Invivo

by Robert A. Brown

AN INTENSE AND PROVOCATIVE NOVEL ABOUT AN UNKEPT PROMISE AND LOVE SO STRONG THAT LIFE AND DEATH UNITE.

Harold Spencer’s research at a prestigious Scottish university is within reach of a long-sought cure for genetic disease. His only worry is resisting his wife Shelly's desire for children; not until his research is completed, he says, promising they will not wait too long. He wanted no chance of their child dying like his dad and brother.

But Harold miscalculated. Within days his life is upended, his marriage and research destroyed. Grief and guilt meld into depression. For the first time, he cannot find an answer or a way to recover. Unless he can keep his promise, a child for Shelly, he has no reason to live.

Harold fights his way forward with his imposing intellect, the power of science, and his willingness to sacrifice everything. Follow his descent into a world of desperation where love becomes obsession.

354 pages, Paperback

Published January 5, 2016

About the author

Author of Personal Wisdom: Making Sense of You, Others and the Meaning of Life, Simply Bob: Searching for the Essence and Things I Learned From My Wife.
And these business book: The HST Model for Change, New Darwinian Laws Every Business Should Know, Lean Thinking 4.0, The People Side of Lean Thinking, Earn Their Loyalty, Transparent Management, and Mistake-Proofing Leadership (with Rudy F. Williams).
He has also written these novels: My First Ten Days in Heaven, Invivo, Murder on the Tour and Mayhem at the Open. And these golf books: The Golf Gods, The Golfing Mind, The Way of Golf and A Thousand Rounds of Golf.
Bob is busy with another novel "Boy Illuminated."

Reviews

[William Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Invivo by Robert A. Brown is a book with many twists and turns you definitely won’t be able to predict.

It’s hard to categorize the novel’s genre, but I’d say it’s a mix of science-fiction, crime fiction, mystery and even a little romance.

The main character, Harold, is a scientist on the cusp of a brilliant breakthrough when his world is turned violently upside down and everything he loves is ripped away from him. With the authorities not being much use, Harold decides to take things into his own hands, driven by revenge.

The whole subplot with Harold’s friend Mark could’ve been cut and would have barely affected the novel at all, and some of the science was hard to believe, even in the typical sci-fi genre sense, but Invivo was still an interesting read and the author certainly had many intriguing, innovative ideas.

[Ian Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot to like about this book. It’s well researched, written with a high degree of knowledge of medical procedures and practices, or at least to the uninformed like me, it appeared that way.
Doctor Harold Spencer runs a medical research laboratory working with DNA to find that elusive medical breakthrough. This research involves the use of experimenting with small animals which infuriate a small section of the community. A sadistic brutal murder of a family member triggers the doctor to reassess his life and his motivation to continue.
The story takes several unusual twists as Harold resorts to a bizarre response to his situation.
I enjoyed the story even though I found Harold’s actions at times stretched the imagination.

[Hobart · Rating 2 out of 5]

★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
I'm not sure I can list the problems with this book without hitting the character limit on a post (not sure if WordPress has one, Goodreads does, though). Were this only the story of a grieving scientist driven to some sort of insanity (temporary or otherwise), I might have been able tolerate it. But no, it's so much worse.

I'm just going to do this one in bullet points because I can't muster enough will to really write anything.
* The book promises to be about X, quickly becomes about Y (with a hint of Z) and then ends up being about R and S. I can live with that kind of things sometimes (maybe even enjoy it), but since X and S are so far removed from each other I had no tolerance for it with this novel.
* The dialogue is wooden, clunky, and far too wordy.
* The characters act more due to authorial fiat rather than organically (this isn't 100% true, but it happens enough that I can list it here in good conscience.
* There's a mystery here "solved" in a ridiculous and fanciful way -- the police were so useless that a medical doctor and genetics researcher is able to read a couple of books (that he received in record time) about sociopaths and is equipped to solve. And he does so in ridiculously short manner.
* Maybe I'm wrong -- I could be -- but the science here is so outlandish that Jules Verne wouldn't buy it. It's so far beyond "fringe" science that Walter Bishop would scoff at it.

This is just poorly constructed, and I just can't buy any of the plot-lines. The writing is stiff, lifeless and yet sloppy. For example, one scene starts in a staff meeting with the main characters and his assistants, and mid-conversation it jumps to another mid-conversation with his wife. Also, I'm not sure if the repeated use of a racial slur was because Brown was trying to show just how despicable a character was or if Brown was showing us how despicable he was (given the fact that the character seemed to be being shown in a redemptive light while using the slurs, I'm pretty sure it wasn't that). Even the stuff that I could say was better about this book seemed too contrived -- the romances, the scientific breakthroughs, the friendships, and so on. It just was lousy.

