Fair Warning (Jack McEvoy #3) by Michael Connelly

Here's a question -- have you done one of those DNA/Ancestry tracing kits? This thriller explores the dangers that lurk underneath their promise of anonymity. Is your personal information safe? What if someone was able to trace you through your gene sample -- someone who was looking for specific characteristics -- specifically the DRD4 gene. This is a gene that might identify people who exhibit high-risk behaviors and addictions.

Journalist Jack McEvoy works for an Internet news site called "FairWarning" and usually investigates situations that affect consumers. When he's questioned by the LAPD about the homicide of a woman he had a one-night-stand with, he becomes interested due to the way she was killed. He senses there might be a story and finds that the victim also had told a friend that she had been a victim of cyberstalking. Jack sets out to learn all he can about Tina Portero and soon finds himself down the rabbit hole. Soon he has information about four similar deaths and all of the women had turned their DNA over to a company known as GT23. All of them seem to be the work of one person -- The Shrike.

This was great writing and lots of action with details galore. Although two other books by this author feature Jack McEvoy, this worked fine as a standalone. (I'm pretty sure I read THE POET and also THE SCARECROW but so long ago I can't really remember.) The reader is immediately drawn into the story and the well-drawn characters are believable as the narrative continues relentlessly to the climax. Who is the elusive Shrike and where will he strike next? The really scary stuff within actually has to do with the concern about the DNA that so many willingly put in an envelope and mail to these companies. For, you see, government oversight of the DNA analytics industry is a bit lax.

Another interesting aspect of this novel is that, even though this book is a work of fiction, the news site "FairWarning" actually exists and does watchdog reporting as described. The science is real. The dangers are real.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend. I'm eager to revisit books by this author and look forward to future work.

This is the third book that features Jack McEvoy and is part of the Harry Bosch world.
Genre -- suspense, crime thriller, journalists