Book Review: Children of Wrath

This novel was a powerful thriller!

When you read a thriller, you expect suspense, anxiety, and a quick pace. This bio-terrorist thriller had all that, but it had even more—it had characters I loved. Ethan and Liz are a deftly nuanced couple who find and decide to love an Inexorable (a psychopathic child who wants to destroy them). And as they face the ramifications of that decision, the tension builds between Ethan and Liz, especially as Ethan searches for a way to heal their son and discovers others will stop at nothing to prevent it. In the end, a cure might cost their very lives.

Children of Wrath is a definite five-star novel, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.  

To see the novel on Amazon, click here.

Blurb:

Five years after working triage during America’s terrible Day of Destruction, Philadelphian Dr. Ethan King wants nothing more for himself and his wife than a normal life. In the aftermath, however, life is anything but normal. The mysterious nerve gas unleashed during the nationwide terrorist attack has left its disturbing mark among the millions of victims, namely brain abnormalities in unborn children. These children, dubbed Inexorables, live up to their name: they are ruthlessly violent, irrepressibly psychopathic—and incurable. They kill without thought or remorse, and inflict torment on their victims with childish glee.

In his pursuit of a normal, peaceful life, Ethan tries as best he can to put these grim realities to the back of his mind. But one cold night, when he comes face to face with an abandoned Inexorable freezing to death in the snow, he must make a choice that could cost him everything, and unravel a thread of dark woven secrets. As he races to find a cure for whatever is creating a generation of doomed children, Ethan discovers that doing the right thing in an evil world is never as clear and easy as it seems.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month

What’s up with EDS?

1.       It’s a rare genetic connective tissue disorder named after two dermatologists who each wrote about patient who had skin that was hyperextensible—super stretchy.

2.       It’s a collagen disorder. Since collagen is in almost every organ, tissue, and system, they can all be affected. That means the pain is chronic, often excruciating, and exhausting. (And no, taking collagen doesn’t solve the problem because our bodies take the collagen from what we eat and drink to build the collagen we need, but EDS bodies build it incorrectly.)

3.       It’s genetic, but not all affected family members share exactly the same symptoms (though they will have the same subtype). It’s also much more commonly diagnosed in women—hormones may affect gene expression.

4.       There are 13 subtypes, each with its own problems and prognosis.

5.       Getting diagnosed. Studies show that it takes the average EDS patient 19 years (yes, 19 years!) to go from showing symptoms to diagnosis. It took 37 years for me to go from symptoms to diagnosis. Partly, it’s because EDS is so rare most doctors haven’t seen a patient with EDS. The 2017 estimate is that somewhere between 1 in 5,000 to 7 in 1,000 people have the type of EDS that I have.

6.       Why is a zebra the mascot for EDS? Doctors are taught when you hear hoofbeats think horse not zebra. After all, it’s pretty rare to find a zebra. But they exist—and so do people with EDS, even though we’re few a far between. 😊