"Exhilarating shocking medical thriller"

In Malibu, California, as a storm rages neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Preston drives home with his brother Matt following the latter's engagement party. Michael decides to pull over until the current torrent eases up, but before he can find a safe spot, an SUV swerves all over the road before hitting Michael's vehicle. Michael saves Matt's life, but he is paralyzed. The DUI receives a fine and some community service and goes on driving. Michael feels responsible though he logically knows better.

Three years later, Stergis Braxton meets with Michael to bring him on the research team that is very close to finding a way to reverse spinal cord injuries. Obsessed with a cure, Michael agrees though he finds Stergis' paranoia strange. Michael cannot believe the medical community led by a powerful HMO and the American government would not want a successful cure, but then again the polio vaccine cost the industry billions. Soon Michael will learn the truth as the hired killers of the Consortium want him and Kayla Kilmer, daughter of the key researcher, dead at all costs.

Though the chase is fun to follow, that subplot takes away from an exhilarating shocking medical thriller that never lets up until the final hoped for dash for safety. Readers will find it difficult to accept the premise that a major breakthrough would be thwarted by the medical big business government consortium Rusty Reeves makes a compelling case that proves is the key to this strong exposé tale. Sub-genre fans and anyone interested in conspiracies that the public be damned will want to read this well written tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 23, 2003

Summary

REVEALING THE COVENANT by Rusty Van Reeves is a novel full of memorable characters and unforgettable places. Turn on your TV; the nightly news is full of stories about embryonic stem cells (ESC). You are either for them or against them. The debate has meandered its way from the laboratories of academia—to the Oval Office of the President—to the halls of the Vatican. The main question remains the same. Is an unfertilized egg a human being? Remember, women routinely lose these unfertile eggs every month during their menstrual cycle. What if you or a member of your family were paralyzed suddenly from a car wreck, a sudden fall, or any other unforeseen accident? Do you or your family have a history of MS, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's? It is strongly believed that embryonic stem cells are the single greatest hope of curing this host of spinal and central nervous systems (CNS) conditions. Jonas Salk eradicated Polio in the 1950s. ESC has that same potential... but politics, religion and corporate greed are conspiring to keep us from realizing that dream. REVEALING THE COVENANT deals with this conspiracy and shows the extremes certain people are willing to take.