Robert B. Lowe

Several decades ago, one of my college professors told my class that the world cannot afford to find a cure for cancer. It would undermine not just the US economy but the entire world economy. He went on to discuss things such as how many people are employed because of cancer... doctors, nurses, technicians, hospital personnel (even the maids, cafeteria workers and admission clerks), insurance company personnel, pharmacists (and their clerks, buyers, warehouse and delivery people), drug show more company personnel, researchers, grant writers and other research fund-seekers, workers in hotels, taxis and airlines who deliver loved ones to where they need to be and all the people who design, build, lease/sell and maintain the health facilities, just to name a few. If there were no cancer, he told us, a huge percentage of our workforce would be unemployed. And don't forget the loss in tax revenue from all of these people and companies who are no longer earning taxable money. I didn't know if I believed him then. But years later I still mull over the premise and have to confess that I have, indeed, come to believe him.

This wonderfully engaging book by Robert B. Lowe butts up in a small way against this issue. Just how far will Big Pharma go to prevent a possible cure for cancer from reaching the marketplace for financial reasons alone? Throw a possible child abduction, some murders, a crazy person, chase scenes, and a dying grandmother into the mix and you have a totally engaging book on your hands.

In addition to the plot itself, I enjoyed the way the book told the story from multiple viewpoints. That added a lot of depth. A lot of it was from Enzo Lee's perspective (this is the third book in the Enzo Lee series although the only one I've read). But we also experienced events through various law enforcement officials, through the Big Pharma fellows, through the researcher who developed the drug in question, through Megan, the 10-year-old leukemia survivor and others. And I appreciated that I related so well to the various characters. I loved the good guys. I hissed at the bad guys. And I wondered how I would have acted if I were in the different character's shoes.

I highly recommend this book and give it a hearty five stars. And now I'm off to purchase and read the other Enzo Lee books!! show less

Mr Lowe has made the transition from journalist to author with great aplomb. His first book delivers the reader a twisted tale of megalomania, scientific fraud, international skullduggery, greed, traitorous spies, sex and violence all of which combine to present a scenario that is not beyond the realms of possibility in the not too distant future.
The flawed hero, the unwittingly involved heroine, the eccentric scientist, the morally bankrupt, the elderly mentor - the range of characters show more made for a skillfully multi-layered story that was not finally resolved until the last couple of pages.
Be assured that I, for one, will continue to avoid GM foods into the future!

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing's Members Giveaway programme. show less

I received a free copy of this e-book through the Early Reviewers program, and was prepared to not like it much but try anyway. My usual taste in mysteries runs toward British detectives and away from thrillers.

However, this book is solidly written, amazingly well plotted (quite a few plot-threads that are tied together quite skillfully), and after a few chapters it really had me hooked. The core conflict of the story, underlying a kidnapped kid, a cop trying to do the right thing, and a show more disgruntled and disenfranchised genius medical researcher starting to go dotty, is that there is a new vaccine against cancer; the kidnapped kid is living proof it has worked, and the rest of the world with any financial stake in medicine doesn't want the secret to get out. As I was reading the book, I noticed (serendipity) two stories on the 2nd and 3rd pages of major newspapers about various cancer vaccines that are just now being studied -- makes this book SO relevant, and even more interesting than it already was. The author has done his research well, and has used cutting-edge medicine as part of a very compelling and fascinating drama.

So yes, I liked this book tremendously and would very likely read another book from this author. The book has a fine excess of plots, characters, locations, and conflicts, and all are handled very well and provide a good and infinitely interesting read for anyone who likes thrillers (or mysteries) or stories that have solid contemporary interest. show less

Alright, I admit this will probably never be regarded as classic literature. But it is a quick paced, action adventure, and I really like Enzo Lee, who is the main character. This is the second book by Lowe that I have read featuring his beleaguered newspaperman, Lee. Lowe does a wonderful job of characterization and the plot and antagonists have been ripped from the front page of public debate. Take a conservative, evangelical church, add a gay candidate for the office of governor of show more California, then mix in a militant former Ranger, and our reluctant investigative reporter has a mystery on his hands, as well as front page news. What makes Lee such a wonderful character is that he is not really special in the sense of Bond or Bourne, but he is smart and compassionate, and though he tries not to, he genuinely cares about others. In my humble opinion, it is Lee that makes Lowe's books so memorable. His plots and settings are imaginative and contemporary to modern life, but in the end it is Lee that makes the books both readable and enjoyable. show less