Raising Abel [Hardcover]

W. Michael Gear (Author), Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

When Veronica Tremain's brother is brutally murdered, both she and the FBI try to make sense of a bizarre conspiracy that seems to be targeting genetic professors. While searching for secret papers her brother told her about in his last frantic telephone call before his death, Veronica meets three other people on the run from his killers; Bryce Johnson who has been working with her brother; Rebecca Armely, a former research assistant in the genetics program; and little Abel, Rebecca's son, an unusual but very lovable child whom Rebecca would do anything - including die - to protect. Then Rebecca is killed, shot by a sniper whose apparent target was the child himself. Now Veronica, Bryce and Abel are on the run, trying to figure out why one small boy should be so important to a band of killers who seem unstoppable.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The veteran authors of a highly popular Native American historical fiction series (People of the Wolf; People of the Fire; etc.) offer a futuristic tale with a provocative spin on the human cloning theme. Anthropologist Scott Ferris has secretly cloned embryos from glacier-frozen prehistoric cells and implanted the embryos in host mothers: now he has four-year-olds with superior traits that debunk the "dumb Neanderthal" myth. He aims to derail creationists by revealing these living links to the human evolutionary chain, but is gruesomely murdered before he can do so. Meanwhile, a bitter ex-mistress of politically connected TV evangelist Billy Barnes Brown tells the FBI that she found a death list with Ferris on it, but she meets a fiery death before she can cut a deal with the Feds. When Scott's sister, Veronica, goes to a remote ski lodge looking for a hidden letter from Scott, she finds the lodge occupied by Rebecca Armely and her son, Abel, one of the Neanderthal children, but she can't find the letter. Scott's friend Bryce turns up to help with the search, and the fundamentalist hit team soon sends all of them on the run. The Gears lay credible anthropological and biochemical groundwork for this flight of fancy, and the nail-biting resolution is first-rate.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Scientists Scott Ferris and Amanda Alexander are lovers, true, but their first passion is their work. As anthropologist geneticists, they were conducting a theoretical study of genetic cloning. When the two are found dead--beaten, chained to the floor, and burned--Scott's sister Veronica, a paleoanthropologist, is left with many unanswered questions. Then a third scientist working with the couple in Tel Aviv is killed in similar fashion, a fourth coworker, Bryce, is on the run, and Veronica hears a message from her brother, left on her answering machine before he was killed, instructing her to go to a certain cabin if something happens to him. At the cabin, she finds Bryce and Abel, an odd little boy whose mother is a childhood friend of Scott and Veronica. Who will be the killer's next target and how are the murders connected to answering crucial questions about humanity's evolution? With a Crichton-like mix of scientific intrigue and pulse-pounding suspense, the Gears deliver a fascinating exploration of the frontiers of science. This popular duo's steadily increasing audience will love this one. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446526150
• ISBN-13: 978-0446526159
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,297,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

W. Michael Gear has co-written 23 international bestsellers which have been translated into 21 languages. His novel People of the Raven won the Golden Spur Award in 2005. Michael's solo novel Morning River was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1998. In addition to writing both fiction and non-fiction, the Gear operates an anthropological research company called Wind River Archaeological Consultants, and raises buffalo on his ranch in northern Wyoming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting scientific thriller, July 9, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raising Abel (Hardcover)

Paleoanthropologist Dr. Veronica Tremain is stunned when the FBI informs her that her brother Dr. Scott Ferris was tortured before being burned to death. Scott's girlfriend Dr. Amanda Alexander is also brutally killed with the same M.O. Around the globe, other scientists have been viciously slain too. The only non-scientist among the dead is Elizabeth Carter, employed by the Atlanta based Apostolic Evangelical Church of the Salvation. She was killed to prevent her from talking to FBI agent Joe Hanson about her boss, televangelist Billy Barnes Brown holding a list of twenty-five scientists including three murder victims.

FBI Agent John Ramsey investigates the Carter homicide while Joe continues to look into the dead scientists. Joe finds Veronica constantly in his face as she continues her quest to learn why her brother died. Veronica meets two associates of her sibling who also wonder and worry about the death of Scott. The trio accompanied by Abel, the son of Amanda and Scott, flee for their lives not knowing that it is the child's uniqueness that makes him the target of the murderous zealots.

RAISING ABEL is an exciting scientific thriller that uses genetic engineering as the underlying theme for a global conspiracy. The story line remains in high gear throughout the tale as even simplified scientific explanation is cleverly blending into the plot without stopping the action for a lecture. Though the final disclosure seems too insignificant for the murder count, readers will delight in the latest offering of W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It! Science, Suspense, Mystery, Murder, Has it All., July 21, 2003

By 

Mrs. Fitz "fitzeesmrs" (MA/NH Border, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Abel (Mass Market Paperback)

If you enjoy medical thrillers/suspense/mystery books, you'll love this book. I had a hard time putting it down. The twists and turns really hold your interest and the science in it is well explained so it doesn't slow the story down. And with all this is going on today w/genetics and DNA it's a very timely thriller.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read!!!!!!!, September 5, 2003

By 

Jeremiah Tilley (Birmingham, Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raising Abel (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked this book up one day just wandering around the bookstore. I was getting a bit tired of reading the same old stuff and I wanted something with a new twist to it. I'm one of those people that almost immediately puts the book back on the shelf if I read "police detective so-and-so" or "news reporter so-and-so" because there's just so many of them! Anyway, this book tweaked my interest after reading the back. I had already read two of the Gear's books before (People of the Wolf and People of the Fire) and really enjoyed them so I figured I would give this one a try. Wow. It was great! I never got bored reading this. They did a great job of making me want to know what was going on, who was doing what, and what would happen next. If you're looking for something different and new, read this. A fair warning, though: If you are a very religious person, this may offend you. I'm not so it didn't bother me. I found the whole idea very interesting and happen to agree with most of it. I just finished it so it's still very fresh, but I believe this one's going down as one of my favorite books. Swan Song by Robert Mccammon still tops that list, though.