Evo by Diane May is an exciting crime thriller
that kept my interest from beginning to end. With an international setting and
hints of sci-fi it has the potential to appeal to a very wide audience.
The novel centres around a covert CIA operation
that involves genetic engineering. The unchecked sense of power this elicits
sees one of the doctors become a potential biological terrorist and raises the
question of whether anyone should be allowed to play God. May cleverly leaves
the reader with lots to think about as even when used for good genetic
interventions can lead to unthinkable outcomes.
As the story begins with the CIA, it opens in the
USA but the bulk of the novel is set in Verona where all of the plot threads
come together. One of the main characters is a product of the CIA program, Maya
Blake. She has a form of telepathy and can immediately tell when someone is
lying. However, her ‘gift’ has put her and her family in danger which is why
she finds herself teaching languages in Verona.
Maya’s path crosses with police detective, Livio
Marchiori, when she becomes involved in two unrelated murders. At the same
time, Marchiori is hunting a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Hypnotist’, who also turns
out to be linked to the original CIA project. The novel is full of inexplicable
coincidences but it is a credit to May’s writing that within the context of the
novel it doesn’t seem odd.
The ‘Hypnotist’ murders are quite chilling and May
builds the tension very effectively as he taunts the police with videos of his
crimes. The team hunting him also includes Marchiori’s inexperienced partner, Giusto
and the Chief Medical Examiner, Abigail Jones. They make for a very likeable
bunch who would lend themselves well to a crime series. I particularly like the
hint of romance between gruff, no-nonsense Marchiori and Abigail.
The investigation team are joined by American
secret agent, Alex O’Neal who also happens to be Maya’s ex-fiancé. He brings a
new level of excitement to the novel as he races against time to stop the
biological terrorist attack planned by ‘doc’ who moved from the CIA to work for
a group of multi-national, corrupt businessmen who have continued to fund his
experiments.
I really enjoyed the novel but if I had one
criticism it would be Maya who I found really difficult to like. She is so beautiful
and perfect that other women seem to feel threatened by her which leads to her
isolation. There is a bizarre scene where her best friend turns on her in a
vitriolic fashion after yet another of her boyfriends has his head turned by
Maya’s beauty. She also behaves in the way that women predictably behave in
cheesy horror films – ignoring all common sense and placing themselves in the
thick of danger. Having said all of that, the irritation that Maya brought out
in me did not detract from the novel at all.
The novel ends in an explosion of violence which
will delight fans of action thrillers before finally there is a spectacular
twist. May cleverly wraps up all of her storylines in a satisfying ending but
still leaves the reader with unanswered questions about the ethical
implications of trying to engineer nature.
All in all, I really enjoyed Evo and if you’re
looking for a gripping story to lose yourself in for a few hours then I
thoroughly recommend this one.
