Daughter Cell by Jay Hartlove, Weird and Wild Leap Into Genetics! Wow!

Randy squinted and blinked, and ran a hand through his short sandy hair. "I'm still pretty disoriented. I hardly recognized this place until you walked out here. I feel wrung out, like I've been crying or something."
"Well, you have. A lot of crying. A lot of drinking."

Malaysian Beach House www.flickr.com

Randy stared at him as he felt the pieces fall back into place. "Oh, God. Now I remember why I'm here. Cheri is dead, isn't she? We're at your beach house in Malaysia, because she died here in a..." he struggled.
"Car crash," Young Nae supplied patiently. "Four months ago.
Randy blinked and shook his head. "Four months? I've been here for four months?" He shivered and pulled the blanket back around himself. "What, just moping around?"
"It's called grieving. She was the love of your life...
"I feel like I've been sitting for too long already. I can't believe four months have passed. So what is it now, May?"
"June, June 2005. Cheri died in February. You and Desiree came here for the funeral."
"Right." Randolph nodded. "I remember the country was just recovering from some kind of disaster."
"Well, it wasn't this country, but Indonesia, which is right next door. It was the day after Christmas, with a 9.2 earthquake, followed by a tsunami that killed 130,000 people. Back in February it was all anyone would talk about."
"So, I've been out of it for four months since then? That seems unbelievable."
"Well, it's not like you've just been sitting here looking out at the ocean all that time. We've had plenty to do with Desiree's problems too."
Randy could only stare at his friend in wide-eyed confusion.
It took Young Nae a moment to look up from his pouring the coffee to notice the reaction. "What? You're drawing another blank, about your daughter's accident?
"Accident? What kind of accident? What are you fucking telling me? My nineteen-year-old daughter has had an accident and I don't even remember it? Is she okay?"

~~~

Creating a Daughter Cell

Daughter Cell

By Jay Hartlove

Sanantha Mauwad
"First, I want to congratulate
you on taking the initiative to
protect your mental health.
You've been living with your
brief for a long time now, and
it's smart of you to realize you
can't get through this kind of
pain on your own with just the
passage of time." Sanantha sat
facing Randy...She was pleased
to see him sitting more relaxed.
"You said you've never seen a
psychiatrist before, so coming to
me was also a step outside your
comfort zone. For that you should
be proud of yourself."
~~~

This is a sequel to The Chosen which I believe also included Sanantha Mauwad, a psychiatrist. So if you enjoyed her in that novel, you might consider this a must-read. She is a wonderful character! I was especially impressed with Hartlove's writing of her verbal communication skills as a therapist. In fact, if she hadn't been there for Randolph Macklin, a genetic researcher who early in the book became her client, I'm not sure he would have made it through all the trauma that Hartlove put him through, LOL! 

Randolph Macklin
"The memory loss if just scary."
"I'm no shrink, but it's probably your
brain trying to protect itself. I loved
the both of them too, but I cannot
imagine what you have gone through."
"Can I see Desiree?"
Young Nae slapped Randy's knee and
gave it a squeeze. "Of course."
~~~

 Randolph Macklin is not only a leading genetic researcher, he has discovered a major advancement in genetics. There has been no announcement of this discovery to this point.  Because of the way the novel has been written, it is not possible to go too far into this work, else too much will be given away. Let us just say, given the title, that he has developed a method of creating a "daughter cell" but do not assume that this is just another word for cloning... Much more fascinating happenings in this medical thriller which, of course, may or may not even be possible in reality, but surely helped to create an exciting and unique read for those like myself who enjoy learning of medical possibilities 
through fiction!

Young Nae Yoon
Sanantha didn't want to appear
critical while trying to develop
Randolph's trust, but this sounded
unsafe. She covered her hesitation
by shifting..."Doesn't that process
save trouble down the road?...
"We did do testing. We satisfied
ourselves the drugs worked,
without side effects, and I
figured we could collect clinical
data from our customers. Other
cosmetics firms do the same thing
all the time, adjust their
formulas as they get feedback..."
"The practical application that we
wanted to move on was in
cosmetics," Young Nae added.
"You've probably heard of our line,
CytoSkin..."
~~~

Young Nae and Randy had known each other since college days at UCLA--Randy in pre-med and Young Nae in Business Administration, which he later applied in pharmaceuticals and medical research. They had later gotten together again and went into business. Randy was doing a lot but not getting anything done due to patents, testing, FDA. He was on the cutting edge but the routine process in a corporation took years of testing and public vetting before anything could even be announced.
As Sanantha and Randolph began their work together, they began to see issues. Sanantha had suggested hypnosis as a possible way to
recover memories, but when it was tried, Randolph did something that was so unexpected that she immediately called for an ambulance and rushed to the hospital. When the doctor saw Randy
he was dismayed and immediately asked what caused the markings that were all over his body. Randy indicated that Young Nae had said they were lots of mosquito bites from when he was in the jungle...

