Long After Midnight, by Iris Johansen
Book Review - Long After Midnight
Moved her father’s terminal illness, scientist Kate Denby is young, but has already dedicated years of her life to the development of anti-rejection formulas. Knowing she is on the verge of a breakthrough, Noah Smith – CEO of a pharmaceutical firm – implores Kate to help him make his new drug ‘RU2’ rejection-proof, so it can be brought to market. Not wanting to leave home and uproot her young son Joshua, Kate refuses Noah’s pleas time and time again…until her ex-husband is blown up in front of her eyes.
Kate is in terrible danger; the attack that killed her ex-husband was intended for her! It transpires that RU2 could cure a great many people of the illnesses that keep rival pharmaceutical company, Ogden, in business. Hence, Ogden are trying to destroy RU2 and anybody who could aid the project, including Kate, Joshua and Kate’s mother-in-law Phyliss. The pharmaceutical giant have a variety of tactics up their sleeve to get the job done, including blowing up Noah’s facilities, arranging protests against genetic research and, most terrifyingly, the use of Ishmaru; a Native American motivated to kill Kate in order to achieve the ‘coup’ of taking the life of a worthy victim.
To protect Kate and her family while they work on RU2, Noah calls on his friend Seth Drakin; a mercenary who will go to extraordinary lengths to protect his charges. So the story unfolds; the race to bring RU2 to market creating an almost tangible feeling of suspense that makes an intriguing backdrop for the developing relationships between Kate, Noah and Seth, as well as the emotional turmoil of young Joshua, who saw his father killed and now knows his mother is in danger as well.
