The Experiment

The Kinship Series #3

by Robin Lamont

He was her undercover trainee. Her friend. Her lover. But had he been playing her all along?

“A riveting thriller … the author is definitely a writer to watch.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

When a young investigator, suddenly vanishes from an undercover assignment, his mentor Jude Brannock risks blowing both his and the agency’s cover to look for him.

Jude’s investigation takes her to a small farming town in Vermont where she is faced with evidence that her trusted pupil might have perpetrated an elaborate con job on her and is, in fact, working for the target of their undercover operation – a biopharmaceutical company testing on animals. She soon learns that she’s not the only one furious at the young man.

Determined to get to the truth, Jude takes increasingly dangerous risks, failing to see the deadly secret that’s festering in the town as well as the self-destructive secret she keeps from herself.

“Readers looking for a soundly executed, intelligent and riveting thriller would do well to pick up a copy of The Experiment.” – BookViral

“Wow, this was an intense yet very entertaining novel to read. Jude is such a powerful character.” – Reader’s Favorite (5 stars)

“The character introductions and story building were so brilliantly done … Great book and I would definitely recommend it for any mystery enthusiasts out there.” – International Review of Books

“I fell in love with Jude right from the start of the book.” – The World as I See It

“Well-written, intense, sure to appeal to animal lovers.” – Amazon Top 10 Reviewer

”It could easily be the headline in tomorrow's newspaper! I'm definitely going back to read the first two books in the series.” – Lynchburg Mama

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2019

About the author

Broadway actress - private investigator - Assistant DA - and now novelist.

Robin Lamont worked as a Broadway actress and singer, playing lead roles in Godspell, Grease, and Working. Her original cast recording of "Day by "Day" and her film version of the song have drawn fans from around the world. Utilizing her acting experience she became an undercover investigator for a PI firm in New York City that specialized in investigations into counterfeiting. During that time she went to law school and later practiced as an Assistant District Attorney in New York.

Now an award winning novelist, Robin draws on these diverse careers for her work, infusing suspenseful plots with character-driven drama.

Her work has garnered awards and recognition, including Suspense Magazine’s Best of the Indies and a Gold Medal in the Independent Publishers Book Awards for If Thy Right Hand. Her novel The Chain, which introduced Jude Brannock to readers, was a Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Finalist.

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great thing about the Kinship series is that they are just genuinely good books. There's mystery to keep you guessing and a believably flawed main character (caring about animals doesn't equal personal perfection, despite what some authors would lead you to believe). Jude Brannock, humane investigator, has her heart in the right place, but she still has a lot of work to do on herself.

So many "cause" novels are more cause than novel. I've read plenty of animal advocacy-themed fiction in which the characters speak like blog postings and even readers who support the cause can feel like they're being lectured to. Not so with Lamont's novels. She gives you enough background to understand what you're reading about, but she does so in an organic way that I think that even mainstream readers who don't know much about the animal issues being focused upon can get caught up in the thrills and mystery (and might just find themselves incorporating more cruelty-free behaviors into their everyday routines as a result.)

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel, even though it is the first I've read in The Kinship Series. I like how Lamont has crafted a suspenseful and informative plot. The character development of Jude is done well. I had a real sense of her love for animals as she investigates for an animal protection organization. I like how Lamont has included information about the cutting edge process of producing drugs being pioneered by big pharma. She's done her research and includes some troubling possibilities when research goes wrong.

Readers who like a good investigative mystery will like this one. Her writing style is good. There are twists in the plot and a good deal of suspense near the end when Jude finds she is involved in something much more dangerous than investigating harmful experimentation on dogs.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this is disappointing. The two previous books in this series were vaguely problematic in some ways, but overall suspenseful and, I think presented the issues related to specific kinds of animal exploitation very well. This one did not.

How shall I count the ways? For starters, Lamont doesn't establish Jude's age. It's been a while since I read the first two books, so if it was stated in either of those, I've forgotten it. Jude's age here is rather important because she actually acts like a teenager who's never had a romantic partner leave her before. And we know that's not true, because her disgusting boss at The Kinship had a sexual relationship with her for a while. In any case, after Tim "leaves" Jude to go undercover and gets involved with an underage girl in Vermont (can Lamont make animal activists look any more like sexual predators? Thanks a bunch for that), Jude gets nasty toward the girl and doesn't know how to deal with her emotions. When, at some point, psychological help is suggested for her, she freaks out. I mean, come on, it's not 1942. Many people get psychological help at some point in their lives. Still, while I'm sure there are people who still refuse it as a stigma, that mentality is not played out well with Jude and she just ends up sounding like an idiot - oh right, and she won't go get help with a medical doctor even though she starts having these brief spells of blindness. That happens when she's still in DC, and yet she still drives up to Vermont alone after Tim disappears.
(Where she then gets bitchy toward the Vermont girl who was having a fling with Tim).

