3/5 stars

Rebirth by Sandra Olson

Well, what a pleasant surprise! For a first novel, Sandra has done a really great job. Rebirth is the story of a dad who will stop at nothing to save his sick daughter–and won’t let anyone get in his way.

I enjoyed that Sandra used her background and real life experience to tell us what it’s like to work as a labor and delivery nurse. The desperate father in the story is a wealthy and brilliant doctor who uses his skills and resources to take exciting, breakthrough technologies–ideas that are actually on the cusp of becoming reality in real life–and use them to heal his daughter. Topics such as cloning, embryonic stem cells, and chromosomal manipulation are all discussed. As the doctor begins to cross into untraveled territory with these technologies, the line between what’s ethical and what’s not begins to blur. He is forced to bring some unsavory characters into his circle of trust, and soon things are out of hand for the good doctor–but perfectly exciting for us!

There are a lot of characters in the story and they are not very developed–some might say they are quite one dimensional. As a result I occasionally felt confused as to who was who, especially early on. However, this book is about the plot, and the story is strong enough that the strength of the characters takes a back seat. Honestly, I can easily see this story come from the mind of Stephen King.

Thank you Sandra! I am pleased to say I enjoyed reading Rebirth. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a good medical thriller–unless you are a pregnant women. Pregnant women will probably want to stay away until after their baby is born!