This book is strongly reminiscent of the Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. That is not a bad thing. But where Crichton wrote realistic medical mysteries, this one tiptoes into the sci-fi genre. That surprised me as Child is one of Jett’s favorite authors (I stole this book from her mini-library) and I have never seen her read a sci-fi book before.
You have to be willing to believe in aliens to appreciate this book. I don’t believe in aliens – at least not the type that are central to this book – and I have a hard time swallowing some highly improbable engineering feats that are also crucial to this plot – like having a 12-story research facility operating 10,000 feet underwater in the Atlantic. An unpressurized facility. I need to find the engineers that were able to built this structure. They can probably figure out a way to make my toilet stop leaking.
The plot? Without giving away more than I already have, I will tell you that the protagonist, Dr Peter Crane, is summoned to this super-secret underwater facility to diagnose a multitude of mysterious illnesses in the hundreds of people working there. As usual, there is tension at the top between the three people running the operation: an admiral who ostensibly is running the whole operation, a general who is focused on the national security aspects and a scientist who is overseeing the scientific research. And, just to stir the pot, add in a saboteur who is intent on destroying the whole operation.
If you can swallow the aliens and the improbable engineering, you might very well enjoy this book. Child is a skilled author. The prose is lively and entertaining and the plot, though ridiculous, is engrossing. On balance, the entertainment value wins out.
8 out of 10.