Well, within all this ridiculous, character-destroying drama, Lamont presents a somewhat opposing side by letting us into the lives of some farmers. I like a lot of Lamont's characterizations, although with the lab owner she does slip into a bit of moustache-twirling (then again, to be fair, if we look at people in our current government, you couldn't make up that nastiness and have them come across as real people).

Still, I found much more to be problematic with this long-awaited (by me) book:

1. The VT officer has "chocolate" skin.

2. The laboratory in question deals with GMOs rather than something like cosmetics testing, and Lamont loses a big chance to show us the inside of a lab, as happens in her first two books.

3. Jude has a picture of a "grotesquely obese" hunter with a dead animal in her work cubicle to remind her of how awful people are. But the judgment against people who are obese is disturbing and so off-putting, in fact, that I am not keeping this book mostly because of that; nor am I keeping the first two.

4. Seriously, when the rats escape from the lab, they know to attack just the bad guy and leave Jude alone?

5. I am honestly worried about how The Kinship can afford such a large office in Washington, DC

6. Jude seems to have regressed as a character in this book. While I suppose people do regress in real life, after reading two previous novels where she is stupidly reckless, this one just takes the cake: ignoring her boss, driving 700 miles despite having spells of partial blindness; interacting with a known drug-dealer and coming out unscathed; not finding Tim disgusting because he screwed a 17-year-old girl --

This one had so much potential and lost me completely.

[Mochalove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Lamont’s The Experiment, the third addition to her well-received Kinship series, traverses the rough terrain of animal rights in a story that not only takes readers seamlessly into a world that brims with webbed mystery but also exposes the horrific aspects of a subject that is not often visited – the protection of animals.

Promptly, from the narrative’s outset, the suspense begins to build, as we meet the story’s engagingly complex protagonist, Jude Brannock, a senior investigator at The Kinship, an organization specializing in undercover investigations of large scale / industrial animal abuse. Jude anxiously broods about a recently hired investigator, Time Mains her trainee, who suddenly seemed to be mysteriously missing in action. Investigative Trainee Tim Mains embarked on an independent mission to go undercover to gather, document and report violations at a targeted company Amaethon Industries. After a spate of little to no contact from Tim, Jude embarks on an intense mission to find the missing investigator determined to get to the truth of his whereabouts, especially after his cryptic message of being on to “something big”. However, Jude’s interest in the mystery of Tim’s disappearance turns out to be more than just a “platonic” or “comrade in arms” type of concern for him as it turns out the two had started an affair that had to be kept out of sight.

Meanwhile, as the progress of her investigative efforts continues, Jude finds herself confronting a debilitating personal health issue. Her intimate feelings towards Tim brought on a deepening mystery as she hears evidence of his untoward behavior, including drug use, and an intense romance with a young woman, all while he was supposed to be working undercover investigating. It was now clear to her that Tim may not have been the man she thought she could trust not only with an important heartfelt job and not to mention with her heart.

Fundamentally, as a whole, The Experiment turned out to be a good stand-alone read that I found to be both creative and satisfying as a mystery read. Ultimately, the story captivated me with a mystery that deepened and twisted as the plot progressed centered around subject matter that I personally found a refreshing relief from the usual mystery genre fare. And as for characterizations, I found Jude to be a well-crafted central character whose own complex personal history intrigued, just as much as the other mysterious elements within the narrative which author Robin Lamont did a splendid job of culminating, into a cohesive and intriguing work that wielded suspense well. I look forward to her other books as well as hoping to see The Experiment made into a movie. I think it would be great and this book is definitely a must-read.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew this would be a challenging read when I read the description. I love animals, all shapes and sizes, and it hurts to know that there are so many being inhumanely used for experiments. Not to mention the rampant cruelty and abuse that so many live with in their short lives. I can’t even watch those commercials on television, asking for donations to save abused animals. That being said, I still had to read this book. I wanted to meet these warriors of animal’s rights.

Jude trained her new recruit. Gave him an assignment to infiltrate a company to get evidence of animal cruelty. He was supposed to keep in touch. So she knew something was squirrely when he sent her some strange photos and didn’t respond to her repeated calls. It was her job to go check on him when he disappeared shortly after.

Jude’s first step upon arriving at the farming town of Half Moon was to visit Tim’s hotel room and see if she could find out what her trainee had discovered. Things move fairly quickly after that and the plot thickens. What did he uncover? Who was involved? And did Tim pull his own disappearing act, or did someone make it happen?

I feel I should mention that, while this story is about experimenting on animals, what is being done isn’t dwelt upon. The author doesn’t go into detail. It’s still heartbreaking to know, and there is one scene that had me so sad, but there are also some happy ones. I hope for many more for the animals out there right now. Waiting to be loved.

So many bread crumbs. So many dead ends. The author sure kept me in the dark. Did the same thing to Jude, in more ways than one. I admired Jude’s fortitude. Her dedication to protecting animals from cruelty, even at the expense of her own health. I wanted to know more about her. This is the third book in the series and I plan on going back to the beginning. Meeting these character’s to see how they all wound up together. And really getting to know Jude and what drives her.

