LETHAL GENES: A Crime Novel With Catherine Sayler [Hardcover]

Linda Grant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 1996

An investigation into a Berkeley biotech laboratory that is on the verge of discovering a way to keep people thin leads to two deaths and a potentially lethal case for private detective Catherine Sayler. 10,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

San Francisco high-tech PI Catherine Sayler returns from A Woman's Place to probe sabotage in a university plant genetics lab ("corn sex," her secretary jokes). Hired by Paul Raskin, the magnetically attractive manager of the maize lab at UC-Berkeley, Catherine questions researchers among whom academic and personal jealousies often erupt. When technician Raymond Zak dies of a heart attack, other staffers blame his severe weight problem. Catherine is not convinced: Zak had said he had something important to tell her. Then student Chuck Nishimura suffers a fatal allergic reaction to corn pollen, despite his previously unfailingly careful use of protective gear. Raskin and lab boss Kendra Crawford resist Catherine's certainty of foul play, fearing bad publicity and diminished clout with Berkeley educrats. But Catherine links Nishimura's recent $20,000 windfall to a biotech entrepreneur who may play dirty to cash in on a surprising product of corn research. Her investigation is complicated by the challenge Raskin poses to her commitment to her absent lover, Peter, and by responsibility for her niece, Molly, who is flunking high school while in her care. Grant again paints an engaging and gritty heroine, lovingly renders Bay Area life and, with solid research, even makes corn sex comprehensible.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Can information about a gene connected to dwarf corn lead to murder? Catherine Saylor, San Francisco private eye, aims to find out as she investigates suspicious deaths at a university plant genetics lab. Coldly abrupt Kendra bosses the lab, while sexy-eyed Paul assists by refereeing competitive doctoral and post-doctoral students?all of whom come under suspicion. Nicely sketched cityscapes, forthright prose, and a peppy tempo recommend Grant's (A Woman's Place, LJ 4/1/94) latest title to all readers.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (October 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684826534
• ISBN-13: 978-0684826530
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,374,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who knew the sex lives of corn could be so interesting?, September 26, 2001

By 

Diane Davis (San Ramon, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LETHAL GENES: A Crime Novel With Catherine Sayler (Hardcover)

Like Linda Grant's previous books, this one is fast-paced and sharp with a nice touch of humor. No one seems more surprised than Catherine Saylor, childless career-woman that she is, when her gut reactions to her niece's wild behavior result in far more effective parenting than the girl gets from her own mother.

The characters, even while most are involved in the same line of work, are carefully delineated. There's enough information about genetic research to indicate Grant's really done her homework, enough to help readers understand the issues behind the crimes without drifting off. The tense atmosphere of academic competition is convincing, and the murderer's not easy to spot.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice mystery set in well-developed academic background, July 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lethal Genes (Mass Market Paperback)

Due to the fact that I got a graduate degree in from Cal in molecular biology, I was mostly interested in the background Linda Grant uses for her mystery. And the background is dead-on. I was constantly wondering whether I didn't actually know some of the real world people the characters in the novel were based on, and the sociology of a research lab with all its warfare and intrigues was also all too familiar. The science, by the way, is also rather accurate (aside from a few dramatic liberties).

However, I think that most students and scientists would have been a lot more shaken by sabotage and deaths in their lab. To me most of the characters seemed unrealistically single-minded. Also, at times the well-developed background setting turns into pointless name-dropping without really capturing much of the rather weird spirit of Berkeley. Maybe it's a matter of economics - there are a couple of other sub-plots going on that are not really related to the main plot line! , like the heroine's troubles with her niece, but which also take up space in the novel. Maybe that's the professional narcism speaking - what could be more interesting than reading about science and scientists? Still, all in all a pretty good read that doesn't insult the brain too much.