THE LAST ECHO

In Crouch’s medical thriller, danger lurks on the fringes of a post-pandemic world.

In the opening of this third installation of the Genethic Legacy series, Dr. Avicenna “Avit” Arceneaux, a clone with the special ability to heal the deathly ill, is in Atlanta’s Disease Control Center guarding “two cribs with a dozen sleeping children.” He’s using his special ability to help rebuild civilization after a deadly pandemic killed 80% of humanity. When an explosive drone crashes into the center, shattering the fragile peace he’s helped create, Avit must confront this new threat while still grieving the death of his clone wife, Lazare. Meanwhile, his friends Brielle, Mathieu, and Elise live at a peaceful base called Scorpion Hollow, where a mysterious hooded figure threatens to attack the base’s children. Back at the DCC, Avit uses his healing powers to revive the lone surviving assailant from the drone crash, Sera Havlik, hoping she can reveal who orchestrated the assault. While all this is happening, Six, Avit’s wayward clone, is acting as Avit’s “public face,” but he’s kidnapped after a conference to help solve the post-pandemic problem of rebuilding humanity with clone DNA. Desperate for answers, Brielle, Mathieu, and Eliseare recruited to the DCC to join Avit and try to understand who’s behind the attacks. Crouch’s third book in the series opens at a breakneck speed, with a pacy three-strand narrative structure that offers intrigue and drama. This book features the well-established characters from the previous two novels, and readers will enjoy the new challenges the shadowy violence offers in this political, ethical thriller. Crouch handles her troubled hero well, giving Avit time to display a darker side during his difficult time processing grief and juggling the collective weight of the people whose lives depend on him: “It’s not easy being responsible… That’s something I have learned the past few years.”

A fast-paced medical thriller that effortlessly balances character growth and tension.