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Overview
Kendra Crawford, head of the maize lab specializing in plant genetics at the University of California at Berkeley, and her handsome top assistant, Paul Raskin, call on private investigator Catherine Sayler to probe a case of continuing vandalism at their biotech lab. Someone has broken into a greenhouse, trashed some plants, and stolen a batch of seed that was being dried. And, in a second incident, vials with genetic material have been stolen from two students who were studying how genes affect growth. Just pranks, or sabotage? And if the events are malicious, are they aimed at individuals or the entire lab? Crawford and Raskin don't want to involve the university or police authorities any more than necessary for fear of losing precious funding should any scandal emerge. It's safer, by far, to put their problems into Catherine's capable hands. But when two researchers die in mysterious circumstances, Catherine knows there's far more at stake than sabotaged research. And she must work alone, as Kendra Crawford and her colleagues seem unwilling to admit the seriousness of the situation. Catherine must also deal with the psychological wounds left by previous violent cases and her growing attraction to Paul Raskin, who threatens to become more than just a client. As she delves deeper into the case, she uncovers a startling secret that takes her beyond the maize research team's small sphere of greenhouses and labs into the high-stakes world of biotech . . . and she moves one step closer to a deadly confrontation with a killer.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
San Francisco high-tech PI Catherine Sayler returns from A Woman's Place to probe sabotage in a university plant genetics lab ("corn sex," her secretary jokes). Hired by Paul Raskin, the magnetically attractive manager of the maize lab at UC-Berkeley, Catherine questions researchers among whom academic and personal jealousies often erupt. When technician Raymond Zak dies of a heart attack, other staffers blame his severe weight problem. Catherine is not convinced: Zak had said he had something important to tell her. Then student Chuck Nishimura suffers a fatal allergic reaction to corn pollen, despite his previously unfailingly careful use of protective gear. Raskin and lab boss Kendra Crawford resist Catherine's certainty of foul play, fearing bad publicity and diminished clout with Berkeley educrats. But Catherine links Nishimura's recent $20,000 windfall to a biotech entrepreneur who may play dirty to cash in on a surprising product of corn research. Her investigation is complicated by the challenge Raskin poses to her commitment to her absent lover, Peter, and by responsibility for her niece, Molly, who is flunking high school while in her care. Grant again paints an engaging and gritty heroine, lovingly renders Bay Area life and, with solid research, even makes corn sex comprehensible. (Oct.)Library Journal
Can information about a gene connected to dwarf corn lead to murder? Catherine Saylor, San Francisco private eye, aims to find out as she investigates suspicious deaths at a university plant genetics lab. Coldly abrupt Kendra bosses the lab, while sexy-eyed Paul assists by refereeing competitive doctoral and post-doctoral studentsall of whom come under suspicion. Nicely sketched cityscapes, forthright prose, and a peppy tempo recommend Grant's (A Woman's Place, LJ 4/1/94) latest title to all readers.Kirkus Reviews
Genetically re-engineered corn may not sound sexy to you, but somebody in Kendra Crawford's Berkeley lab thinks it's worth sabotage, theft, and murder. When Crawford's right-hand man, Paul Raskin, calls in high-tech specialist Catherine Sayler (A Woman's Place, 1994, etc.), somebody's already swiped Julie Chun's irradiated seed corn, stolen Chuck Nishimura's epitubes, and damaged corn plants belonging to Chuck and Raisa Strom. Even worse, it looks as if whoever's undermining the lab is among the lab staff—maybe Dorian Baker, whose two ex-girlfriends both drifted toward Chuck; maybe Chuck, whose bank account has been swollen by an unexplained $20,000; maybe Paul, whose documentary history dead-ends after 15 years. By the time Catherine's investigation has gotten nosey enough to ask questions like these, two people are dead, even though Crawford, who's signing Catherine's checks, won't believe they've been re-engineered for death. Needing more firepower than her employer wants to give her, Catherine puts Kyle Jorland, her absent lover's biotech cowboy buddy, on the case, knowing full well (a lovely touch) that Kyle may be as much trouble as the killer.Catherine's fifth case is by far her best to date. Bolstered by the kind of hard research that makes Barbara D'Amato's mysteries memorable, it pulses with authority and a beautifully controlled sense of pace.
Book Details
Published
November 1, 1997
Publisher
New York : Scribner, 1996.
Pages
260
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780804115582