Genesis / M.P. McDonald

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Thriller

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

A mother of three and a respiratory therapist, M.P. McDonald has been an avid reader her entire life. As the fifth of eight children, hiding in the corner with a book was her only way to get a moment of peace. She has three other books available in the Mark Taylor series.

For more, visit McDonald’s blog.

Description:

A prequel to her popular Mark Taylor series, Genesis is the story of photographer Mark Taylor’s trip to Afghanistan, where he buys a camera with magic properties, specifically the ability to see future accidents, crimes, and catastrophes; a future Taylor can sometimes change.

Appraisal:

If you’ve read the entire Mark Taylor series to date, starting with No Good Deed through March into Hell and most recently Deeds of Mercy, you have a vague idea of Mark’s back-story. We know Mark purchased his magical camera from an Afghani bazaar while he and his friend Mohammed (or Mo) were taking photographs and doing additional research for a book Mo planned to write. We’re given hints about the eventual deterioration of Mark’s relationship with Mo in Deeds of Mercy, yet when the series starts with No Good Deed, it may seem that we’re coming in mid-story.

Genesis fills in those gaps, giving us a chance to become better acquainted with Mark and his story before the camera turned his life upside down. I enjoyed this chance to understand the Mark Taylor character as he was before his life was turned upside down. Although not as intense as the other books in the series, Genesis presents Mark with tough decisions that, in many ways, are harder than those he faces in the future, because by then his direction has already been set.

A must read for current Mark Taylor fans, taking us up to a post-9/11 timeframe just before the start of No Good Deed. Also, a viable introduction to Mark’s tale for those who prefer their stories be told chronologically.

FYI:

As a prequel to the prior books in the series, Genesis stands alone. It could be read as the first book in the series without knowledge of events still to come, or at any point for those who have read any of the other books in the series.

Format/Typo Issues:

My reading was based on a beta version. Unable to judge final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four stars