The Mendelian Protocol

by Raymond Finkle

Two genetic researchers are brutally slain on a remote beach in the Bahamas. The investigation falls to Dr. Natalie Franklin, the small-town Medical Examiner working her first murder case. She doesn’t mind dealing with dead bodies, but dealing with her boss, the Chief of Police, is another matter entirely. As she struggles to make sense of the bizarre forensic clues, she learns that sometimes the truth is a casualty that no one wants revived. She vows to find answers to explain the evidence that is seemingly impossible to reconcile. The Keller Corporation is the main employer on the island of St. Angela. When researcher Greg Cooper is hired, he initially thinks he has landed in paradise. After a few days of crunching data, though, he realizes that his dream job is more of a tedious grind than anything else. Out of boredom he begins to poke around and soon suspects that the Keller Corporation is up to something unethical or even sinister. When Greg discovers another dead body, it seems like a horrible accident, and that’s what Dr. Natalie Franklin thinks, too. But it isn’t long before Greg and Natalie are racing to unlock the secret of the Mendelian Protocol before becoming victims themselves.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Ebooks, Fiction

234 pages, Paperback

Published November 3, 2016

About the author

Raymond Finkle is a physician who lives in New England. He wrote The Mendelian Protocol in 2005 during medical school. He decided to revive his writing career in 2020 because it was such a great year, all around, that it just seemed like the thing to do.
He released the Insanity Criterion, also a sci-fi medical thriller, in October 2020.
His third book The Armageddon Prophecy should be out before the end of 2020. It is not sci-fi.
He is currently working on his fourth book, a mystery set on Nantucket Island in the 1980s.
His short story collection Three Stories is available on Amazon.
He can be reached at rayfinkleauthor@gmail.com

Reviews

[Cookie M.]

Not reading it.
Not reviewing it.
Not rating it.
The grammar will shorten my life by five years.

I received this book free from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Review

What begins as a classic murder mystery and thriller quickly turns into a full blown nightmare of isolation and experimentation gone very, very wrong. Author Raymond Finkle has done a fantastic job of creating a narrative that plays on the fear of isolation on the islands the story takes place in, while dealing with the chills and thrills of sci-fi themes with horror based murder mysteries as the story progresses.

By all accounts the story begins as a murder mystery, but soon events begin to transpire and the plot completely evolves into a whole new mystery, one that puts a small group of people to the test and past their limits. The theme of isolation and new creatures reminded me thematically of Dean Koontz’s Phantoms, a personal favorite of mine.

The Verdict

A wonderful blend of sci-fi thriller and murder mystery, The Mendelian Protocol by Raymond Finkle is a must read for any longtime fans of the genres. An edge-of-your-seat thriller that explores the boundaries of science, the chilling consequences of altering the evolutionary process and the bonds we create in the face of those dangers. Be sure to grab your copy of the book today!

[Kirk Weikart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Americans go to the Bahamas for 6 month work contracts at a genetic engineering firm. As authorities find, and then continue to find, dead bodies, an uneasy feeling comes over the small town of St. Angela.

The plot starts out somewhat predictably, but there is an ingenious twist that keeps you reading until the end.

Unfortunately, I found the writing to be very average. The sentence and paragraph structures were too "modern" for my taste. There were too many characters, and the lack of character development in the lesser characters makes the reader pause to attempt to process who is where doing what.

[Matt Egan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sci-fi thriller

The Mendelian Protocol is an enjoyable sci-fi thriller set on a day in the Bahamas. The book has a very unique plot, not quite like anything else I've read. It blends sci-fi, horror and medical thriller aspects effectively. The writing is good, the characters are likeable and self sacrificing, the dialog is realistic and intelligent, the pace is fast and is a perfect match for the plot! Overall, 4/5 stars, highly recommended for fans of science fiction thrillers, horror and medical thrillers!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Robin Cook/Michael Crichton book for current times. It follows Dr. Natalie Franklin, as she investigates a murder on St Angela. Her boss is giving her a hard time - and not enough help, of course - and soon her investigation leads her to the Keller Corporation.

