The Summer Guests (The Martini Club, #2)

by Tess Gerritsen

She had no idea how a writer’s mind worked, but she imagined it was like a dozen different voices shouting in your head, demanding you tell their story their way. It seemed like a form of madness.

What was it about growing older that turned you into a bird-watcher and made you invest in expensive optical equipment?

the more fiercely you loved someone, the deeper the pain when you lost them.

from the 1950s to the 1970s. It was during the Cold War, and we were in a weapons race against the Russians. By ‘weapons,’ I’m talking about more than just guns and bombs. We were also trying to master mind control. Was there a way to manipulate the human brain through drugs or hypnosis to make enemy spies give up their secrets? Or to help our own agents sharpen their extrasensory abilities?” “What do you mean by ‘extrasensory’?” “Exactly what it sounds like. ESP. Telekinesis. Clairvoyance. We knew the Russians were deep in such research, and we didn’t want to be left behind.