Sequence
By Lori Andrews
(St. Martin's Minotaur, Hardcover, 9780312352707, 288pp.)
Publication Date: June 13, 2006
Categories: Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths
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Dr. Alexandra Blake has the job of a lifetime. As a cutting-edge geneticist at AFIP---the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C.---Alex is charged with using her research into the genetics of viruses to find a vaccine against bioterrorism. The AFIP contains the pathology lab for the Department of Defense, manages the DOD blood bank, directs research like Alex’s, and fosters the development of inventions to help the nation’s armed forces. But the institute’s new director, James Wiatt, wants to turn the AFIP into a mini FBI by directing its resources toward crime solving---an effort to rival the Bureau’s forensic department. When a series of related murders falls under his jurisdiction, he gets his chance to prove the AFIP can compete with the Bureau.
Alex is forced to put her research on hold so she can cover forensics on the case, which involves a killer who murders women near military bases across the country and then tattoos their corpses. At first she resents being distracted from her lab work, but as she becomes immersed in the case, studying the forensic evidence, viewing the crime scenes, and piecing together the victims’ last moments, Alex resolves to catch the killer. She knows it’s only a matter of time before he leaves some evidence for Alex to trace back to him. But when another murder strikes closer to home for Alex and her colleagues---and her boyfriend, a congressman from Texas---it will take more than forensic science to keep them safe.
With its spellbinding mix of suspense, forensics, and romance, Lori Andrews’s debut novel signals the arrival of a powerful new writer on the crime fiction shelf.
Lori Andrews is a nationally renowned expert on law and genetics, called in by governments and professional groups ranging from the emirate of Dubai to the French National Assembly, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the College of American Pathologists. When the federal government undertook the $3 billion Human Genome Project, she was chosen to chair the federal advisory committee dealing with the legal, ethical, and social implications of the project. Andrews is a tenured professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law and directs the Institute for Science, Law and Technology at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The National Law Journal listed her one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America. The author of ten acclaimed nonfiction titles, including Body Bazaar and The Clone Age, this is her first novel. She lives in Chicago. Visit her online at www.loriandrews.com.
Advance Praise for Sequence
“Sequence is a marvelous, whip-smart thriller with a twist---a double helix sort of twist, that is. In Alexandra Blake, a brilliant and resolute D.C. geneticist with a taste for old cars and major commitment issues, Andrews has given us a protagonist who already feels like an old friend. Here’s hoping she’s with us for a long, long time.”
---Dylan Schaffer, author of the award-winning Misdemeanor Man mysteries
“Sequence is a great combination of interesting science and likable characters.”
---Elizabeth Becka, author of Trace Evidence “Sequence is fast-paced and fascinating, the perfect combination of modern genetics and a beguiling investigator who traces her lineage right back to Sam Spade. You can’t ask for anything more: Sequence is fun and important, too.”
---Craig Nova, author of Cruisers
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