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Patent to Kill [Hardcover]

April Christofferson (Author)
2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)


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Book Description

August 1, 2003
Christofferson's gripping novels of medical suspense have drawn favorable comparisons to the work of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook. Now she returns with a page-turning thriller that explores the cutting edge of medicine--and murder.

It is a new crime for a new century. Biopiracy: the theft of the healing secrets of isolated, indigenous peoples. Rapacious pharmaceutical companies swoop down on remote Third World tribes, steal their folk medicine, native cures, and even human blood, then reap tremendous profits from the patents.

Dr. Jake Scully doesn't want to think that his employer, Genchrom, is exploiting anyone, let alone killing natives for the unique properties of their DNA, but when he tries to blow the whistle on the company's criminal activities, he places his own life--and his family--in danger.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Christofferson's second novel leaves us eagerly awaiting the third."

About the Author

April Christofferson, an attorney with a background in biotechnology, lives in Seattle with her family. She holds an undergraduate degree in biology and did graduate work in veterinary medicine.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (August 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312868987
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312868987
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,335,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Customer Review
2.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent adventure, June 23, 2005
I really loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of Christofferson's books. It opened my eyes to a lot of new ideas and really conveyed the atmosphere and ambience of the Amazon rainforest. Terrific story! I could not put it down, literally, and it cost me some bleary mornings.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Greed, murder and biopiracy in the Amazon., September 21, 2003
This review is from: Patent to Kill (Hardcover)
April Christofferson's new thriller, "Patent to Kill," is about the evils of biopiracy. Ruthless drug and biotechnology companies are sending people deep into the Amazon rain forest to find folk medicines and curative herbs. They even take blood samples of isolated tribes to use their DNA for new therapies. Invariably, the tribes are harmed by this exposure to foreigners, and they are inadequately compensated for this intrusion into their private world.

The beautiful and troubled Asahel Sullivan works for her father, Philip Esser, founder and CEO of Mercy Pharmaceuticals. Asahel hates her father and everything that he stands for. In the past, she was an activist who protested the exploitation of native tribes, and although she works for her father, her heart is not in her job. Asahel is horrified at her father's relentless pursuit of profits.

Jake Skully is a doctor and recent widower who works for a rival biotech company called GenChrom. Jake and Asahel meet in the Amazon, and they join forces to get to the bottom of a terrible conspiracy which threatens the lives of many innocent people.

Through her characters, April Christofferson repeatedly lectures her readers on the evils of exploiting indigenous tribes. The villains in "Patent to Kill" are caricatures whom the author depicts without a hint of subtlety. Jake and Asahel are attractive protagonists, but they cannot save "Patent to Kill" from being a run-of-the-mill thriller about nasty biotechnology executives who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Soapy, October 27, 2011
By 
Evan the Dweezil (A Place-Sort Of, Montana) - See all my reviews
This book was pushy and preachy about the author's obvious hatred for her former profession. While I'm not a fan of the biotech industry, I don't like being railed at in the books I read for fun.

Patent to Kill was pretty much a soap opera set to the Brazilian jungle. There were enough affairs, violent encounters, family secrets, and other bits of schmaltzy melodrama to keep the biggest fans of Young and the Restless satisfied. For me it detracted from what I thought was going to be the plot. Jake was too wishy-washy to make a good hero and Asahel was so blinded by her emotions that she faltered too. The bad guys were laughably bad.

Oddly enough, the pace of this book is good enough that you don't really realize what a stinker you've read until you're about 9/10 of the way through, so this author does something right.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
DAY FOUR. As the Mexican sunlight inched its way across the floor's red tiles, Jake Skully reached for his wife, Ana. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Doc du Pont, Torrell Hughes, Asahel Sullivan, Jake Skully, Lost Tribes Project, Michael Faulk, Philip Esser, Diego Cavallero, Leah Clay, Gina Castle, Elliott Bay, Marco da Luz, Mercy Pharmaceuticals, River Acre, Sergeant de Santos, Capitol Hill, Parker Ramsey, Project Greta, Cabin Two, Rio Negro, Tammy Nguyen
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