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Lightning's Child
Genetic researcher Diane Kowalski discovers a key to increasing the human life span, only to have her experiment destroyed by saboteurs. She and private investigator Jack O’Sullivan follow clues that lead them to GJ Mendelsohn Research Laboratories and its mysterious founder, Thomas Winthrop. Winthrop and members of his extended family apparently have shared the longevity secret for several generations. Jack and Diane’s investigation generates confrontation and conflict at first, but eventually leads to compromise and a love triangle. The romantic complications prove every bit as complex and challenging as the social, economic and political consequences of a modern day “fountain of youth.” However, the murder of a principal character sends “the immortality project” in a new direction. Lightning’s Child is a fast-paced thriller, an enchanting love story and an intriguing glimpse into a future in which humankind may control its own evolutionary destiny.
318 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2012
About the author
Michael A. Smith
11 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Michael A. Smith was born in 1942. He earned a baccalaureate degree in history from Kansas Wesleyan University. He attended graduate school at the University of Kansas for two years.
From 1968-73, he worked for several Midwestern newspapers as a reporter, columnist, editor, and editorial writer, specializing in coverage of politics and education.
From 1973-81, he was Associate Director, Illinois Board of Higher Education. Thereafter, he served as Press Secretary to U.S. Congressman Richard Durbin, who later became a U.S. Senator representing Illinois.
From 1984-87, he was Vice President, Public Relations, for the Futures and Options Industry Association, a Washington, D.C. trade association.
During 1992-93, he worked as as a reporter for The Training Times, the newspaper of the Seventh Army Training Command, Grafenwoehr, Germany. Among other subjects, he wrote about the plight of refugees from the Balkan wars.
Since then, he has pursued creative writing, having published to date eight novels and a book of essays. He is also working on an illustrated children's story and several screenplays. (Source: Amazon.com)
Michael A. Smith was born in 1942. He earned a baccalaureate degree in history from Kansas Wesleyan University. He attended graduate school at the University of Kansas for two years.
From 1968-73, he worked for several Midwestern newspapers as a reporter, columnist, editor, and editorial writer, specializing in coverage of politics and education.
From 1973-81, he was Associate Director, Illinois Board of Higher Education. Thereafter, he served as Press Secretary to U.S. Congressman Richard Durbin, who later became a U.S. Senator representing Illinois.
From 1984-87, he was Vice President, Public Relations, for the Futures and Options Industry Association, a Washington, D.C. trade association.
During 1992-93, he worked as as a reporter for The Training Times, the newspaper of the Seventh Army Training Command, Grafenwoehr, Germany. Among other subjects, he wrote about the plight of refugees from the Balkan wars.
Since then, he has pursued creative writing, having published to date eight novels and a book of essays. He is also working on an illustrated children's story and several screenplays. (Source: Amazon.com)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 16, 2015
As I sat down with this book, I was intrigued. The first few sentences of the book description talk about a colonel losing his leg during the Civil War, then losing the same leg again 150 years later, and I wanted to know more. I was also curious to learn about the characters of Jack and Diane. The full book synopsis really threw my brain for a loop: it's disjointed and I could not fathom how he was going to pull off combining a science-filled suspense novel with a "lighthearted" romance.
I hadn't even finished reading chapter two before my excitement had begun to feel more like disappointment. The author had already thrown in two large conversations that came across more like college lectures (though interesting, they were a little tedious to wade through) and this: "Jack was momentarily stunned, having expected a mousy nerd with a PhD and glasses. Instead, he found a beautiful, thirty-ish, tall, strawberry blonde with mesmerizing blue-green eyes, a perfectly synchronized rotating derriere and long, shapely legs." (Need I say more?)
The story: It did get better as the book went on. The suspense part was interesting, the science part was different and engrossing (and I like how it was explained in layman's terms), it moved along quickly, and I was very interested in what was going to happen, but some things just seemed way too easy, including the way it all came together in the end.
The characters: There wasn't a particular character that I absolutely loved, which was unfortunate.
Jack was okay, but he was a "typical" PI - ex-cop, money issues, spying on either the wife or husband in divorce cases. He seemed pretty cool when he was hanging out with his buddies at his favorite bar or talking to his assistant, even when he was investigating, but around Diane he was completely different. I would have liked a character with more depth, and I could have done without his "dirty old man"-moments i.e. "Jack hurried to catch up, although not so fast that he wasn't able to take a good look at her from the back. Diane wore a gray pant suit with subtle black pinstripes. Overall it was a conservative outfit that downplayed her sexuality, but the moderate high heels caused her hips to sway provocatively with every determined step." (Is this a "polite" way to say leering?)