This book was great. There was enough character building to keep things interesting. The scenery and lifestyle as described on the island was lovely. The action was intense.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrative moves along, good action, a relatively formulaic but solid horror story.
The characters however are stock characters and there is one character who does evil things but is described as a well-meaning and good person, presumably under some twisted utilitarian morality. IThat knocked one and a half stars off for me and is a poor choice for an author. Present the character and story, the readers decide whether they are good or bad, we don't need authors preaching at us.

[Uma · Rating 2 out of 5]

A huge disappointment!!

As a retired geneticist, I looked forward to this book with eager anticipation but it turned out to morph into a horror story where normal human beings are being pursued by totally abnormal creatures to the detriment of normal people!!

Not much of genetics and total horror including the total disappointment of the chief geneticist makes this book a stroke of bad luck for the eager readers!!!

[Paula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too bad

This might have been a good book, I don’t know, because even before I got to page 79, the author had already taken the Lord’s name in vain twice...I’m not a prude, but it’s my policy to not read books with blasphemy in them...so unnecessary...doesn’t make a book one bit better!

[MRS G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the concept of this book was so believable. Raymond Finkle's 'easy to get into' writing style, meant you could fly through the book without any issues. Definitely dark moments of "how the heck are they going to get out of here!" Throughout the story.
It's maybe a little longer than it needed to be.

[Ilse DeBord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fully engaged in the story

This book kept me up at night. The premise was so shocking but believable that I could not put it down. This was an action thriller. The scientific consequence was the star character and the people the supporting cast but it was developed into a good read. Very visual descriptions of the scenes so it played in Technicolor in my mind.

[Rick Molitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi type thriller

This is the story of medical experimentation gone wrong. It shows what could possibly go wrong with secret scientific experiments. The story moves along quickly with an interesting cast of characters. I felt that it was a pretty good read.

[barbara pint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review

Great read. Author has a great imagination. Lots of twists and turns. Plenty to keep your attention and read full late in the night. Characters a great variety and some very likable as well as some not so likeable. I recommend this book highly.

[Donna MILLER. · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!

I could not stop reading. There is not one aspect of this story I did not like. Can't wait to read the next book by this author. As a Rn, and a futuristic scifi lover this read was the best I have read in a long time!

[Curtis · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can waste your time reading about getting eaten by a shark (not really a shark), or being chased killed and eaten by a zombie, or you can watch the same thing on tv and save time.
I really can't believe I read the whole book.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just did not work for me. I do not accept the basic premise that shortening the telomeres and causing a decreased lifespan will accelerate evolution. Other than that, the book becomes something like a zombie story with lots of people getting killed.

[diannscollins]

Not a Zombie Fan

After reading two thirds of this book, I went forward to the last few pages. I get that science is experimenting with DNA, but what lab had the money for this kind of ending.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept my attention from the first page to the last

[Jessica Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great read, kept me turning pages. I like the sci-fi aspect meets suspense. Can’t wait for another book to come out.

[Tom Kolodziej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book

This is a really different book. the plot moves fast, the characters are good, a lot of surprises. I recommend this book.

[Mark Steingass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this author. His characters are interesting and realistic. His stories are fun. I like the medical angle of his writing. I will read more of his stuff.

[Erica G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Sci-fi thriller with an unexpected plot.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty of weird Science

Great story, read it cover to cover. Plenty of action and suspense. Heros came and went. Good clean action story that keeps you guessing till the end.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. Strange to say the lest. I like some of it but it was a bit too supernatural for me.

[Terri Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!

This story was a page turner from the first page to the last. I was totally hooked on this story!

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

DNA experiments go wrong

A thriller that has genetically evolved men who live 10 hours and fish who can adapt to various living conditions. Downright scary.

[Pedro Bedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fanciful story, gene altered monsters of nightmare escaped and evolved just to eat and kill in their short engineered lifetime. Scary stuff and plenty of gore but quite entertaining.

[timothy meredith faye meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Well worth reading. Read the book in one day. 😇 😊 🙂 😗🤗🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗🤗🤗 🤗 🤗🤗 🤗🤗

[Judy West · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but not my genre

[john gilpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

unusual read

As per heading, an unusual plot.but worth the read or maybe it’s just me left so it can become an interesting series

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

two genetic researchers are murdered on an island, and strange fish appear, as well as an attacking shark. I?t appears to be an experiment gone wrong