Capitol Reflections

Attorney Marci Newman has a seizure in court, collapses and dies and this her friend Gwen, who is Dr. Gwen Maulder who happens to work for the FDA, cannot understand. Marci was healthy, she should not have died like that. Gwen starts to investigate, she finds more suspicious deaths, her bosses want her to stop, they reassign her. But does Gwen stop, no and now she's put herself and those she cares about in danger. There is a conspiracy afoot and it has to do with genetically altered food. That'll make you think the next time you go to the supermarket. Especially since they don't label them, but hopefully you won't wind up dead or in trouble like our heroine here. I felt like I was in trouble (on the edge of my seat in trouble) when I was reading this book, you will too. It's very good. I like the characters, liked the plot, like the fact that it kept me turning the pages.

This was a great read. The book starts out with a chain smoking, caffeine drinking New York lawyer working pro-bono. Lawyers working for nothing??? Well I'll concede that it is possible. Anyway, this young impressive lawyer drops dead from a seizure, and the doctors call it natural causes. Enter her best friend, a doc working for the FDA and a reporter, who of course used to be her ex-boyfriend. Independently at first and, later in the story, together they start to put together the clues surrounding this death and uncover a spate of others. I found the plot fascinating. The author does a great job with explaining complex scientific theories and findings in lay terms. Given the Author's impressive resume in policy, politics and science I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't write over my head. I hate to have to google a term while reading. Overall a gripping read.

A friend gave me a copy of "Capitol Reflections" touting it as a thriller surrounding the FDA and dealing with genetically engineering food that could kill Americans. I found it both scary and realistic - when reading or watching a thriller there is always the thought of, "could this happen?" While reading Capitol reflections the answer is "yes, yes and yes".

As I sat down at my PC I heard the words on the radio, am hearing them now, "The FDA says there is no danger from cloned cows, pigs and sheep in the food supply." The news reader goes on to say soon we'll be eating the product of cloned animals and it won't be labeled. He asks his listeners if they'd buy milk from cloned cows if they knew. Well maybe the FDA says it's safe, but I don't know that I believe them. Yet. Seems to me like we need some more testing. Seems to me someone there should read this book. Yes this story about coffee killing people may seem a bit farfetched, but it sure is topical. I've learned a bit about cloned food here that I didn't know. Like, maybe a cloned food isn't harmful to you by itself, but how is it going to react with something else in your system, something else you've eaten? Yes, Dr. Javitt's book is dealing with coffee and not cows, but the parallels are all to real to me. I read this book in a day, engrossed in the story. It's a thriller, that's a fact, but it has a message too, however unlike other novels with a message, Dr. Javitt's doesn't shove it down your throat. It's there, his warning and you know, I don't know why we can't have a warning on our food. That way you have a choice. If you want to eat cloned food you can. If you don't, then you don't have too. Some of the characters in this book didn't get that choice and they died and from that this tense story springs. It's a good debut. I liked it a lot. Dr. Javitt's message hit home too.

This debut novel is well-written and researched and has plenty of action both physical and cerebral. The story begins with a Preface that occurs "The Day after Tomorrow" when an executive takes a final look at his property and boards his Gulfstream jet and sits in the cockpit in the jump seat behind his pilot and co-pilot. They take off down the runway and soon climb to altitude and check in with the tower to assume their heading. At this point, the executive and "lifelong dealer in death", pulls out a old Colt revolver and shoots his pilot and co-pilot and pushing the pilot aside assumes the pilot's seat and resets the cabin pressure to zero and puts the plane into a steep climb. The reader can imagine how this will end. The first Chapter begins in May 2005 in New York City where up-and-coming attorney Marci Newman is grabbing her briefcase and leaving the new Pequod's coffee bistro after a quick salad for lunch and carrying her cup of double skim latte as she walks quickly to the courthouse for a pro bono case she is working on. Marci is also looking forward to getting together with her college roommate Gwen even though she knows Gwen will lecture her about slowing her pace down and spending more time relaxing, resting and eating right. Marci gets to the courthouse where on her floor it is hot due to broken air conditioning and meets up with her client. Their case is called and Marci is perspiring heavily and feels the energy drain out of her. Next thing she is having a seizure and taken to Bellevue. Gwen Maulder, physician, Captain in the Public Health Services and researcher at the FDA, is with her husband when she is notified that Marci is at Bellevue. They race there in time for Gwen to see Marci and for Marci to whisper something to her. Gwen cannot believe that such a young, healthy woman is suddenly dead in such a very strange manner. Meanwhile at the Wall Street Journal, Mark Stern, newspaper columnist and investigative journalist, is researching his latest project on Gregory Randall who is know heir apparent to a company that is number 32 in the Fortune 500. Mark is reading the New York Times as a matter of course and comes across Marci Newman's obituary. Mark used to date Gwen and knows that Marci was her very best friend so he wonders if he should contact Gwen and extend his sympathies. The plot lines develop with several subplots plus unusual intersections. Danger, secrets, suspense and all too real cover-ups create a very exciting read. Highly recommended.