story that treats the reader to an intellectual and physical experience. The twists keep you hooked and then there is another. We all like to think we can guess the outcome And this author doesn't let you.
November 8, 2024
In Specimen by Lisa Towles, we are introduced to Thea Riggs, a 17-year-old, who is on summer break before her freshman year in college. Her summer break starts out as a normal, relaxing vacation, until she receives a mysterious text from her best friend, Lise Fenning, telling her to come to Lise’s family estate. When Thea arrives, her friend races out of her family house, talking in riddles. When Thea enters the estate, she can’t believe what she finds in the kitchen. There, on the floor is Lise’s deceased mom, lying in a pool of blood. Now Thea doesn’t know what to do. Could a killer still be loose in the house? Did Lise kill her mother? If so, why?
Ms. Towles penned this thriller to keep readers on the edge of their seats as they turn the pages. Right from the first page, they are pulled into the story and feel as if they are another character standing right next to Thea, seeing everything happening firsthand. When Thea discovered the dead body, you immediately feel your heart pounding in your chest. You feel your mind racing with endless questions and wonder if Thea will be the next victim on the killer’s list.
The author cleverly entwines her love of crafting well-rounded characters that are so believable you feel as if they are real people, and she uses state-of-the art game play with all the characters, causing them to interact and move the storyline at a fast pace in just the right places. Just when readers think they can relax and follow along with the characters, Towles throws fuel to the fire and amps up another heart pounding scene.
With an impressive writing resume, Towles has 12 crime novels published under her name Lisa Towles, while also having four titles under her pen name Lisa Polisar. She’s a bestselling crime novelist and also a passionate speaker on such topics as fiction writing, creativity, and even self-care. Plus, she’s an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers.
Quill says: If you’re looking for a great novel with well-developed characters, an engrossing storyline, and some high-tech thrills to tickle your fancy, look no further. Specimen by Lisa Towles is one thriller that will not disappoint!
Ms. Towles penned this thriller to keep readers on the edge of their seats as they turn the pages. Right from the first page, they are pulled into the story and feel as if they are another character standing right next to Thea, seeing everything happening firsthand. When Thea discovered the dead body, you immediately feel your heart pounding in your chest. You feel your mind racing with endless questions and wonder if Thea will be the next victim on the killer’s list.
The author cleverly entwines her love of crafting well-rounded characters that are so believable you feel as if they are real people, and she uses state-of-the art game play with all the characters, causing them to interact and move the storyline at a fast pace in just the right places. Just when readers think they can relax and follow along with the characters, Towles throws fuel to the fire and amps up another heart pounding scene.
With an impressive writing resume, Towles has 12 crime novels published under her name Lisa Towles, while also having four titles under her pen name Lisa Polisar. She’s a bestselling crime novelist and also a passionate speaker on such topics as fiction writing, creativity, and even self-care. Plus, she’s an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers.
Quill says: If you’re looking for a great novel with well-developed characters, an engrossing storyline, and some high-tech thrills to tickle your fancy, look no further. Specimen by Lisa Towles is one thriller that will not disappoint!
December 6, 2024
Lisa Towles delivers an exceptional piece of literature in her latest release, "Specimen." The blending of science, suspense, and intrigue makes the thriller a reader-grabber. The relatable protagonist’s summer, 17-year-old Thea Riggs, takes an unexpected and dark turn when entangled in a mysterious death. The first-person narrative conveys emotional struggles and strategic thinking. The tension escalates when Thea discovers the body of Roberta Fenning. Her sense of fear and determination is palpable. The young hero’s journey is a gripping mix of personal growth, friendship, and an urgent need to clear her name as she navigates a web of corporate greed and high-stakes intrigue.
Lisa Towles’ succinct writing style and meticulous attention to detail perfectly illustrate DNA research and the associated ethical concerns. The masterful depiction of the internet puzzle game that connects the characters and the crime adds a modern twist that enhances the novel's appeal. As Thea probes deeper into solving the mystery, the game designers’ clues intertwine with the unfolding drama, creating a fresh, engaging narrative.
Readers will enjoy the relationships between characters, including Thea’s bond with her best friend, Fergus, and their resourceful ally, Kit Fury, which adds depth to the narrative. The dynamics among the characters are well-developed, making them feel authentic and enhancing the emotional stakes of the plot. The supporting cast, including the kind-hearted Uber driver Bharat, contributes to the richness of the story as it pushes Thea to confront challenges in unexpected ways. "Specimen" addresses significant themes such as family, friendship, identity, and the moral implications of scientific advancement, all wrapped in a suspenseful narrative that feels pertinent in today's world.
“Specimen” is a thrilling ride that will keep fans turning pages, eager to uncover the next clue and unravel the mystery alongside Thea. Lisa Towles continues to gather fans with outstanding storytelling that is impossible to set aside until the truth is revealed. Excellent!
Lisa Towles’ succinct writing style and meticulous attention to detail perfectly illustrate DNA research and the associated ethical concerns. The masterful depiction of the internet puzzle game that connects the characters and the crime adds a modern twist that enhances the novel's appeal. As Thea probes deeper into solving the mystery, the game designers’ clues intertwine with the unfolding drama, creating a fresh, engaging narrative.
Readers will enjoy the relationships between characters, including Thea’s bond with her best friend, Fergus, and their resourceful ally, Kit Fury, which adds depth to the narrative. The dynamics among the characters are well-developed, making them feel authentic and enhancing the emotional stakes of the plot. The supporting cast, including the kind-hearted Uber driver Bharat, contributes to the richness of the story as it pushes Thea to confront challenges in unexpected ways. "Specimen" addresses significant themes such as family, friendship, identity, and the moral implications of scientific advancement, all wrapped in a suspenseful narrative that feels pertinent in today's world.
“Specimen” is a thrilling ride that will keep fans turning pages, eager to uncover the next clue and unravel the mystery alongside Thea. Lisa Towles continues to gather fans with outstanding storytelling that is impossible to set aside until the truth is revealed. Excellent!
May 16, 2025
In Specimen, a young and vulnerable but pretentious Thea Riggs grabs you with intrigue from the outset and tacks on the tension with every threatening text message, suspicious characters, and obstacles she’s confronted with. It's all here with dangerous dark web tech games, clandestine crime syndicates, DNA mapping, a slice of social commentary, and character revelations. Lisa Towels's pacing and succinctness plow the reader along at warp speed to ensure thriller fans will get their specimen cup full of mystique and gallons of suspense!
February 21, 2025
I was on the edge of my seat for this one, especially toward the end of the novel when the conclusion started to come into focus. The premise is creative and the author had me guessing how it would end from the very first chapter. I love how the chapters are quick and easily flow to keep the pages turning. Thrillers should keep you guessing and invested in finding a resolution and this novel did just that. Bravo!
January 8, 2025
Wow!!! My jaw is to the floor with this book! I’m so intrigued as to what is come next! Please please please make a second I need more of this amazing plot line. I have so many theories as to what Thea is going to be up to next! You left me with a book hangover with this one! If you love a good thriller you know Lisa has you covered she never disappoints especially with Specimen
February 8, 2025
Loads of twists and turns through the story. Totally captured me!
April 26, 2025
Page turner!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews