The Engine of Survival: A Charles Edmo Murder Mystery

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Imaginea future when human genetic engineering has become a dominant part of thehealthcare industry across the globe. Imagine a time when wealthy parents canfreely engineer their offspring; and raise children who are smarter, healthier,and physically stronger than their less fortunate peers. Imagine the prospect of adults with sufficientresources purchasing a variety of genetic enhancements at their local medicalclinic: higher intelligence, nightvision, acute hearing, harder bones, stronger muscles, and countless otherimprovements.

The Engine of Survivalpredicts what this future world might look like. Using a murder mystery format,the novel examines several ethical issues including the deeper theme of justexactly how ‘human’ do we wish to remain. The book tells a fast-paced, ‘whodone it’ story, while serving up a healthy dose of current science. Four maincharacters representing differing segments of this imagined world tell thestory. The Engine of Survival openswith the death of Quinn Conner. He is the world’s first and most famousdesigner-baby. In his early twenties when he died, Quinn was the son of HawkeConner, CEO of Genetic Services International and among the world’s richestpersons. What follows is a high-profile murder investigation. The protagonist,Charlie Edmo, is an FBI agent and a trained geneticist. Charlie and his teamjoin forces with Marion Harper from the CDC. Together they infiltrate the blackmarket for human genetic enhancements, travel to the backcountry of Idaho tofind a disgraced scientist and confront a genetically enhanced madman. Charlie and his team uncover the truth, butthere is a high price to pay for their successes.