I did not care for Diane at all. She made bad choices, came off as immature (even though she was supposed to be this great scientist), used people, and got herself into situations she should have known better about. The biggest thing was how how everyone kept talking about how beautiful she was.
Winthrop was very interesting, but he kept a lot of secrets, and I could never tell when he was being honest and when he wasn't.
Melanie, Jack's assistant, was probably my favorite - she had so much potential, but her character could have been developed more.
The romance: Now, everyone who knows me (or reads my blogs/reviews regularly) knows that I'm not a big fan of romance. I'm okay with a little romance mixed in - sometimes it does add to the story, especially if the romance is what is motivating a character to take on a particular adventure. I tend to find most romances I read in novels unrealistic, which is okay if you're reading a fantasy (where an elf can fall in love with a dragon, or whatever), but not okay if you're reading a suspense novel. In this novel, there are several characters who are looking for romance, but they seem to be doing it for all the wrong reasons. And it doesn't really add to the story.
The ending: I was unhappy about the abrupt ending, which forces you to read book two (more like a series finale than the end of a novel). A lot of questions were answered, but the very ending leaves you hanging on.
Last night I spent a long time discussing this book with a friend, trying to figure out what I should do, how I should rate it, and what I should say. I settled on a 3 with lots of constructive criticism because I wanted potential readers to be able to make an informed decision. I've only had a couple of reviews that were hard to write, and this one was definitely one of them.
Note: I received a copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This review is my opinion based on my own personal interpretation of the book.
I hadn't even finished reading chapter two before my excitement had begun to feel more like disappointment. The author had already thrown in two large conversations that came across more like college lectures (though interesting, they were a little tedious to wade through) and this: "Jack was momentarily stunned, having expected a mousy nerd with a PhD and glasses. Instead, he found a beautiful, thirty-ish, tall, strawberry blonde with mesmerizing blue-green eyes, a perfectly synchronized rotating derriere and long, shapely legs." (Need I say more?)
The story: It did get better as the book went on. The suspense part was interesting, the science part was different and engrossing (and I like how it was explained in layman's terms), it moved along quickly, and I was very interested in what was going to happen, but some things just seemed way too easy, including the way it all came together in the end.
The characters: There wasn't a particular character that I absolutely loved, which was unfortunate.
Jack was okay, but he was a "typical" PI - ex-cop, money issues, spying on either the wife or husband in divorce cases. He seemed pretty cool when he was hanging out with his buddies at his favorite bar or talking to his assistant, even when he was investigating, but around Diane he was completely different. I would have liked a character with more depth, and I could have done without his "dirty old man"-moments i.e. "Jack hurried to catch up, although not so fast that he wasn't able to take a good look at her from the back. Diane wore a gray pant suit with subtle black pinstripes. Overall it was a conservative outfit that downplayed her sexuality, but the moderate high heels caused her hips to sway provocatively with every determined step." (Is this a "polite" way to say leering?)
I did not care for Diane at all. She made bad choices, came off as immature (even though she was supposed to be this great scientist), used people, and got herself into situations she should have known better about. The biggest thing was how how everyone kept talking about how beautiful she was.
Winthrop was very interesting, but he kept a lot of secrets, and I could never tell when he was being honest and when he wasn't.
Melanie, Jack's assistant, was probably my favorite - she had so much potential, but her character could have been developed more.
The romance: Now, everyone who knows me (or reads my blogs/reviews regularly) knows that I'm not a big fan of romance. I'm okay with a little romance mixed in - sometimes it does add to the story, especially if the romance is what is motivating a character to take on a particular adventure. I tend to find most romances I read in novels unrealistic, which is okay if you're reading a fantasy (where an elf can fall in love with a dragon, or whatever), but not okay if you're reading a suspense novel. In this novel, there are several characters who are looking for romance, but they seem to be doing it for all the wrong reasons. And it doesn't really add to the story.
The ending: I was unhappy about the abrupt ending, which forces you to read book two (more like a series finale than the end of a novel). A lot of questions were answered, but the very ending leaves you hanging on.
Last night I spent a long time discussing this book with a friend, trying to figure out what I should do, how I should rate it, and what I should say. I settled on a 3 with lots of constructive criticism because I wanted potential readers to be able to make an informed decision. I've only had a couple of reviews that were hard to write, and this one was definitely one of them.
Note: I received a copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This review is my opinion based on my own personal interpretation of the book.
