Genesis

Robin Cook

12 December 2019
9781529019117
400 pages

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Robin Cook takes on the ripped-from-the-headlines topic of using DNA tracking to catch a killer in Genesis, an unforgettable medical thriller.

When the body of social worker Kera Jacobsen shows up on Chief Medical Examiner Laurie Montgomery’s autopsy table, it appears at first that she was the victim of a tragic drug overdose. But for Laurie and her new pathology resident, the brilliant but outspoken Dr. Aria Nichols, further investigation reveals an alarming discovery. The young woman was ten weeks pregnant when she died, but nobody seems to know who the father was – or whether he holds the key to Kera’s final moments alive.

While Laurie faces a personal crisis with the support of her husband, forensic pathologist Jack Stapleton, the impulsive Aria investigates a controversial new technique to progress the case: using DNA databases to track down those who don’t want to be found. Working with experts at a genealogy website based in New York, she plans to trace the foetus’s DNA in the hopes of identifying the mystery father.

After Kera’s closest friend is found murdered days later, the need for answers becomes critical. Because someone out
there clearly doesn’t want Kera’s secrets to come to light . . . and if Aria gets any closer to the truth, she and Laurie face becoming targets for a ruthless killer.

Forensic pathologists and doctors-turned-detectives do battle against epidemics, lethal illness and drug-related deaths, the causes of which are far from natural . . . You’ll find yourself completely hooked
Likeable heroes, a compelling medical mystery and growing suspense – the result is a highly entertaining read. Commercial fiction, at its best, is pure entertainment. But Cook, like Michael Crichton, offers readers a smart dissection of contemporary issues that affect us all
Robin Cook virtually invented the medical thriller in the 1970s with Coma