Oaths and Miracles [Hardcover]

Nancy Kress (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

The mysterious deaths of a showgirl in Las Vegas and a scientist in Boston lead FBI agent Robert Cavanaugh into a deadly investigation into the links between the Mafia and a biotech company specializing in recombinant DNA research.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Judy O'Brien Kozinski has no idea what she'll find as she investigates the death of her husband. A genetic scientist, he was slain for his refusal to work for a biotech company of dubious intentions controlled by the mob. As she fights for answers in the offices of the FBI, witnesses the mass execution of a religious cult, and uncovers the devious motive of the biotech firm--producing customized viruses that could be spread like a cold--she realizes the power and potential of herself as an individual. Her transformation, from unhappy and insecure widow to confident, sleek sleuth is almost as Herculean as her success at exposing this global threat.

From Publishers Weekly

The potential hazards and social consequences of genetic engineering provide the matrix for this provocative thriller by Kress, author of Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction novels. Boston-area freelance journalist Judy O'Brien Kozinski is devastated by the murder of her husband, Ben, an eminent geneticist. Determined to find his killers, despite her rage at discovering that he'd been having an affair, Judy stays one step ahead of edgy, dogged FBI detective Robert Cavanaugh, a lovelorn agent who obsessively faxes and e-mails letters to his estranged wife. The trail leads to a New Jersey biotechnology firm with which Ben had interviewed. The firm turns out not only to have mob connections but also to have been secretly working on an airborne killer virus that can be customized to infect specific individuals. Also involved is an apocalyptic religious cult in upstate New York, the Soldiers of the Divine Covenant, whose members practice animal sacrifice. The plot ultimately is far-fetched, but Kress, a witty and engaging writer, is in lucid command of key principles of, and advances in, molecular biology. She creates chilling suspense as twisty as a DNA double helix.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312859619
• ISBN-13: 978-0312859619
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,078,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like the X-Files..., April 28, 2000

By 

C. Glover (Langhorne, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oaths and Miracles (Paperback)

If you like the X-Files you will enjoy this book. More a mystery with sinister biochemistry overtones than sci-fi, it gives you the creeps and ultimately leaves things unresolved. Our fearless FBI guy keeps trying to make the pieces fit. It takes 6 months and a lot of coincidences, but finally it all comes together. I found this an exciting read with lots of page turning suspense. The lingering meanace at the end made the premise more credible. And my hat goes off to anyone who can set a story in Newark, NJ.

I am a Nancy Kress fan and have read several of her books including the Beggars series. This is quite different, no really awesome science or brave new future world. A good read for someone just starting out in science fiction and not wanting too much sci-tech.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing techno-thriller, June 1, 2004

By 

Scott R. Lucado "I'm the other author named L... (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oaths and Miracles (Paperback)

The first book I read by Nancy Kress was "Stinger," which is the sequel to "Oaths and Miracles," and the only unfortunate aspect of that is that I didn't have the opportunity to meet Robert Cavanaugh here first.

"Oaths and Miracles" transcends the genre of thriller fiction by containing characters of real depth and interest. Where most popular fiction of this type is populated by very thin characters, Nancy Kress does an excellent job of drawing the reader into her story by helping us care about the people in it.

In addition to the characterizations, the plot weaves from delicate, disparate strands into a cohesive juncture that leads to a satisfying conclusion.

If there's a weak spot, it's in the pacing of action sequences, but that's a minor quibble, and not enough for me to rate this book lower than five stars.

I read a lot, and it's very rare that I find a book I have trouble putting down, but I could not put this book down until I'd finished it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My definition of fun!!!, September 10, 2004

By 

Julia Walter (Cobleskill, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oaths and Miracles (Paperback)

"Oaths and miracles are usually followed by deceptive statements." FBI Manual
* 30 year old English major/ FBI agent stalks his ex-wife with lovely romantic notes and goofy drawings while trying to connect the dots between the Mafia and a biotech firm.
*The widow of a brilliant, philandering, narcissistic geneticist as a only a trained journalist whose father is a retired teacher of Physics and Chemistry and whose hobby is writing a history of the saints. (And they live in Troy, NY.) * A construction worker and ex-Marine who waits to spend to two hours every other week with his kids who live in a religious compound outside Gloversville, NY dedicated to an obscure Celtic saint who may have also been a Franciscan brother hundreds of years later martyred by the Indians.
* A former Las Vegas showgirl now attending University of Michigan whose best friend was murdered, as was her mobbed- up boyfriend saying "Cadoc Verico Cadaverico"
This novel is a thoroughly likeable combination of FBI thriller and mystery with ten minutes into the future genetics and sf and a bit of religious thought.
I thotoughoughly enjoyed Kress' Beggars books and look forward to Stinger, the further adventures of this odd and likeable g-man. (And I hope there's more in the next book about Upstate New York!)