The Virtual Suicide Machine — Scott L. Miller

Clinical social worker Mitch Adams receives an urgent plea to save his mentor, psychologist Tony Martin...from himself. Tony's obsession to develop a Virtual Reality machine that prevents suicides hits a roadblock--the technology doesn't exist. Desperate for help in building his machine, Tony signs a contract with a local engineering firm whose bombastic Jewish leader commands twelve "apostles," among them a beautiful and beguiling half-Arab female engineer named Danielle Naila. One night Tony secretly trials the machine on himself and it works--only he's not alone. Drugged, injured, his life's work gone, and thrown out of his home by his wife, Tony turns to his best friend Mitch to help recover the stolen machine. Danny may or may not be the culprit, but who is her master and what is their ultimate plan? Dead bodies begin showing up in the machine's wake days before Pope Francis is to visit the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. Mitch dives into the world of corporate espionage and kidnapping as he hunts Danny, learns the machine's frightening power, and deduces what Danny is prepared to do to achieve her ingenious plan. Elusive and deadly, she's one step ahead of everyone and another short step away from starting a world war; Mitch must think faster on his feet than ever before to save the lives of those he loves and prevent a tragedy with global ramifications. The novel is part-thriller, part-crime/suspense, part-detective story and will appeal to those interested in virtual reality, the functions and wonders of the human brain, current events such as xenophobia and Middle East--U.S. relations, neuro-biology, social work, and psychology. Like the first two novels in the Mitch Adams series, Interrogation and Counterfeit, the Virtual Suicide Machine takes place in present-day St. Louis, Missouri.