Box Nine

A stunningly original nightmare novel about the impact of a new synthetic drug — Lingo — on the depressed New England factory town of Quinsigamond, where it was secretly developed. Besides offering a potent high, Lingo also delivers a shot to the brain cells governing lingusitic comprehension and verbal skill. Until murderous rages and babbling insanity take over, this mind-expanding feature makes the drug dangerously seductive to the unusually literate cops, scientists and dope dealers competing to find its distribution source.