The God Gene

Dr. Laura Fanning, a New York City medical examiner, and her sidekick, Rick Hayden, go in search of Rick’s brother, Keith Somers, in Wilson’s exciting sequel to 2016’s Panacea. An NYU zoologist, Keith vanished after mapping the genome of an exotic monkey, a creature he killed before destroying all evidence from his research center. As Laura and Rick begin to piece together the fragments of Keith’s life, they realize that he may have contrived his own disappearance. Their quest takes them to Mozambique, where the strange monkeys known as dapis may hold the key to a revelation more stunning than the missing link. Standing in their way are the poacher Amaury Laffite and entrepreneur Marten Jeukens, an Afrikaner who wishes to unleash a dark plan for the dapis to save humankind. Looming over the twisting plot is the enigma of ICE, the “intrusive cosmic entities” that may connect this series with Wilson’s Repairman Jack books. Tight writing keeps this science adventure tale churning with the pace of James Rollins toward a conclusion worthy of Michael Crichton. [em]Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House. (Jan.) [/em]