With that assurance, the doctor pushed the American's sleeves all the way up and began briskly rubbing the skin on his forearms... The doctor stopped immediately, though, when he bumped into one of the round insect wounds on the back of Randolph's elbow..."Take off shirt."
The chilling connection visibly shocked Randolph...
Randolph was speechless and as white as the sheets beneath him. He sat up and began unbuttoning his shirt...
Everyone turned when the Chinese doctor sucked in a tight startled breath. He stood there a moment, clearly trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Without taking his eyes off Randolph's back, he gave the nurse an order and she took off running...
Every hole is on a key acupuncture point...
The whole flow [of chi energy] has probably been interrupted... 

Okay, we've got competitors of Randolph's company watching the activities... We've got snake bites...

puffer fish poison being used in various ways, including for meals, LOL...

And we've got Desiree, Randolph's daughter, in a coma with nobody knowing why... Of course, while they now know Randolph's heart has been affected by the acupuncture actions, they don't know who or why it was done...

So, that sounds like a good place to end talking about the book!

Hartlove's writing experience comes through clearly in his writing... But I think the various characters he's created turned out to be my favorite part of the story! (BTW, these character pics were selected and found on the Trilogy Facebook Page)... My opinion is that there's going to have to be some beefing up of the part to be played Gage though. Right now, Sanantha has the lead for me! Seriously, it is fun to picture the characters, but it really isn't needed to capture your total attention as you wade your way through everything that happens in this medical thriller! Ancient cults are already a part, as well as Kung Fu moves...I can't wait until the next one is out! When somebody looking like this beautiful lady will come...!

Don't Miss this one!


GABixlerReviews

Jay Hartlove has been writing professionally for over thirty years, starting in the gaming industry with Supergame in 1980. He writes banking compliance procedures by day, he blogs about spirituality, and he teaches seminars on the craft of writing. His short fiction has been published in award winning magazines. He is also working on a musical sequel to the Grimms' Brothers' Snow White, called Snow White and the Mirror's Revenge.

Daughter Cell is the second of the Sanatha Mauwad mysteries. The third and concluding volume of the series is Isis Rising, which should be done in 2014.

Related articles

• Author Interview: Jay Hartlove

Elise Stokes Debut Novel for the Cassidy Jones Adventures is Exciting, Fun--A Winner for YAs and Up!

hdw.eweb4.com 

"One thing I had predicted about the interview proved to be spot-on. Listening to the professor explain her gene therapy was like watching grass grow. Bored by her lengthy responses and foreign words, my mind picked up where it had left off in the daydream Miriam had interrupted.
"Jared and I are walking along a sandy beach, cool waves lapping at our feet. Suddenly, the sand trembles beneath them. Earthquake?
"Snapping out of the daydream, I realized the stool was giving way beneath me. Before any reflex could kick in, I fell towards the coffeemaker and dirty mugs. Before I could smash into them face-first, my hands came to life. Frantically waving while I plunged, I knocked the beakers off the burners. Catching the edge of the counter, I had a close-up view of the strange occurrence on top. It’s difficult to describe what happened in that fraction of a second as the hot liquids ran together. The best description I can come up with is “Poof!” The liquids instantaneously vaporized, forming a white cloud. At the same instance, I took a fateful breath, sucking in the cloud puff. In the cloud, my eyes felt like acid had been thrown into them, and my lungs seemed to collapse. As I gasped for air, my heart burned as if on fire, pumping the inferno into my body. The blood flowing through my veins became flaming rivers, carrying the fire throughout. When the fire circulated through every part of me, a jolt shook my brain like I’d been struck by lightning.
"The inferno turned cold, and blackness engulfed me. Impenetrable black surrounded me. My ears detected no sound. Because I felt nothing beneath me, I thought I could be floating, though I didn’t seem to be in motion. Cognitively, I was aware of my limbs, though they were unresponsive when instructed to move. My skin felt thick and numb.
~~~

Cassidy Jones 
and the Secret Formula

By Elise Stokes

Elise Stokes has the perfect main character for her new series--one that teens, young adults and the rest of the us will totally enjoy. Me? I'm always happy to find books that I can happily recommend to my great-niece, Rachel, who is now reading for extra credit at school! This first book is a fun adventure and explains how Cassidy got to be the perfect character...

It was an accident...

Cassidy's father, Drake Jones, worked for Channel 5 News and was scheduled to meet with a professor of Genetics. He had already quizzed her about DNA, etc., so that she might learn something new during the interview; but Cassidy knew already that she wasn't going to be able to get into the conversation, thinking about her own things... What she wasn't planning on was meeting the female version of "The Absent-minded professor" with a clothesline hanging across the room, the professor looking disheveled, and the whole room in a mess...

What they didn't know, though, was that the professor had just had a visitor who scared her! And she had been trying to get it all out of her mind...

And then when the stool that Cassidy had been sitting on broke, they were all involved in getting Cassidy to the hospital... It was soon after that interview that Professor Serena Phillips disappeared, and her office had been burned, including the major part of her genetics work!

It started with her nose..

"Mmm… Someone is making pancakes… The delicious aroma 

of pancakes coaxed me out of sleep. Coming to, I groaned. 

 I had never been a morning person, but my head

 didn’t usually feel like a bowling ball. Since dropping off to sleep the night before, I felt like I’d been trapped in a loud, fast-moving, brightly colored anime cartoon. My dreams had been insane, to say the least. 

"Dr. Randolph misdiagnosed me, I thought, pressing my hands to my temples. Having a heavy head and chaotic dreams definitely indicates brain trauma. I don’t need a medical degree to figure that out. This thought satisfied me. Not that I wanted a swelling brain, but it sure would have been nice to see the ER doctor’s puffed-up head deflate. Let’s just say, his bedside manner wouldn’t win any awards. I had first taken offense to this Dr. Randolph when he lifted the towel from my forehead and gave my dad an exasperated look. “Mr. Jones, this is only a surface wound,” he said in a scolding tone. 

"While Dad and Ben stared at my forehead, the doctor wore a smug expression. I so wanted to wipe it off his face. “I don’t understand,” Dad said, looking confused. “I tended the wound myself, and it was deep.” “I saw the split, too, Doctor,” Ben interjected. “And it most definitely required stitches.” 

"Dr. Randolph shrugged. “I can see from the towel that the wound bled heavily. Sometimes even minor head wounds will do this. The bleeding must have made it appear more serious to you both than it obviously is.” Translated: You’re both idiots."

