The Enclave is the sixth novel award-winning author Karen Hancock has written. It’s a stand-alone science fiction thriller about a woman named Lacey McHenry who gets her dream job working at a prestigious longevity institute, little knowing why she was the lucky one to get hired. Oddball genetics researcher Cameron Reinhardt tells her she should get out while she can, but Lacey sees nothing to make her nervous. Not that nervous, anyway. Even when she’s accosted in a late-night lab break-in that everyone says she just imagined, she is more intrigued than paranoid. Why would the security officials cover it up? And then there’s the personal (very personal) attention by the institute’s director. He’s suave, and just being in his presence makes all her worries recede. But they shouldn’t.
Meanwhile Reinhard is hearing voices that shunt him deep into flashbacks of his military term in Afghanistan. Something happened there that he was absolutely determined to forget, but now he is reliving the nightmares. When his memory returns, the present realities seem far worse than his suspicions had.
Although The Enclave is being marketed as a speculative thriller, the intrigue level was within my comfort zone. I very much enjoyed this novel. Check out what other bloggers have to say:
Dona Watson, Brandon Barr, Jennifer Bogart , Keanan Brand, Grace Bridges, Canadianladybug, Melissa Carswell, Amy Cruson, CSFF Blog Tour, Stacey Dale, D. G. D. Davidson, Janey DeMeo, Jeff Draper, Emmalyn Edwards, April Erwin, Karina Fabian, Beth Goddard , Todd Michael Greene, Heather R. Hunt, Becky Jesse, Cris Jesse, Julie, Carol Keen, Krystine Kercher, Dawn King, Mike Lynch, Melissa Meeks, Rebecca LuElla Miller, Mirtika, Eve Nielsen, Nissa, John W. Otte, Steve Rice, Crista Richey, James Somers, Speculative Faith, Stephanie, Rachel Starr Thomson, Steve Trower, Fred Warren, Elizabeth Williams
I enjoyed this book more than I expected. The opening paragraphs didn’t really grab me, but I do enjoy speculative fiction and suspense or thrillers, so I gave it a couple chapters, and I’m glad I did. Hancock brought up some relevant and intriguing topics, too, in the story, which I was glad to see a writer tackle.
Hi Valerie! Thanks for taking the time to read The Enclave and post a review. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate your kind words!
The intrigue level in this post was pretty good, too :).
Val, what a great summary. I agree with Rachel. You did a wonderful job setting up the story. If I hadn’t read the book already, I know I’m be chomping at the bit to get a copy.
Becky