Fatal Injection

Black Market DNA #0.5

by Anthony J. Melchiorri

Baltimore’s streets are overrun with enhancers—people who inject themselves with illegally purchased genetic modifications to alter their bodies.

While on patrol in a rough neighborhood, Officer Ana Dellaporta discovers the bullet-riddled corpse of an enhancer and suspects a case of typical gang violence.

But when another enhancer is found terrorizing the locals, his body mutated by gene mods, Ana unearths an unsettling connection between him and the gunshot victim. She must unravel a sinister plot involving missing persons, murder, and genetic experimentation.

In the midst of the madness, one of Ana’s close friends goes missing. Now it’s personal and time is running out. She must uncover the gruesome truth before the trail goes cold and her friend becomes the next victim.

Fatal Injection is a prequel novella from the Black Market DNA series following Ana Dellaporta’s exploits as a Baltimore PD officer fighting biotech crime.

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2015

About the author

Anthony J Melchiorri is a scientist with a PhD in bioengineering. Originally from the Midwest, he now lives in Texas. By day, he develops cellular therapies and 3D-printable artificial organs. By night, he writes apocalyptic, medical, and science-fiction thrillers that blend real-world research with other-worldly possibility. When he isn't in the lab or at the keyboard, he spends his time running, reading, hiking, and traveling in search of new story ideas.

Read more at http://anthonyjmelchiorri.com and sign up for his mailing list at http://bit.ly/ajmlist to hear about his latest releases and news.

Reviews

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Seems like the author is a little stiff in the writing but the story itself was good. I liked the futuristic setting, and the characters were good. I would read the next book in this series.

[Kimberly Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Little Read

I read the 3 other books this series first. .I had to read this one to learn more about Detective Dellaporta. It did not disappoint!

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fatal Injection is a great science fiction, police procedural, horror thriller short story mashup similar in vein to the movies Runaway with Selleck, and Terminator with Schwarzenegger. The story is fast-paced with lots of action, and it clearly sets up a larger series of books called "Black Market DNA."

Here, the protagonist is Officer Ana Dellaporta, a Baltimore beat cop, who along with her partner are investigating the murder of a genetically modified person, killed in what seem like gang-related activity. Yet, when they are called to another crime scene, they find another illegally gen-modified criminal that sets them on a course that leads to an illegal lab that takes the disappeared and may be experimenting on human beings with genetic modifiers.

Intriguing, action-oriented, quick, sci. fi, police procedural, read with horror elements. This is a small sip of a larger glass of wine. My first Melchiorri, but I like the very Ed McBain style.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatal Injection is an action-packed novella set two years prior to the first Black Market DNA book, Enhancement. All but the very end focuses on a single exciting night in Baltimore. Officer Ana Dellaporta, who was a minor character in Enhancement, must unravel the connections between a series of crimes to rescue her friend. It's a fast-paced, exciting page-turner, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[lynda dwight · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolute action from the very beginning. read this in little over an hour . I don't normally read such short novels but im glad I gave this one a chance it was really good. I wanted more ... guess ill have to check out the full length ones in this series ...

set in the future with machines basically doing most everything and what technology can do in the wrong hands...

awesome.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist Ana Dellaporta a Baltimore P.D. is a tough woman. She was going after a suspect, whom she thinks carrying a bio contraband, an enhancer that will make human body turned into a veritable monster. A bio tech black market using homeless people as their guinea pig to put the medicine into the market.

Very exciting, until the end. An action-packed thriller!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good short story. Read in one sitting.