A twin, athlete, and scientist leaves a trail of destruction defending her marvel serum.
Mia’s parents have never supported her—all their attention and praise are reserved for her twin sister, Unity. When a car accident puts Unity in a coma, Mia follows in their footsteps as scientists, hoping to finally gain their approval. Instead, she finds something more surprising and monumental—an experimental drug that promises to upend humanity itself, as well as Mia’s understanding of her own past.
Paul Baldwin is a U.S. Air Force veteran. He graduated from Wright State University in Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. While in the military, Paul worked as a C-130 navigator and public affairs officer, earning two master’s degrees. He is married to his high school sweetheart and lives in Northern Virginia.
Serum: A Thrilling Blend of Science, Deception, and High Stakes Survival!
Serum, but author Paul Baldwin, follows the story of Dr. Mia Peers. The story begins with a startling prologue, revealing Mia's perceived relationship with her parents and her sister, Unity. What begins as a clear case of twins vying for the affection and approval of their parents turns into a car crash, which leaves Unity in a vegetative state for the rest of her life and further adds to the strain between Mia and her parents.
Making up for two lives, Mia delves deep into sports and science, as if trying to live out her sister's dreams in hopes of her parents' approval and, perhaps, her sister's approval.
While trying to remain competitive athletically, even into her 30s, Mia makes a ground-breaking discovery on how to develop human genetics. This breakthrough would harness the body's natural healing ability while enhancing physical and mental ability. However, Mia struggles to get her research past the rodent stage and into human testing. This struggle jeopardizes the financial support she's been receiving.
When a test subject shows remarkable strength and mental acuity, Mia knows she's on to something big. However, she's incapable of repeating the process. The pressure of her financial support forces Mia to go public with her findings. She puts her rodent on display for all the world to see. The only thing is, she's garnered the wrong attention.
In this thrilling and captivating ride, Mia finds herself under the watchful and sinister eye of the Mafia, who an unknown source has paid to steal Mia's formula.
Yet, she'll do everything she can to protect her research and the formula--even go against the moral and ethical code of science. To protect herself and her family, Mia injects herself with the formula, which results in more enhancements than she could ever imagine.
While Mia is busy avoiding the Mafia and developing her research, she's also balancing a budding and unexpected romance with a high school love interest, and things couldn't be going any better. Yet, she's reluctant to share her secrets, and for good reason. Sharing her secrets with her new sweetheart could also endanger him or overcomplicate her life. Meanwhile, Mia's recent hire from Italy, Sophia, is working behind the scenes to protect Mia's interests.
Or so it would seem!
Page after page, deception, action, and thrills abound, setting the reader up for a delightful and unforgettable read. Fans of Michael Crichton or John Sandford will find this a delightful read!
When the experiment backfires – Serum is a sci-fi thriller that intensifies with every chapter!
Serum, The Mia Peers series part one, by Paul Baldwin
Fasten your seatbelt and get ready! Serum by Paul Baldwin is a high-octane science fiction novel filled with futuristic – sometimes monstrous, sometimes surprisingly humane – technology, complex characters, and intense action.
The book’s protagonist, Mia, is a fascinating and contradictory woman who, shaped by her childhood and mysterious abilities, constantly pushes boundaries in her search for meaning. She carries a heavy past: parents who always favored her twin sister, Unity, who has been in a coma for twenty years after a car accident; two failed marriages; and an impressive collection of Olympic gold medals.
Almost everything Mia pursues ends in success. In a desperate attempt to earn her parents’ love, she chose early on to follow in their footsteps and study genetics – a path that led to unexpected and groundbreaking results. Now she runs a world-class laboratory and holds a discovery that could change the future of humanity. Meanwhile, her sister remains in a coma, and her parents see Mia primarily as a tool to find a cure that might save Unity.
When crucial sponsors suddenly withdraw their support, Mia makes a desperate decision: she injects herself with her own experimental serum – and all hell breaks loose.
This is the first book I’ve read by Paul Baldwin. The main character is Mia, a troubled soul who has enough redeemable characteristics that you can cheer for her and enough humanity that you can connect with her. There are several minor characters, also believable and well developed. It is well written. The flow of the story hits slow spots in the first half, but the second half makes up for it. The second half has enough twists and turns that it will keep you on the edge of your seat. There are a couple of major twists which change your perspective of the story. What I liked was that there were hints along the way that settled in the back of my mind and only surfaced when the twist was revealed. In my opinion, that’s how stories should be written. Warning: This is a “to be continued” story. The main problem reaches enough of a conclusion that it’s a good ending, but there are definite loose ends that aren’t tied up, presumably to make the reader want to buy the sequel. All in all, it’s a good read and I’d recommend it.