Review: Embryo by J.A. Schneider

Title: Embryo Author: J.A. Schneider Publication Date: May 18, 2012
Synopsis:
“Maria Moran’s first inkling of trouble was the coppery taste in her mouth. It came suddenly, a rushing whoosh of something that made her gag, and when she reached to wipe her mouth, her hand came away smeared with blood.” 

So begins this thriller about a young intern, Jill Raney, determined to investigate tragedies and terror at a famous fertility and genetic engineering hospital. When two pregnant women die and a fetus is delivered with severe chromosomal abnormalities, Jill’s superiors - including handsome, smitten-with-her resident David Levine – insist there’s no common link. 

But her suspicions deepen with the grotesque murder near the hospital of another pregnant woman - her belly drained of amniotic fluid. And when a woman miscarries in the hospital and then disappears, Jill frantically searches for her - following a terrifying path that seems to link all the victims: Is someone playing with life...and the structures of human life itself? 
My Thoughts:
Jill Raney is a promising intern at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country. She works hard and is determined to make a name for herself. She keeps her head down and does as she is told. That is until strange things start to happen. Healthy women are losing babies at every turn, some even losing their own lives. Pregnant women are being murdered and other women are disappearing. Jill is the only one who seems to care about what is going on, positive something foul is at play. But when nobody believes her, not even her handsome boss who she has recently struck up a romantic relationship with, she is forced to take matters into her own hands. Even if it means costing her her life.
I'm just going to throw this right out there: LOVED IT! I've never read a medical thriller before, so I wasn't sure how this one was going to work out. I don't know much when it comes to medical lingo and wasn't sure I'd be able to follow along completely. But I guess my love for reality TV and all those baby shows has paid off because I had no trouble at all keeping up with this book.
Jill Raney is an immediately likable character. We meet her for the first time right after an intense moment with her boss, David Levine. She shows heart and strength right away and continues to do so throughout the book, even when backed into a corner. I admired her for doing what she knew to be right even with the threat of losing her job and even her own life in the process. I wasn't sure about David at first, but I grew to like him more and more as the story progressed. 
Aside from Jill's personal life and growing romance with David, the overall story of Embryo is pretty fascinating. There are women being murdered and some really horrible things are happening to pregnant women and their unborn babies. I felt a little thankful that I can no longer have children because some of the things happening to these women would have tortured me through another pregnancy.  
The writing in Embryo is perfect. There is a lot of action, a little romance and you definitely walk away feeling like you've learned something. Schneider does a fantastic job giving these doctors and interns true to life personalities, as well as the patients. You get the same feeling from these characters that you would being in the hospital yourself. You can tell that Schneider did quite a bit of research for this book.
Overall, I can't recommend this book enough. It was intriguing, smart and pretty scary at times. I recommend this to everyone! 

To learn more about J.A. Schneider and Embryo, check out her website here.

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*I received this book for free in exchange of my honest review. This did not influence my opinion in any way and all views and opinions expressed are 100% my own.