Sunday, June 16, 2013

Not Quite a Dog

The Caline Conspiracy by M.H. Mead

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Summary: Calines are the perfect pets. Smarter than border collies, playful as otters, elegant as cats, calines have been genetically engineered to be everything a pet owner could want.

Except that they might kill you one day.

The world is shocked when geneticist Ivan Frithke is murdered, and his own pet caline, Madeline, is the prime suspect. Is this an isolated case, a flaw in the calines’ design, or something more? The widow doesn’t believe her darling could kill, and hires PI Aidra Scott to prove Madeline’s innocence.

Aidra wants nothing to do with animals—genetically engineered perfection or not. Losing her beloved Doberman was so painful that she’s sworn off pet ownership forever. But the more she investigates, the more Aidra becomes convinced an innocent animal is being framed, and murder is only the beginning of the conspiracy.

Review: A detective story with murder, conspiracy, and genetic engineering.

I normally wouldn't read mysteries. I can't remember the last time I read one. The Caline Conspiracy is a mystery novel, but at heart, it is a science fiction novel. Genetic engineering plays a huge role in this book. Genetic engineering is no longer performed on humans, at least in the United States, legally anyways, because a tragedy occurred. Very little good comes from playing god. Genetic engineering on animals is still ok, which shows how animals are considered less important than humans.

I kept trying to picture calines in my head, but it didn't work too well (even with the caline on the cover). I can only imagine what sort of creatures could be created with genetic engineering. It's scary yet thrilling. As much as Aidra says she cares about her son, I don't see much evidence of that to be honest. Though this book was on the short side, the action started early and built throughout the novel. The ending came rather quickly and was something of a letdown. I wanted to see the reactions of people to Aidra's discovery. I would read another book with Aidra.

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this to those that enjoy mysteries or science fiction.

No comments:

Post a Comment