Review: Lip Reading by Harry Kraus

Medical Thriller

Rebecca Jackson has dedicated her adult life to the discovery of synthetic blood, atonement for a teenage car accident that resulted in a small boy getting HIV after receiving a transfusion of contaminated blood. Her research takes a great leap forward after a trip to Africa, when she finds she can see problems in an entirely new way—although she has no idea why.

Noah Linebrink’s life purpose was determined in that same car accident. He’s now a researcher for a competing pharmaceutical company, and is tasked with poaching Becca to work with his firm. That means confronting their joint past, a task made more difficult by the threats they start getting.

The plot moves smoothly from Africa to corporate America, where Becca learns the reason behind her new ability to solve medical problems … and has to fight for the right to continue her research.

This isn’t the first novel to invent artificial blood for transfusions—that idea has been a staple of vampire novels for years. But it’s the first novel I’ve read which has gone into the scientific issues of such a project, as well as the costs and potential benefits. I didn’t necessarily understand all the science (much the same way as I never understood the technobabble in Star Trek: TNG), but that didn’t stop me enjoying it.

Lip Reading was well-written, with a detailed and engaging plot, interesting characters and a lot of interrelationships that only became apparent as the story progressed. Excellent suspense.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Harry Kraus at his website.