CONFINED SPACE

About the Book

In the year 2263, Dr. Courtney Challenger and her small team of experts are on the Moon Base, recovering from their last deployment, where errors resulted in the death of twenty-five workers and astronauts, one of whom was Courtney’s fiancé. Despite the divided state of the team and Courtney’s grief, their employer deploys them to Mars to investigate an underground explosion that killed sixteen workers at an isolated Beryllium mine.

Like all of their prior investigations of mine and industrial safety accidents in space, the team expects a conventional explanation to the incident. Instead, they encounter a hostile alien life form that can kill and then create clones of other life forms, including humans. The alien life form’s ability to clone or mimic humans brings suspicion, jealousy, and terror, as no one at their isolated facility can be sure of who is who.

Time is running out as the alien life forms seek to escape from the Beryllium mine. Only Courtney and her team can prevent them from doing so and infecting the general population on Earth. Along the way, Courtney will need to marshal every ounce of strength to overcome her grief, re-engage in her life, and properly manage the investigation to stop this existential threat.

About the Author

Jonathan L. Snare is currently serving as a Commissioner on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent agency created by Congress to adjudicate OSHA contested citations involving workplace safety and health compliance. Snare was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to that role in October 2025. Snare also served in several roles at the U.S. Labor Department between 2003-2009, and in 2025, including Acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA and Deputy Assistant Secretary, as well as Deputy Solicitor of Labor and Acting Solicitor of Labor. Snare has been working in the area of workplace safety and health since the time of his service at the Labor Department, and he developed the idea behind CONFINED SPACE from that time, where he took part in investigating mine explosions on multidisciplinary teams like the one Dr. Challenger leads in the novel. Prior to joining the Labor Department in 2003, he was in private law practice in Dallas, Texas. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Snare graduated from the University of Virginia and obtained a law degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law.