UNCERTAIN HARVEST

A journalist becomes embroiled in a deadly coverup in this debut eco-thriller.

While attending a global sustainability conference in the Austrian Alps, business reporter Ed Dekker experiences several unexpected bits of intrigue. The first is meeting Dr. Aisling O’Keefe, a witty and alluring entomologist who literally saves Ed’s life after he takes a spill on the ski slopes. The second is being attacked by unknown assailants in his hotel room, having his laptop stolen, and getting knocked unconscious. The third is learning that Naturtek, an agrochemical company, has developed terminator seeds: disease-resistant breeds of common crops that die after one season. These seeds poison the bees that pollinate the plants, causing hive populations to collapse and creating huge problems up the food chain. Naturtek plans to bring the product to market anyway—it is already too deeply invested—and the company’s scientist who agrees to help Ed bring the story to light is murdered to keep him quiet. Ed finds himself at the center of a crisis that will take him from Austria to Mexico, investigating murders while trying not to become a victim. For help, he must rely on his brother, retired Special Forces officer Bart, and the beautiful Aisling, who may not be exactly who Ed thinks she is. Simpson garnishes the narrative with deep discussions of the technologies that are changing the face of agriculture and the natural world, lending a didactic dimension to the novel. At the same time, he proves himself a capable storyteller, imbuing each scene with understated tension: “Ed pulled a folded stack of junk from the slot in his mailbox—supermarket circulars, fast food flyers, a package delivery notice. That last was interesting. No return address but a St. Louis point of origin. Dumping the rubbish in a bin, he climbed up to his apartment long enough to leave his suitcase, then headed down the block.” The dialogue is sometimes a touch too banter-y, and there are moments when the pacing lags, but the characters are well developed and the book is never boring. Readers will come to the end feeling as though they have learned quite a bit more than they expected to from a thriller.

A rich and informed thriller set in the world of agribusiness and ecosystem collapse.