THE ENGINE OF SURVIVAL

An SF mystery series starter in which FBI agent Charlie Edmo must solve a high-profile case involving one of the first genetically engineered human beings.

It’s December 2050, and professor Charlie Edmo isn’t expecting to get a classroom visit from his FBI team members about a new case—especially one involving the death of scientist Quinn Conner, one of the most famous genetically engineered people in the country, if not the world. With help from his teammates, Jack Lee and Bradley Grant, Charlie must figure out who would want Quinn dead and what kind of secrets he was working on in his top-secret lab. But despite what Quinn’s wife, Ella Conner, says—that everyone loved her husband—it becomes clear that there was something shady going on in the genetics-research world and that at least one person hated Quinn enough to kill him—or felt the need to keep him quiet. Could it be that the wonders of genetic manipulation and modification aren’t the godsend that Quinn’s family’s company, Genetic Services International, has made it out to be? As Charlie and his team dig further, it may well be that Quinn’s won’t be the only death to make the news. Seiler pens a futuristic murder mystery with a science-fiction bent—one that’s heavy on the science. Genetic modification is the name of the game, and it’s clear the author put a lot of effort into researching the topic to make the tale feel as realistic and lifelike as possible. Fans of police-procedural novels will enjoy this work, as it follows the rigid guidelines of witness interviews and evidence gathering and takes very few liberties when it comes to proper investigation techniques. Charlie is obviously the standout character, and Seiler gives him a detailed backstory, although some of the background exposition feels a bit out of place amid the death of Quinn and the start of the investigation. That said, the author does a fair job of balancing character development with the slow unraveling of the mystery over the course of the novel.

An often engaging future murder case with a well-rounded protagonist.