The Fold by Peter Clines

 Mike Erikson has been hiding his light under a bushel basket.  He was blessed with a extremely high IQ and a memory that has total recall of everything he sees, hears or reads.  But instead of using his intelligence in a top scientific job, he is happy to teach high school English and fly under the radar.

Then his best friend shows up.  He is in charge of top secret government projects and he says he needs someone he can trust to help him out.  A project out in New Mexico has the potential to change the world and the scientists there report groundbreaking successes.  But Mike's friend hears what's under their reports and feels like something is going on.  Mike would be the perfect person and is about to start summer vacation.

When Mike arrives he finds that the project is transportation and the scientists working on it have definitely made a breakthrough.  But Mike soon realizes that things are being hidden from him and there is indeed something else going on there.  Transportation of people and objects would indeed change the world but what is the secret being kept?

This is a new author for me.  Peter Clines hits the right balance giving both those with extensive scientific knowledge and those with just general knowledge interesting premises and understandable explanations of complex scientific concepts.  The main character, Mike, is an interesting one and the reader learns why he considers his memory and intelligence just as much of a burden as a gift.  This book is recommended for science fiction readers.