Michael A. Smith (5) (1942–)

Did you know that if a salamander’s limb is amputated, they will grow a new one? The human DNA is fascinating although it doesn’t allow for a regrowth of a limb. But, what if human DNA could be advanced to the point where we could regrow limbs or live a longer life? In the prologue, Thomas Winthrop is driving with his daughter he fondly calls Katybeth. It’s stormy and the traffic is heavy on I-495 in Washington, DC. They swerve to avoid an accident and end up at the bottom of an embankment. He loses his left leg. They both are transported to the hospital. A year later, they cannot locate the amputee victim they know as Montgomery Meigs. GeneWorks kept Meigs’ tissue cultures and Diane Kowalski, Director of Research at GeneWorks discovered that Meigs’ red blood cell cultures significantly outlived a normal life span. She also discovered a genetic mutation in his DNA which could cause the longevity or could be a sign of cancer. They hire Jack O’Sullivan to find Montgomery Meigs. At the same time, someone is out to destroy the experiment of GeneWorks.

Chapter one goes into a primer on your prior biology classes of the DNA unit as Diane Kowalski is studying the DNA of Meigs. I felt the author thought we may need a refresher before going further into the story. It’s helpful in light of the scientific information included in this story. There are several fun characters; Diane Kowalski was really not one of them. I liked Jack and his assistant, Melanie (Mel). I would like to have seen her character developed more. The concept of the story is very thought-inspiring. There is a bit of romance within … and a bit of a surprising twist on that. The ending was not really an ending, per se. Either the reader is to use their imagination or there will be a book 2. I rated Lightning’s Child at 3 out of 5.… (meer)