Customer Reviews

The Genesis Code (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Oh boy...Case really goes all out in his books to make you think, "Omigosh...what IF this really happened?" In "The Genesis Code," it's a real spellbinder in that it proposes just how far do we go with genetic engineering, or cloning? It opens in a small village in Italy where a priest practically has a stroke in hearing an old doctor's confession. What possibly could it have been? Then the priest is off to Rome to secure a meeting with a cardinal to relate this horrifying unimaginable sin.
Enter Joe Lassiter, a well to do private investigating enterpreneur, who gets involved with all this when his sister and her young son are savagely murdered and then burned to a crisp in their home. Lassiter's trail leads him all over the globe, ultimately to a fertility clinic (or is it?) in Italy. The book, like other Case novels, opens with this jarring prologue and then meticulously details lots of technical information, mysterious men, secrets, secrets and more secrets, and a look at a very unusual religious sect, determined to bring the Catholic church back to its days of Latin masses, and to completely ignore the Vatican II council.
It moves well, though, and I agree that Lassister takes a long time to figure out what's going on. However, by the end, it all makes sense and resolves with a disturbing scene with a young boy and a fish bowl. As in all of Case's works, however, the main flaw is that his climaxes seem to zoom in and then poof, it's over...but even so, my friends, it's a great read.
RECOMMENDED.

John Case provides an excellent mixture of suspense and intrigue in this biomedical thriller. Spining an intricate web that connects science, medicine, religion, and murder, he guides the reader through a thrilling maze of characters, questions and secret agendas that lead to a surprising conclusion.

The first few chapters set the stage as an old village doctor's confession to the parish priest sets in motion a deadly chain of events. Case leaves the reader to wonder what was so disturbing about the doctor's confession, dropping clues along the way to tease the readers curiosity. Each clue, like a piece of a puzzle allows the reader to get a clearer picture of the answer....as long as the reader can put the pieces together! Yet, it is not until the final chapter that the pieces finally come together to provide the staggering answer to the puzzle.

Case's knowledge of investigation provides a vibrant touch of reality to the novel, which is supplemented with thorough knowledge of religion and science. The book is also packed with action, intrigue and suspense. As a result, the book is able to raise interesting questions about science, religion, and ethics while giving the reader an adventure of a thrill ride. It is almost like a mixture of Jurassic Park, James Bond, and religion.

As a theologian, I am considering using it as a case text whenever I teach a class in science and religion. Definetely a must read.

Please read the headline again! If it does not deter you from looking at reviews, GO BACK, and READ IT AGAIN! These reviews are "Spoilers"...do not expose yourself to them BEFORE you get a copy of this STUNNING BOOK and read it for yourself.

AGAIN....the most of the reviews here are "SPOILERS" for reading the book yourself....DON'T ROB YOURSELF OF THE HEART-THROBBING SUSPENSE of reading this book yourself.

I devoured it in about 4 hours, and when I finished I felt like "My God, what am I going to read now?" And I have a corner of my living room with 5 stacks up beyond my waist to read, but nothing "appealed" to me after reading this...it's like I needed another "adrenalin fix" and none of my books looked like they contained one!

TRUST ME, BUY a COPY, and READ IT, then read these reviews!!!

You're gonna LOVE THIS BOOK! ~operabruin

"The Genesis Code" opens in a quiet Italian village with the local parish priest hearing confessions. Ministering to his flock with a jaded stultifying boredom born out of years of listening to the same sins repeated and confessed over and over again, the priest's life is suddenly shattered when he hears a confession so shocking that he knows it will reach to the very roots of the Roman Catholic religion.

Despite his lowly status in the political heirarchy of the church, Father Azetti instinctively understands that this problem can be dealt with only by the Vatican's Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Ominously, the reader is told that the CDF - as it is popularly known - is responsible for the investigation of heresy and threats to the faith.

Some months later, in Washington DC, Joe Lassiter, a former police detective and now CEO of one of the largest private investigation agencies in the world, is shattered to hear that his sister and young nephew have died in a fire in their home. The news is made even more stunning when an autopsy determines that they had been murdered before the fire which was, in fact, the work of an arsonist. Determined to discover the reasons for this heartless brutal murder, Lassiter uncovers a series of similar crimes and a conspiracy that takes him on an international chase and slowly but surely leads him to a medical clinic located in a certain small Italian village.

Science vs right-wing religion? Hmmm ... haven't we heard that somewhere before? While Case's basic theme certainly has the flavour of a Da Vinci Code novel, readers will be pleased to learn that's where the resemblance ends. "The Genesis Code" is a first rate thriller and an excellent police procedural. The plot line, while being reasonably predictable as the climax approaches, is nevertheless exciting and actually quite thought-provoking. Anyone who enjoys a good thriller, as I do, will be unable to avoid some fast-paced page turning. The dialogue is quite extraordinary and stands head and shoulders above the competition. It is absolutely razor sharp and I believe outshines virtually any novel that I've read in any genre for clarity, flow and an absolutely natural and realistic sound that is appropriate to every circumstance in the story.

