The main protagonists/detectives are both physicians: a man (Richard) and a woman (Holly) who live in separate states and don't know each other at the beginning. Somewhat surprisingly for a male author, Donaldson does a great job with creating female characters who are smart, brave, and likable. He even has an OLDER female character (Susan) who is strong, brave, and capable. The villains in this book (and there's more than one) are all men with a desire for money and power.

The plot involves genetic engineering and the theft of some human eggs from the fertility specialist who is holding Holly's eggs (who was made infertile by cancer treatment at a young age). Holly is determined to get the eggs back -- they're her only chance at having her own biological children -- and that means she must find the person who stole them. Working from the most slender of clues, and with the help of Susan, the fertility specialist, she follows the leads back to a dairy farm in Wisconsin where something very odd is happening. There have been some mysterious deaths/disappearances in that small town (where widower Richard is the neurologist who treated three of the people who died so mysteriously).

There's a hint of romance and a roller coaster ride as Holly and Richard try to find out what's killing these people and get Holly's eggs back before anyone else -- including Holly and RIchard -- are killed by the villains.

I'd give this book five stars, but the plot was (when all was said and done) hard to believe, and the book was a bit slow in the first 50 plus pages. But -- keep reading, it's well worth it.


Genetic engineering at its worst.   September 16, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I've been reading Robin Cook books and decided to try another 'medical thriller' author. Don Donaldson is an author I'd recommend to anyone who reads Robin Cook. This book was a bit slow to start. In fact, I was tempted a few times to stop reading it. However, after 100 pages or so, things started to pickup. This book shows the dark side of genetic engineering. Although it is a work of fiction, it's scary to think that this may one day be possible.


An Emotional Roller Coaster   July 31, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

IN THE BLOOD, a new medical thriller by Don Donaldson, takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. First there is a single female physician who has faced a terminal illness..... Leukemia and lived. Then Donaldson takes you into the world of fertility clinics and egg donation. Immediately, he introduces the unbelievable occurrence of donated eggs being stolen and involves you, his reader, in sharing in the search. The roller coaster ride has just begun! Utilizing cutting edge science, ethical issues and the readers' emotional involvement he takes you on a ride of a lifetime. Each character, either good or evil, is very believable in their creative development and descriptions. Like a roller coaster, the story takes you up to the top with both horrific and vulnerable characters. Then you hold on, often with white knuckles, as you turn each page with that same feeling of rushing down the other side.

As a mental health provider, I look for a reading escape that is exciting, fun and has enough of a challenge not to waste my time. Donaldson has done it again with IN THE BLOOD, his previous thriller being DO NO HARM. After two books of this type of entertainment, I have already bought my ticket for the next ride.


A Thrilling Ride   June 22, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

"In the Blood" reaffirms Don Donaldson's superb talents as a creative writer and scientist, and as a master of the medical thriller genre. His writing style consistently brings the reader deeply into the adventure at hand and keeps us "running" from chapter to chapter. In this, his second medical thriller (his first being "Do No Harm"), he involves us in scientific achievement gone uncontrolled. He draws a picture of a young physician, Dr. Holly Fisher, eager to begin her new life as a cancer survivor by claiming her commercially-preserved eggs and then having the child she has dreamed of. We feel her dashed spirits when her lover rejects the possibility and then when she discovers that her eggs have been stolen. Her determination to find the thief and, hopefully, the eggs, lead her and her ally (the head of the clinic from which the eggs were taken) into the Wisconsin dairy industry where they are confronted by convincing and realistic dangers. Ironically, it leads Holly into a secret production center where her eggs and others are being used to produce a cancer-curing drug.
Donaldson's careful research into the science involved in the central theme gives him the capability of creating a scenario that is both believable and appalling. His heroine investigates the circumstances intelligently, giving the reader the sense that ordinary mortals can problem-solve and search out the answers to the questions that arise as the book progresses to the resolution of the situation. The science is strong but understandable to the non-scientist who wants to enjoy a thrilling ride through a unique experience in the scientific "underworld". Donaldson doesn't disappoint and leaves us looking forward to his next creation. Those of us who have been fans from the time of his forensic adventures with Andy Broussard and Kit Franklyn are happy to see his even greater success with the medical thriller genre.