I am turning into quite a big fan of theologically based thrillers (thank you Dan Brown), and the plot of The Genesis Code seemed right up my street.
The book is around 40 chapters long and the first 34 are superb, on a par at least with that of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, or The Da Vinci Code. The book has such a superbly written sinister feel to it; to compare it to a film it would be Se7en.
Joe Lassiter is the hero of the book, a likeable man who sometimes seems out of his depth, but displays great resourcefulness. He is a Private Investigator and his sister and nephew have been savagely murdered for no apparent reason. Perfect. What happens for the next 34 chapters is gripping stuff: dark and sinister goings on, and the unwrapping of some grisly and corrupt shenanigans. That's all I'm saying...
The last couple of chapters go off the boil a bit - the book loses the sinister feel and becomes a bit of a critique of the tabloid media (!). At the final couple of scenes it picks up again, though.
The thing that let The Genesis Code down is the ending: it's all wrapped up just a little too neatly. It is a good ending, no question: a neat little twist happens, and the story plays out very smoothly. However, this is in contrast to the savagery of the first 34 chapters; like I said earlier, it goes off the boil a bit.
Overall the book is believable, some say a little far-fetched (which is fair), there are enough loose ends which finish the book with a touch of suspense, although perhaps Case does not explore these enough? There is only ONE BIT which disappointed me, though (and again, no spoilers here): Lassiter is given *something* very integral to the solution to the story half way through, and he keeps on "forgetting" about it until the last scene. You'll know what I mean if/when you read it.
Which I hope you do!
