Title: Baby X
Author: Kira Peikoff
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Release Date: March 5, 2024
When any biological matter can be used to create life, stolen celebrity DNA sells to the highest bidder—or the craziest stalker—in this propulsive thriller.
With a vivid imagining of the future, _Gattaca _meets Black Mirror in Kira Peikoff’s Baby X.
In the near-future United States, where advanced technology can create eggs or sperm from any person’s cells, celebrities face the alarming potential of meeting biological children they never conceived. Famous singer Trace Thorne is tired of being targeted by the Vault, a black market site devoted to stealing DNA. Sick of paying ransom money for his own cell matter, he hires bio-security guard Ember Ryan to ensure his biological safety.
Ember will do anything she can to protect her clients. She knows all the Vault’s tricks—discarded tissues, used straws, lipstick tubes—and has prevented countless DNA thefts. Working for Thorne, her focus becomes split when she begins to fall for him, but she knows she hasn’t let anything slip—love or not, his DNA is safe. But then she and Thorne are confronted by a pregnant woman, Quinn, who claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, and all bets are off.
Brilliantly plotted and terrifyingly prescient, Baby X is an unpredictable and relentless speculative thriller perfect for fans of Blake Crouch and John Marrs.
A Great Sci-Fi Novel
This futuristic AI world with genetic selection had me hooked from the very beginning.
The story is told through the perspectives of three main women:
-Quinn is a young woman who has become a surrogate. She meets Bob, who recently became a widower after his husband passed away in an accident. When Bob proposes that she carry his baby using the embryos he created with his husband, she agrees.
-Ember has recently decided to open her own business. Her line of work involves protecting famous individuals from having their DNA stolen by "The Vault" and then sold on the black market to the highest bidder. Her first client is none other than the famous singer, Thorne.
-Lily was created the old-fashioned way; she wasn't "selected." She's starting a new internship and is determined to make an impression. She just needs to pitch the next big story to her new boss.
All these women's lives will collide masterfully.
Baby X was so engrossing that I never wanted to stop reading. The novel's futuristic aspects were well-executed, providing readers with intriguing possibilities, such as self-driving helicopters, AI doggies, or the unethical creation of lab babies using cells, hair, or saliva without consent.
I will definitely keep this author in mind for future reads.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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