Disclaimer: Actually, this probably doesn't need a disclaimer, because I clearly wasn't influenced by anything -- but I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. Sorry about that, Mr. Brown. Also sorry that it took me 8 more months than I expected to get to it, but . . . something tells me you wouldn't have minded me waiting longer.

[Thomas O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a dash of sci-fi, a pinch of mystery, a morsel of romance and a bit of tragedy – mix them together and you’ll get Invivo, by Robert A. Brown. In this clever novel, Harold, a genetic researcher, is on the verge of an amazing breakthrough when personal tragedy shatters his happy home life. Driven to revenge, he takes an unpredictable step to set his plan in action. The story also features a sub-plot involving Mark, an assistant of Harold’s who suffers a crisis of conscience and seeks atonement for his actions.

What I liked best about this novel is its unpredictability – the ending itself isn’t all that surprising, but what happens on the way there certainly is. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it. As mentioned above, the science in this novel is fiction, so those of you who like your books grounded in reality will need to use a willing suspension of disbelief in order to appreciate this journey and its surprises – not a problem for me and probably not a problem for most readers, I expect.

One thing that I find myself questioning is the necessity of the subplot involving Mark. As his story diverges from Harold’s, he travels to a different part of the world and has his own separate adventure. Their stories reconnect in the end, but the mash-up seemed a little odd to me at the time. In the afterward, the author mentions Harold and Mark represent two different ways in which people can change. Okay, fair enough I suppose. Regardless, the inclusion of this secondary storyline doesn’t sink the novel, and in fact Mark’s journey was very interesting in its own right. Overall I found this to be an enjoyable book that raises questions about science ethics and nature vs. nurture.

[Byn Always · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harold and Shelly seem like they have the perfect life. They’re deeply in love, have a nice home and everything they could want, except a baby. Harold is trying to ‘save’ their future baby by finding a cure through his research and I really expected the book to follow a more expected path.

The violent crime in the midst of everything was gut-wrenching to read and the aftermath even more so. It was so well done as to be uncomfortable, just as it should be.

I really don’t know enough about science and technology to comment on the realistic (or non) nature of that storyline, but regardless, I can stretch my imagination in fiction anyway, so that wasn’t a big thing for me. I enjoy thinking about the possibilities and different conundrums that scientific advances can cause.

Still, things seemed to get a bit disorganized or… I don’t know, maybe the author was just having too many good ideas or was trying to show varying ways that people react to moral issues. It almost felt like this could be two different books.

It was a good read and definitely kept me on my toes. I realized pretty quickly that this wasn’t going to be the typical style thriller.

The descriptions and emotion that are conveyed through the actions of Harold and Shelly were very well done. I think their human-ness was amazingly well done, capturing the emotional rollercoaster that we as humans can get stuck on when life throws us a curve ball.

*I’m finding it hard to write a review without giving away any spoilers.

I'm giving this 4 stars for being such a uniquely told story, I just wish it had been a little less discombobulated in the last part and maybe been tied up a little better. It did seem like it was suddenly rushed at the end.

[Thomas Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

INVIVO is part science fiction, part crime fiction and part literary fiction. That mishmash is what's responsible for the good and the not-so-good qualities of the book.
The science involved is a little farfetched, but possible given today's molecular genetics technology. The crime involved is horrendous, so it's far-reaching effects on the characters is eminently plausible. The human reactions that are the ramifications of the events described are also understandable, and the author does a good job of allowing us to feel the emotions of his deep and complicated characters.
However, the story has a lot of moving parts, and the way in which these parts mesh together could have been better thought out. Some things are not well explained, for instance, how one of the characters, a college student, could effortlessly travel from Scotland to Mexico. The author switches between multiple plotlines at the drop of a hat, which can be jarring and disconcerting. I found the ending trivial, almost as if the author really did not want to answer the moral question he posed. I really wish Mr. Brown had taken more time with this book to iron out these flaws. So I give INVIVO five stars for imagination and daring and three stars for plotting and execution, which averages out to four stars overall.

[Lucretia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly an interesting twist on gene manipulation. More than that it has several layers in the story that had me pondering the gray areas of morality, vengeance, and science. Mark's arc really had me lost in thought at several places as his storyline was the richest for me and took me to most unexpected places. That's not to say what happened with doctor wasn't unexpected, it was, (totally, I never expected that) but for some reason I found Mark's changes more profound. I have the feeling I'll be the odd man out on that one. I love a story that crosses genre lines yet remains relevant to reality which is hard to do, but it is accomplished wonderfully here. This should have a wide appeal to thoughtful readers across many genres.

