The Genesis Code

By: John Case

Narrated by: Dick Hill

In a remote hill town in Italy, a renowned scientist enters the confessional. A dying man, he pours out the secret that has consumed his life for years - a sin of such magnitude that the shocked priest refuses him absolution.

In a suburb of Washington, D.C., Joe Lassiter's only sister and her young son have been killed in a sudden fire that engulfs their home. The police believe it was arson; they soon discover that mother and child were brutally murdered before the blaze was set.

As Lassiter tries to find out why they were killed, he comes to believe others may have been murdered in similar fashion. And still more people may die if he cannot discover the elusive connection that links the innocent victims together.

©2005 John Case (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"You'll probably guess what's behind the murders of mothers and their very young sons long before investigator Joe Lassiter does, but that shouldn't spoil your enjoyment of this exciting and thoughtful new thriller that mixes science and faith in with its action. Lassiter's own sister and beloved nephew are among the victims, who were all patients at an Italian fertility clinic run by a doctor with some unusual ideas about DNA. Why this catches the attention of a dangerous religious order, and whether Lassiter can save one surviving woman and child from their wrath, should take up a good part of your night." (Amazon.com review)

Great! What an ending!

My first book by this author, but I’ll definitely look for more! Narration good too.

Not bad, but not great, either

The ending won't come as a shocking surprise, because you'll figure out why people are dying about an hour into the book, but regardless, I enjoy John Case's writing, so I give it three stars. A perfectly credit-worthy listen, if you have a credit going stale.

A solid listen

The book was a little better than I expected it to be. The comparisons to Dan Brown are inevitable; this is a far better-written book. The premise was decent enough, though you won't be the least surprised by the big reveal at the end. In fact, you'll be rolling your eyes wondering why Joe Lassiter can't add two and two.The last few chapters are kinda jammed with new characters and action, making me think the pacing was a little off... I'd like to have met a couple of those characters slightly earlier. (And the names of the two major characters introduced at the end are almost a bad joke, but it works fine really.) Dick Hill does a very good job with his narration, as usual, though frankly I might have made a different choice for such an accent-heavy book (not Hill's strong suit, in my opinion). All nitpicking aside, though, it's well-written and well-read and was a pretty fun listen throughout.

Happy happy

Read in my early teens and have been searching for a while. I enjoyed it more now. :)

Enjoyed it.

I went into this with no expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At times I thought that I was listening a James Rollins book, then a Michael Connelly book. A suspenseful story, a good cast of characters (scientists, assassins, priests, detectives), the plot moves at good pace and the book takes you half way around the world. I definitely recommend it.