What drew me to this novel was the contemporary theme which was so vividly described, I continued to consider it, once the novel ended.
Davis Moore is a fertility doctor in Chicago. His specialty is reproductive cloning.
His daughter is raped and murdered and the killer escapes. When Moore picks up his daughter's belongings from the police, he obtains a sample of the killer's DNA. With no other way to catch his daughter's killer, he uses that DNA to clone a child that will grow up and be the exact replica of the killer.
In a parallel story, we observe the actions of Mickey the Gerund, who is a religious fanatic and a member of the group, "The Hands of God." He feels that he is part of God's army and his mission is to destroy fertility clinics and the doctors running them.
Davis is shot outside his own clinic and taken to the emergency room but at lease he survives, unlike his twelve-year-old daughter, Anna Katherine.
The novel proceeds at a leisurely pace which allows the suspense to build. It spans many years as the child Moore cloned is born. Justin Finn grows up and we observe his actions and Moore's observations of the child which become so infringing to Justin's parents that they take legal action to keep him away.
Meanwhile, the killing of doctors who operate fertility clinics continues and the newspapers dub the killer Byron Bonavarti.
The author provides information about the moral and ethical problems with cloning. Our interest increases as Justin turns various ages and develops an interest in mass killings in general and Byron Bonavarti, in particular.
In haunting prose, Justin seems to become more like his cloned father and we wonder if Davis Moore has cloned another mass murderer.
There are some excellent surprises and twists along the way and the author has delivered a novel which questions good against evil while we wonder which side will be victorious.
Davis Moore is a fertility doctor in Chicago. His specialty is reproductive cloning.
His daughter is raped and murdered and the killer escapes. When Moore picks up his daughter's belongings from the police, he obtains a sample of the killer's DNA. With no other way to catch his daughter's killer, he uses that DNA to clone a child that will grow up and be the exact replica of the killer.
In a parallel story, we observe the actions of Mickey the Gerund, who is a religious fanatic and a member of the group, "The Hands of God." He feels that he is part of God's army and his mission is to destroy fertility clinics and the doctors running them.
Davis is shot outside his own clinic and taken to the emergency room but at lease he survives, unlike his twelve-year-old daughter, Anna Katherine.
The novel proceeds at a leisurely pace which allows the suspense to build. It spans many years as the child Moore cloned is born. Justin Finn grows up and we observe his actions and Moore's observations of the child which become so infringing to Justin's parents that they take legal action to keep him away.
Meanwhile, the killing of doctors who operate fertility clinics continues and the newspapers dub the killer Byron Bonavarti.
The author provides information about the moral and ethical problems with cloning. Our interest increases as Justin turns various ages and develops an interest in mass killings in general and Byron Bonavarti, in particular.
In haunting prose, Justin seems to become more like his cloned father and we wonder if Davis Moore has cloned another mass murderer.
There are some excellent surprises and twists along the way and the author has delivered a novel which questions good against evil while we wonder which side will be victorious.
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4 comments:
Almost scary how close this could be to coming true.
This is a little too creepy for me!!
Your review is well written and descriptive.
Maybe that's why it's a little too creepy for me!
Patricia
P.S. Spelling error in your Whitman quote: 'behing' should be 'behind'. Although I kind of like the word 'behing'..... what could it mean....?
Heather, Yes it is a scary thought.
Patricia, good catch, thanks for the info. All corrected.
So if you clone a killer, will that person have the same instincts?? Something to ponder...
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