August 27, 2020
Elaborate page turner
This sophisticated novel is a blend of Civil War history, 21st (or 22nd) century genetics, and the usual elements of a good story— ambition, jealousy, intrigue, love, and mystery.
This sophisticated novel is a blend of Civil War history, 21st (or 22nd) century genetics, and the usual elements of a good story— ambition, jealousy, intrigue, love, and mystery.
January 19, 2015
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.
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.
January 14, 2015
I received this book from the touring host for an honest review.
The title of the book makes you wonder what the story is all about; we find ourselves in the car with Thomas Winthrop and Katybeth, on a main road in pouring rain. Then, in an instant, their lives changed: they are involved in an accident. The drama unfolds even more when Dr Diane tested the DNA samples she had received from a patient. She works for Gene Works; while the test was underway the patient was mysteriously removed from the hospital and no one knows where he was. Diane discovered interesting results during the tests that could lead to a major breakthrough in further DNA research. But no one can find him, vanished from the face of the earth. She employed a PI named Jack, he is apparently a very good detective but with unorthodox methods.
As the mystery unfolds it gets more involved with each page, the words and chapters passed by quickly, drawing you into this well crafted plot. You want to know the answers to the questions, so you keep on reading. More and more characters are introduced as the story unfurls, raising more questions. It becomes more suspense full with each chapter as you try to determine this secrecy regarding the missing man and his DNA.
A well told mystery that keeps you glued to the pages, with every bit of evidence found more questions needs to be answered.
The story line is good and the characters are strong and believable.
Well done Michael to a very suspenseful and well written story.
The title of the book makes you wonder what the story is all about; we find ourselves in the car with Thomas Winthrop and Katybeth, on a main road in pouring rain. Then, in an instant, their lives changed: they are involved in an accident. The drama unfolds even more when Dr Diane tested the DNA samples she had received from a patient. She works for Gene Works; while the test was underway the patient was mysteriously removed from the hospital and no one knows where he was. Diane discovered interesting results during the tests that could lead to a major breakthrough in further DNA research. But no one can find him, vanished from the face of the earth. She employed a PI named Jack, he is apparently a very good detective but with unorthodox methods.
As the mystery unfolds it gets more involved with each page, the words and chapters passed by quickly, drawing you into this well crafted plot. You want to know the answers to the questions, so you keep on reading. More and more characters are introduced as the story unfurls, raising more questions. It becomes more suspense full with each chapter as you try to determine this secrecy regarding the missing man and his DNA.
A well told mystery that keeps you glued to the pages, with every bit of evidence found more questions needs to be answered.
The story line is good and the characters are strong and believable.
Well done Michael to a very suspenseful and well written story.
December 20, 2014
this is quite the book! There are several other reviewers who say that they didn't like the technical talk and jargon... but personally, I loved it. To me, it added a ton to the book, and it is not difficult at all to understand. For someone who doesn't usually venture into the sci-fi genre, I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved this book--it kept me reading from the beginning till the end, for sure! The author's skillful descriptions and writing was extraordinary, and really made the story come to life for me. There were a lot of characters in the book, from Diane Kowalski, a research scientist, Jack O'Sullivan, a private investigator, and to Thomas, and Katybeth... but I had no difficulty following the storyline and I truly enjoyed the characters. I definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys a good science based novel... and even if you're not into the genre, I have no doubt you'll enjoy this one!
January 9, 2013
I am halfway through this book and am putting it down. It is a well written book and I really like O'Sullivan's character. Parts of the book remind me of the witty banter of movies like My Girl Friday and actors like James Stewart. I have to put the book down because I can't seem to find the focus. At first it was about identifying the donor of this amazing DNA and even though you kind of knew who it was already, you at least had a general idea of where the book was headed. After the confrontation of investigator and mysterious donor I was sort of at a loss as to where the book was going. Even the theory of how the donor received this amazing long life and regeneration capability is presented so what else is there? Why am I still reading?!
I did enjoy what I read I just feel like I don't know where else it's going and have lost interest.
I did enjoy what I read I just feel like I don't know where else it's going and have lost interest.
December 9, 2014
This was one of those reads that really blew me out of the water! Smith's well-written characters and intricate plot kept me interested from the first page to the last. I especially enjoyed how well the themes were woven into the story. Though this is my first time reading Michael Smith, it certainly won't be the last!
December 20, 2014
Love the book well written
Kept me on the edge of my seat. Must read for the deep reader, will order next book of Michael Smith's.
Kept me on the edge of my seat. Must read for the deep reader, will order next book of Michael Smith's.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews