A thrilling jump into the deep end of the (gene) pool.
Gene therapy takes a deadly turn in Rogers’ medical thriller.
In this fourth installment of the author’s Mayfield-Napolitani thriller series, Joe Mayfield and his wife Louise “Weezy” Napolitani hope to land a new client for CyberSol, their cybersecurity company: the Swiss firm APX, a supplier of materials used in gene sequencing. APX recently acquired Gerontin Therapeutics, a start-up that developed a rapid infusion method that can help fix “bad genes in otherwise healthy people.” Former Gerontin scientist Ella Sonesgard, now an APX VP, tells Joe that former employee Daniel Manly and some of Gerontin’s intellectual property have gone missing. But when Joe and Weezy travel from their Bethesda office to meet with Ella in Boston, the cybersleuths are told she is unavailable; instead, company CEO Vic Neuchtermeier, whose shoulders “spoke to hours on the weight bench,” meets with the pair to close out the project, explaining that finding the missing employee and intellectual property is not a priority. However, as they have already surmised that Daniel is in Boston (and because Weezy’s family lives there), the couple remain in Bean Town. They learn from Weezy’s brother that a neighborhood friend, a congressman fighting higher drug prices, has died suddenly of a rare disease. About the same time, a U.S. senator collapsed and died, possibly as a result of recently received prophylactic gene therapy. When Ella is diagnosed with hemophilia, it appears gene therapy has been weaponized. Readers familiar with the series will enjoy this fast-paced entry; newcomers, however, may be puzzled when pieces of backstory are blurted out and wonder if the message-receiving aural implants and other futuristic gizmos in the story were explained thoroughly in previous books—their existence is assumed here. The characters’ relationships and dialogue—particularly between Joe and Weezy—are realistic, playful, and sexy. Humor snakes throughout the narrative, and the descriptions are inventive, such as the image of Weezy’s male relatives being “built like boxes with legs.” The book is topical, with large portions addressing gene therapy and climate change and its deniers, and the ending is killer.
A thrilling jump into the deep end of the (gene) pool.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781732226241
Page Count: 378
Publisher: Gotuit Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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