Debra Dockter

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A SciFi mystery that disproves that there is something perfect about altered genetic engineering.

Opening Sentence: I was five years old when I found out that my older brother wasn’t just my brother.

The Review:

Deadly Design by Debra Dockter is about Kyle and Connor, genetically engineered twins. But everything begins at the Genesis Innovations Laboratory, where the twins, along with others, were conceived. There are differences, and similarities of course, but along with that, there are inconsistencies. After an event that catapults the dynamic of this utopia, questions reveal themselves without any answers in sight.

Kyle isn’t someone that I connected to. He was a bit too immature for my tastes. He constantly complained and felt things inadequate. His inner monologue wasn’t something that I could relate to. I couldn’t connect with the idea that he complained about a perfect brother when he himself was also manufactured.

While I didn’t have an ecstatic cosmic pull towards Deadly Design, I also didn’t dislike it. For me, it was just another story. There were too many things going on, with more events than details, and things that didn’t exactly seem plausible, even for science fiction.

The premise was promising, but the delivery wasn’t there. Deadly Design didn’t have much of a world-building element, but more of a dialogue-driven momentum. There were a few highs and lows with the pacing, but overall Deadly Design wasn’t for me.

I was definitely grabbed by the byline that Deadly Design is an “If I Stay meets Maze Runner” story. That seems to be a lot of hype, but I was willing to give it a try. About halfway through, I didn’t feel the same emotions that I felt with If I Stay, nor did I feel the rush as Maze Runner. But it really is unfair to attempt to compare those stories with this one.

Notable Scene:

“One fucking shot,” Connor says. “You missed one fucking shot. And everything changed. But who gives a shit about one shot? I just wish… I wish you’d taken another one. I bet you’d have made it.”

Maybe I would have. But it’s too late now.

Connor gestures toward the screen. “Doesn’t this shit give you nightmares?”

I look at the brown and gray images of bony zombies frozen in grotesque positions, and I have to smile because I’m really fond of them, of killing them, anyway.

“I suppose we could play for a while and see if it gives you nightmares.”

“Really?” Connor grins and jumps on the bed as I plug in the controller. “I’ve never played, so…”

I roll my eyes like teaching him is going to be a royal pain. And I hope it will be. I hope he’s not a natural at aiming guns and placing bombs and building barriers. I hope he sucks. I hope he dies a hundred times, and I hope he loves, because we’re too old to build towers and knock them down.

FTC Advisory: Penguin provided me with a copy of Deadly Design. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.… (meer)

I should say that I didn’t finish this novel because I was under a time constraint. It’s a science fiction novel.

Kyle discovers at age five that his older brother is his identical twin. Because of a disease, their mother and father had to use an expert who was experimenting with helping people have babies. Kyle was frozen for two years before given life, making Connor two years older. When Connor is 18, he dies. Kyle begins researching and learns that every person who was part of the experiments dies at 18. He’s got two years to figure out how to live.

Kyle and Connor weren’t as close as Connor would have liked, but Kyle always feels inferior because Connor is the best at everything. He’s also nice. His girlfriend, Emma, is crazy about him. When he dies, she is devastated. Her best friend,Cami, is the only person who seems to see Kyle for who he is and not the younger, less accomplished brother of Connor. She agrees to help him discover the truth about the medical experiments.

I’m not putting this in the middle school library because it is definitely high school material. It’s a good book that adds unnecessary language to the character to seem more “teenager-y.” If these behaviors fit the character, I’m okay. I don’t think they fit the character. It’s an interesting novel and will hold your attention with a nice romance thrown in.… (meer)

DEADLY DESIGN by Debra Dockter is a fast-paced thriller involving mad scientists, genetic modification, and the sudden death of teens.

Kyle and Connor are genetically engineered identical twins born two years apart. When Connor dies of a heart attack without warning, Kyle soon discovers other patients created by Dr. Mueller aren’t living past their eighteenth birthdays. Can Kyle solve the mystery and save himself before his time runs out?

The genetics and medical aspects seem plausible enough to keep the suspense high and readers guessing. The writing flows smoothing making it a quick-red.

Designed for young adults, this science fiction, mystery-suspense will appeal to teens who enjoy friendship stories with a touch of romance as well as those seeking an action thriller. Librarians will find that the chilling, near-future science will attract those that enjoy plausible, medical thrillers.

To learn more about the author, go to http://debradockter.com/.

Published by Putnam/Penguin on June 2, 2015.… (meer)