The Wonder Test
- Author Michelle Richmond
- Narrator Therese Plummer
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date 6 July 2021
- Run Time 11 hours and 40 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Crime and mystery: women sleuths, Thriller / suspense fiction.
Click to open directly in the xigxag app.
Flexible Pricing & Rewards For Listening
At xigxag, the more you read, the less you pay* on select audiobook and x-book® titles, as in the table below. Pricing updates automatically in the app and resets one year after your first purchase. And you can always find a selection of brilliant titles available for only $7.99.
*Only the full price titles you buy count toward your personal pricing tier. Full price titles don’t include Listen for Less or other books bought with a voucher or discount code.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- $15.99
- $14.99
- $13.99
- $12.99
- $11.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
Escaping New York City and the espionage case that made her question everything, recently widowed FBI Agent Lina Connerly returns home to sell the house she has inherited in Greenfield, California. With her teenage son Rory, Lina hopes to reassemble her life, reevaluate her career, and find a clear way forward.
Adrift and battling insomnia, she discovers that her father’s sleepy hometown has been transformed into a Silicon Valley suburb on steroids, obsessed with an annual exam called the Wonder Test.
When students at her son’s high school go missing, reappearing under mysterious circumstances on abandoned beaches, Lina must summon her strength and her investigative instincts, pushing her own ethical boundaries to the limits in order to solve the crimes. Meanwhile, an old espionage case called Red Vine keeps calling her back into the fold. While Lina struggles to balance her new role as a single mother and the complex counterintelligence puzzles she is so adept at solving, Greenfield’s shadowy dangers creep closer to her own home.
The Wonder Test is a searing view of a culture that puts the well-being of children at risk for advancement and prestige, and a captivating story of the lengths a mother will go for her son.
Critics Review
“Gripping, frightening, swift as a bullet. The last hundred pages could give you whiplash.”
“Captures the darker aspects of being the extremely privileged cyber capital of the world.”
“A moving exploration of motherhood and money, danger and deception, privilege and pretense.”
“Fast-paced and smart.”
“Richmond crafts a satisfying ending…[with] gifted storytelling and Lina’s compelling self-discovery.”
“[A] sharply written, subtly satirical thriller.”
“Narrator Therese Plummer leads listeners through a twisted thriller… Plummer portrays Lina as a combination of serious FBI agent and concerned mother. Her well-performed narration keeps the listener engaged from the beginning to the truly surprising conclusion.”
“The overlay of international spy craft on suburban California…is surprisingly effective. Richmond also has fun by including a question from the Wonder Test at the beginning of each chapter, emphasizing the ridiculously competitive world of affluent high schools.”
“A two-in-one winner: a gripping thriller set in a Stepford-esque California suburb and a story of surviving loss and building family bonds. With a realistic protagonist, well-described setting, and an uber-creepy villain.”
“The plot twists kept me riveted until the small hours of the morning.”
More from the same
Narrator
About xigxag
Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.
Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.
Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.