Drift

Starred review from May 13, 2013
McGoran (Body Trace and two other Madison Cross mysteries under his D.H. Dublin pseudonym) impressively integrates concerns about genetically modified produce with an action-filled storyline and fleshed-out characters. Det. Doyle Carrick of the Philadelphia PD, suspended after putting a gun to a drug dealer’s head to coerce information, uses his mandatory vacation to take residence in the house he’s inherited from his recently deceased parents in the rural community of Dunston, Pa. At a Dunston diner, he steps in to save organic farmer Nola Watkins from a creep who grabs her by the wrist. Watkins has also been receiving hang-up calls, which may be related to efforts by real-estate developers to buy out most of the local land owners. Watkins’s refusal to sell may have ticked off those who have already cut deals and who perhaps fear that she will ruin their sales. The disturbing, but scientifically plausible, secret at the heart of the bad guys’ schemes is an original one, and McGoran makes the most of it. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

June 1, 2013
Doyle Carrick is not having a good year. First, he buries his mother, and then he gets suspended from his job as a Philadelphia narcotics cop. He decides to take the forced time off to settle his parents' affairs at the farmhouse they had bought in rural Pennsylvania. Surprises await; he discovers a young farmhand staying in the house, spots some known drug dealers driving around town, and finds a couple of burned-down meth houses in the not-so-idyllic burg. He falls for his neighbor, a passionate young woman trying to make a go of her organic farm, and she educates Carrick on the genetically modified food industry. Being on suspension doesn't seem to stop Carrick from investigating the drug dealers in his new neighborhood, and the local sheriff doesn't take kindly to the interference. This biotech thriller delivers a complex Frankenfood story, with lots of twists and turns leading to a startling ending. Readers who enjoy Michael Crichton or like Paul McEuen's Spiral (2011), or even the nonfiction biothrillers by Richard Preston, will find much to enjoy here.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)