And I sure hope there is another book in the works. The ending has Jude battling a personal dilemma and I want to know how that pans out.

I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jude Brannock is an investigative reporter for the animal protection group The Kinship. They are not as dramatic as other big name groups and prefer to work in the shadows. Jude is worried about the rookie reporter, Tim Mains was to go undercover as a vet tech for Amaethon Industries, a company using mice, rats, and dogs to test their new medicine. They have had a couple violations in the past and Tim was supposed to get evidence to get some serious attention on the company. Be he has disappeared.

Jude is very worried about Tim and goes to Vermont to find him. There she is surprised to learn that Tim was caught giving a sixteen year old girl heroine. But this doesn’t sound like Tim to Jude and she keeps digging. It seems there are a lot more secrets that Amaethon has been keeping from people and Jude is going to expose them, if they don’t stop her first.

This is the first book in the Kinship series that I have read and I instantly fell in love with it in the first chapter. Jude cares for animals, more than humans and is determined to stop their abuse. Against her common sense she falls for Tim and becomes very concerned about his disappearance. But she has her own problems that she is ignoring that may come to bit her at the wrong time.

As an animal lover I wanted to read this book but was hesitant because I knew I would have a hard time with the testing and treatment of animals. But this part was well written and portrayed. I loved the mystery and how this was so much bigger than just some testing of a new drug.

This book could have easily been a standalone novel instead of the third book in the series. I loved this book and can’t wait to read the first to books in the series to see what I missed. It’s definitely one that I recommend checking out.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

[Darcia Helle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Experiment is a plot-driven, complex story focusing on animal abuse and the immense power and overreach of Big Pharma.

Robin Lamont clearly knows her topic. The science presented is scary because it’s true. This could too easily happen and, in some ways, already has.

Usually when I read this type of book, the activists are presented as lunatic bad guys. Here, we see the struggles, reasoning, and, most importantly, humanity driving an animal protection group. I didn’t find the content heavy-handed, though it certainly is thought-provoking.

This is the third book in The Kinship Series. While it reads well as a stand-alone, I found myself wishing I’d read the other two first. The plot is specific to this book, and everything is resolved at the end, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to the characters as individuals outside the group and the mission. Despite that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story.

*I received a review copy as part of the Partners in Crime book tour.*

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of the Kinship Series for me but I felt like Lamont did a nice job of making this a standalone read. Jude is a lot different from the typical female leads I read. She keeps humans at a distance while letting animals consume her every part of being. 

When I initially was contacted about reviewing this book, I was hesitant because animal groups are frequently portrayed as extremists. This book gave me a deeper understanding of groups who want to save animals -- especially from big pharma. Thinking of what the animals go through broke my heart!

Jude's dark secret adds to the suspense as you wonder what has happened to Tim and if she's involved. We know he went in undercover, seemed to have gotten hooked on drugs, and now has disappeared. He could be putting the Kinship at risk and Jude is set on proving that he's innocent. But what she discovers is darker and more of a tangled web than she expected. 

While Lamont puts the animal testing/abuse into perspective for us, I don't find it to be gruesome or overly dark. It does make you feel on edge with the science and testing situation. It could easily be the headline in tomorrow's newspaper! I'm definitely going back to read the first two books in the series.

I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.    

[Martin Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Lamont constructs her plots carefully, allows them to develop organically, and her thrillers possess all the virtues: believability, tension, narrative drive, atmosphere, and satisfying outcomes. THE EXPERIMENT, the third in The Kinship Series, has Jude, the heroine of the first two books, finally being forced to come to terms with the demons that drive her in her work on behalf of animals, while at the same time she finds her considerable powers of resilience tested as never before. THE EXPERIMENT offers a compassionate eye on opioid addiction and the challenges of rural life, and casts a beady eye on corporate malfeasance regarding dangerous toxins and animal testing. Series 3 ups the stakes on the first two books, and I look forward to further volumes in the series where the stakes are raised even higher.

[Noah Gittell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the whole thing on a five-hour train ride from DC back to Connecticut. A fresh twist on the detective novel, "The Experiment" is about an undercover investigator working at an animal rights organization who goes missing - and the efforts of his girlfriend/boss to find out the truth about what happened. If it sounds like a polemic, worry not - this is an author who knows to put plot first. It has a plethora of unexpected plot twists, well-drawn characters who drift in and out of the plot, and a flawed but sympathetic protagonist to anchor the whole affair. Just a great read.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy.

As a book 3, it could be a standalone, but I do think that I should have read book one and two just to connect more with the series. For the character creation and story this book is a really great read that can easily take up a good portion of your day. It has chapters that do not drag and can easily creep you into the final moments.

[Karen B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, great suspense and intertwining of characters all added to the plot that kept us guessing and hungry to keep reading. Going in we were concerned the subject matter was going to be heavy but the author did a wonderful job of interspersing the reality of animal research into her storyline without overwhelming the reader. Can’t wait for the next book in her Kinship series as she left a cliffhanger.

[Franki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book about a difficult subject.