Genesis

Genesis is Robin Cook's 37th medical mystery novel. This particular novel delves into the use of commercial ancestry DNA kits to determine the paternity of a fetus in a murdered mother. Yes. It can be done. All those men who kill their pregnant wives and girlfriends are in for a good shock!

The inside cover blurb summarizes the book as follows:  "When the body of twenty-eight-year-old social worker Kera Jacobsen shows up on Chief New York City Medical Examiner Laurie Montgomery's autopsy table, at first it appears she was the victim of a tragic yet routine drug overdose. But for Laurie and her new pathology resident, the brilliant but enigmatic Dr. Aria Nichols, little things aren't adding up. Kara's family and friends swear she never touched drugs. Administrators from the hospital where Kera worked are insisting the case be shrouded in silence. And although Kera was ten weeks pregnant, nobody seems to know who the father was - or whether he holds the key to Kera's final moments alive.

As a medical emergency temporarily sidelines Laurie, impulsive Aria turns to a controversial new technique: using genealogical DNA databases to track down those who don't want to be found. Collaborating with experts at a start-up ancestry website, she plans to trace the fetus's DNA back to likely male relatives in the Hope's of identifying the mystery father. But when Kera's closest friend and fellow social  worker is murdered, the need for answers becomes even more urgent. Because someone out there clearly doesn't want Kera's secrets to come to light. . . and I'd Aria gets any nearer the truth, she and Laurie might find themselves a killer's next targets."

Wow! This thriller was spectacular. Robin Cook always writes a good book but he hasn't written anything this great in awhile. I thought perhaps my excitement was due to the thrill at now being scientifically able to catch all those men who kill their girlfriends because they become pregnant. It was much more than that though. Many pages were spent with characters describing the genealogical DNA process in layman's terms. I found that to be intriguing. The author had more unexpected twists and turns to surprise the reader than he has used in more recent books. The awkwardness between the two main characters, Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, in recent books was absent. A new, obnoxious character was introduced to keep the characters fresh. Cook has written a perfect thriller in Genesis!

Way over 5 out of 5 stars.