[T.S. O'Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invivo great cover design and begins with an interesting premise. The setting for the plot is a fictional village in Scotland called Orra. The author is very descriptive in the prose about the picturesque countryside and that makes the book more interesting as it's foreign and hence exotic. An America microbiology researcher seeks the key to making the human genome immune to the disease. The protagonist has a personal stake in his research in that his father and brother died at an early age and he doesn't want to bring a child into this world as he or she will most definitely suffer from the same malady. A possible villain becomes known to the reader. He's a threadbare fisherman with murderous desires. I get the impression that the author is written from a certain depth of understanding of medical research methodology and I respect that he is either knowledgeable or made himself so. I began to be a bit interested in the subject of the human genome and intrigued by the book's premise. I started to empathize with Harold and his loss and wonder whether his heart will turn dark. I don't have to wait too long to find out.

We find out that Animal Rights Activists have infiltrated the research facility and are planning to either actively or passively sabotage the study. The plot takes a rather gruesome turn at this point and those with a weak stomach or adverse reaction to graphically violent sexual content may wish to avoid this section of the book. The more I get into the plot, the more I understand the other reviewer's less than stellar review, as there are several unpalatable passages for those of us in the mainstream.
However, that trigger warning dispensed with, I find the book to be an okay read at first. The characters are well developed and I'm more than happy to venture further to see what the good doctor has in mind in light of the gruesome tragedy that has befallen him. The plot starts to take a strange turn, which I won't document as I don't wish to provide a spoiler, but I'll just say that there were a lot of ways to take the plot and I'm not sure that I would have gone the same way as the author.

If you're into horror or SciFi, or books about transsexuals, give it a read. If I sound a bit of two minds about how I feel about this book, I think it's because I feel that the author takes a rather well developed plot and in my opinion, squanders it by, I don't know, revealing some clandestine urges of the protagonist to let out his feminine side rather than pursuing a more mainstream plot line. I really started to lose interest in the book as I no longer cared what Harold or Holly did and I continued to read because I was obligated to do so. About halfway through the book, I was willing to give this book five stars, but it focuses on the tawdry detrimentally affected my rating.

[Diana Febry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a very hard book to provide a rating for. To be honest for different sections it could have been anywhere from 2.5 to 5 stars. I read a lot of crime thrillers and sometimes get very fed up with the predictability as many follow the same formula and I meader my way towards different genres in search of something fresh and different. I'd say if someone is feeling this way and would like to read something quite unpredictable, then this book might fit the bill.
There are two main stories within the book. Shelly, the wife of a scientist carrying out cutting edge research into DNA is brutally murdered in her home. Her husband, Harold is devastated and seeks revenge. Harold is further betrayed when one of his research team, Mark, releases the animals used for research and burns down the lab in the name of animal rights. At this point Harold makes a decision which takes the story in a quite unexpected and unique direction.
Things I liked about the book.
The originality of the story was a refreshing change if a little unusual.
There was a great sense of setting and in Harold an intriguing character who I cared about.
The book throws up some thought provoking questions about morality, sexuality, the propensity
to change and the role of our genetic make-up in all of this.
It was a page-turner in the sense I really wanted to know where the story would go next!
Things I didn't like about the book.
Although the book has an internal logic the sudden changes of direction did throw me. Initially
I thought it was a story about creating a designer baby, then I thought it was about a widow
seeking revenge for murder, then I thought it was about an animal rights group and finally
it took off in a direction I would never have anticipated. While this made for an interesting read
it was a little unsettling.
I found the events in the final third of the book concerning Harold, although odd, very
interesting. However due to the limited space allowed in the book it was a little too truncated and
the time period given made it a little unbelievable.
Mark's character and his trip to Mexico could have filled up a book by itself so again seemed too
superficial and brief to ring true.
The ending didn't tie up all the loose ends.
Overall, I found it an enjoyable and surprising read and top marks for raising some very thought provoking questions.

[Adelise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me guessing.

In the small quaint town of Orra, Scotland, lives a happy couple. Their lives couldn't be more perfect. Dr Harold Spencer and his beautiful wife Shelly, have it made. The only thing they really seem to have to worry about is whether to start a family or not. But soon, we get a sense that there is something ominous lurking on the horizon of Harold and Shelly's lives.

Invivo is not your normal Sci-Fi novel. Delving into the realms of science fantasy with its gene research and talk of Double DNA. Invivo dips its foot into a little horror with some occasional graphic scenes. And then takes a hairpin turn on itself, leaping head first into matters of mental illness, grief and true friendship.

There were some parts of this book that will haunt me with either their graphic nature or the sadness of them. It has left me asking questions of what I would do in the situation that Dr Harold Spencer was put in.

All in all, Invivo kept me guessing and held me to the end. A little slow to start, so give it some time. Not for the faint of heart or the closed-minded.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5*

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