~~~

Cassidy had made a stupid mistake at school with  a friend who she later realized that she did like, so she was hoping to figure out how to get back into his life... Instead, a new boy was entering not only her life, but her home! When it was discovered that the professor's son had nobody to stay with, Cassidy's Dad had invited him to their home rather than to have him go into "the system..." At first, Cassidy was upset--she already had enough to deal with! But as she was discovering each strange change that was happening to her, she also discovered that Emery Phillips was 15, had already graduated from high school, clearly a genius, and was going to college and had worked with his mother related to her genetics research. 

Sitting on the hall floor next
 to my bedroom door,
I tuned in to Nate’s room across the hall.
 The boys were reading and discussing
 comic books. Apparently,
Emery knew less
 about superheroes than I did,
and my brothers had taken it upon
 themselves to get him up to speed.
~~~

Emery was the only person with whom she could share what was happening and perhaps get decent suggestions. At a minimum, she wouldn't be in this alone!

But then her Dad also got involved with the investigation, hoping to help find Emery's mother or even his father who was out of the country--somewhere! There was something very strange about this family and Drake was going to be in there to discover it! 

In the meantime, Cassidy of course had to return to school and readers will enjoy her experiences as she learned more and more about the changes to her body--let's just say that she didn't yet know her own strength and a couple of bullies...

got "pay back..." Emery was helping her, but they both knew that she had 

to keep everything a secret or somebody might kidnap her too! And...

she really did feel bad about breaking her rival's nose...

http://www.comicvine.com/joker/4005-1702/images/

And then Cassidy's father is kidnapped also! Cassidy and Emery must act to save them! Now that's where I'll end it, but give you one clue...Well actually two, if you consider the quote about Emery knowing little about comics--actually he knew little about the real world... Anyway, although it's not the character, this was the pic of the one who I thought of related to the villain and his gang...So be prepared for...crazy!

Confession: I loved this YA novel! So much fun to read, so much opportunity to discuss the book with my great-niece and feel that it is appropriate for her age... I had already ordered the next two, but something is going on with Amazon's billing, but I'd have to wait to read anyway until I had more time. But I do indeed recommend this...easily an "8" for this Debut of Series! Enjoy!

GABixlerReviews

Elise Stokes lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband and four children. She was an elementary school teacher before becoming a full-time mom. With a daughter in middle school and two in high school, Elise’s understanding of the challenges facing girls in that age range inspired her to create a series that will motivate girls to value individualism, courage, integrity, and intelligence. The stories in the Cassidy Jones Adventures series are fun and relatable, and a bit edgy without taking the reader uncomfortably out of bounds. Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula and Cassidy Jones and Vulcan’s Gift are the first two books in the series.

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