It’s 2053 and scientific achievements have significantly altered every aspect of daily life. Neroprosthetic implants connect people instantaneously, eliminating the need for phones and computers. Medical diagnostics have become more efficient and reliable, as have actual investigations. Dr. Hagan Maerici is a researcher and surgeon working on creating the world’s first true artificial intelligence.
Just as he begins to reach a breakthrough, however, he must turn is attention to the case at hand. All three suspects are his patients and all three are showing significant health deterioration in the wake of their arrests. Dezner is convinced that the medical anomalies are a ruse meant to disprove actual guilt, but Maerici is certain this isn’t the case. But aside from motive and connection, the thing that’s most mysterious is how the three killers have ended up in this state. And as long as the answer eludes them, they have no way of knowing if the crimes are isolated to their three suspects or if the city could be facing more to come.
Eric C. Leuthardt’s debut is a brilliant melding of science fiction and police procedural. And when I say brilliant, I do mean it – Leuthardt is a bio engineer and neurosurgeon.
The science aspects in RedDevil 4 can be a bit overwhelming for a layperson (like myself) but the story moves along at an incredible pace. The entire thing plays out in just over 36 hours as a whole and features almost non-stop action alongside a frighteningly easy to believe premise. In short, RedDevil 4 is an impossible to put down thriller.
3/14 Becky Lejeune
REDDEVIL 4 by Eric C. Leuthardt. Forge Books (February 4, 2014). ISBN 978-0765332561. 368p.
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