And that ending little twist in the final sentence ... positively brilliant! Readers will ponder that one for a long time after they've closed the book.

Highly recommended.

I just finished reading this book and WOW! It was great! I really had trouble putting it down. The plot was very convincing and I just loved the ending. There was a surprise on every page including the last page. As a writer, the two things I was most impressed with (in addition to the wonderful plot) was how Case created such a sense of place - I really felt like I was there in every scene and I could really visualize the space. I also thought he did such a good job of nailing the dialogue - each character sounded different, one could imagine someone speaking English as a second language, yet it was not difficult to read. I thought the information about the relics in the Catholic church was especially interesting and also, all the technical cloning stuff made me realize that this entire plot is not so far-fetched. It would make a great movie.

I read this book about 5-6 years ago and still remember it well. It came out just in time to dovetail nicely into events of our time - cloning, genetics, in vitro fertilization for 40-50 year old women, etc. While I figured out the twist in the book by about page 70, the plot was good enough to keep me engaged. While I've read others criticize the intelligence of the lead detective, I disagree. The reader has an easier time figuring out the case primarily due to the fact that Case flips back and forth to events in Rome for an omniscient point-of-view. It's a good, topical read and made me a John Case fan.

I can not believe that this book gets the reviews that it does. It is terrible. I finished reading it for the same reason that I might look at a traffic accident, morbid fascination. I could not believe that someone who made themselves rich with their investigative abilities would forget for much of the book that they possessed a letter that explained everything. Or the investigator that does not notice the warning signs and is beaten to a pulp in his own hotel room. It is terribly frustrating when the reader is constantly a quantum leap ahead of the hero. Also, although the idea is a very good one, the science is all but missing. A part of one chapter late in the book is all that is devoted to the science and you will have guessed what is going on long, long before anyone in the book has a clue. Complete with hokey, easy ending. I could go on and on and on.... Oh well, maybe next time.

If you consider yourself a reader of serious, well-written, well-structured and meaningful novels then avoid this book like the plaugue. The interesting subject matter could have been handled so much better. Cardboard stereotypical characters, tedious plot, contrived action scenes, this book has them all and then some. The whole rambling investigation contained within is simply padding to reveal the final 'astonishing' conclusion that anyone with only half their brain running will have guessed by page 100. A tepid waste of time and effort.

I read a lot of thrillers, and I really enjoyed THE GENESIS CODE for the most part. This novel resembles the DA VINCI CODE in the sense that it's a religious thriller, and the villains and assassins are far-right Catholics. THE GENESIS CODE, however, ultimately goes in a very different direction than Dan Brown's book, and can be enjoyed on its own merits.

The major flaw with THE GENESIS CODE is that the big "secret" of the book is pretty predictable. I therefore found the finale of this book, where the secret is finally revealed, to be kind of anti-climactic.

I also found the main character of Lassiter to be kind of silly. For example, you're supposed to believe this 35-year old is the CEO of the top private investigatory firm in the world, and is a better investigator than the cops and the FBI. Despite this fact, he often discovers key clues by mistake: in one scene, for example, he accidentally knocks some materials off a refrigerator door, which reveals a postcard with an important piece of information. You also have to believe that Lassiter would stick an incredibly important piece of evidence in his pocket and completely forget about it until the very end of the book. Say what? Whenever I read unbelievable scenes like this, I feel like my intelligence is being insulted by the authors.

Still, despite its unbelievability, THE GENESIS CODE is much better written than your average thriller and succeeds very well as an entertaining page-turner. John Case is actually a pseudonym for a husband-wife team, and the wife died earlier this year at a tragically young age. Unfortunately, this probably means that we won't be getting any more Case thrillers in the future, which is a real shame for fans of good thriller fiction.

I have mixed feelings about this book. As a thriller, it was good--definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. It's not so much of a "whodunnit" storyline, but a "WHY was it done" storyline, and that was an interesting change from the few thriller/mystery novels I have read in the past. When I finally figured out the WHY, I was shocked, because although it is a little far-fetched...it leaves you wondering, "what if?"

Some of the narration, mind you, dragged me down a bit. I just don't think that Joe Lassiter's past love life factors into the story, and yet the author keeps bringing it up. That, and there are certain things (including the main secret) that the reader will figure out long before Lassiter ever does, which gets a little frustrating. Still, if you're a big thriller/mystery fan, or if you enjoyed Dan Brown's books, you will like this one!