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Genetic Testing
The Killing Gene follows a genetic research team as they discover the gene pattern they believe is linked to violent tendencies and serial killers. Where did the idea for this book come from?
My niece was getting IVF, and I overheard that she had selected certain characteristics, eye, hair, skin, and educational background. Then I recalled my son’s genetic testing for Down Syndrome and cystic fibrosis, and it made me think about the pro-life/pro-choice issue. I wondered–and it’s in no way related to my niece’s child–after seeing parents being taken to court for the crimes their sons committed in a school shooting. What if there is a serial killer gene that is passed along to the children, which is triggered, apart from the nature vs. nurture theory?
Can you share a little about the research process required to put this book together?
First, I had to find other illnesses found in genes that are passed from grandparents, skip a generation, and affect the grandchild. I finally found a disease like cancer that affects the whole family or a gender only. I did not want to write a science book, but I had to mention basic genetic testing and technology like CRISPR that can identify genes and order.
Many characters are described as relatable and even flawed. Was that intentional to mirror the complexity of the book’s central question?
Yes, I went with the simple answer with triggers to activate the “killing gene,” a violent sexual act towards the grandfather, Malcom Lynn. The lead geneticist, Tatiana Mirzo, also had a sexual trigger that is kept silent but shows up during the act. The journalist, Maggie Rally, had old-school determination and limited time to solve the murders and was not afraid of getting too close.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Yes, I have a new book, and I have about 90% done, but I had an accident and have trouble typing fast enough to finish. The new book is called The Suicide Council, inspired by Kurt Cobain’s suicide. I always wanted to know why, especially when the victim does not leave a note. So this is a fantasy, I do not know if it is classified as a thriller because it involves a Spiritual Council of saints and prophets who visit the victims just before they commit the action. They record why, but they have rules. They cannot change their mind because of free will. And close ones can find out why it happened only when they reach heaven. They can look up the files of the victim’s life filed by the Suicide Council. So I have a collection of stories about victims, different situations, and characters.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
From current choices for parents to make about what their babies will look like. In the near future, parents will be able to find a gene that will show a psychopathic tendency leading to violence. The parents will be able to decide on the birth of a child with Down syndrome. With characters involved with the geneticist’s background and suspecting colleagues, and a report that connects the dots on an ongoing Serial killer investigation with the help of the Main geneticist
The Killing Gene
The Killing Gene is a science thriller with a crime heart, following a genetic research team that stumbles onto something terrifying: a gene pattern linked to violent behavior and serial killers. We watch Dr. Howard Kensington, a grieving father turned biotech founder, build Genican and chase cures for disease, only to end up creating a tool that could help law enforcement hunt down the Red Hook serial killer and maybe predict who might kill in the future. Around him orbit people with their own baggage and secrets: the brilliant and guarded geneticist Tatyana Mirzo, the entitled and connected Kevin Lynn, a powerful old-money family with skeletons in Alaska, loud protest groups, and a hungry reporter trying to connect all the dots. The book moves from lab benches and boardrooms to murder scenes and FBI files, and keeps coming back to one big question: what happens to society if we start treating violence as something written into DNA.
The writing is straightforward, almost chatty in places, and full of backstory. We get whole chapters digging into Howard’s grief after losing his children, Tatyana’s near assault at a college party, and Malcolm Lynn’s brutal history in Skagstown, and those scenes are vivid in a raw, sometimes uncomfortable way. The Red Hook murders are ugly, and the violence can be graphic, but it fits the world the book is building. The prose can be rough around the edges. There are run-on sentences and moments where a tighter edit would have helped the tension land harder. I still found myself turning pages because the characters feel relatable and messy.
What stuck with me most, though, were the choices the author makes around the ideas. This is very much a science thriller, but it reads like a long argument with itself about free will, blame, and what we call evil. The early sections about IVF, “designer” kids, and the search for an “emotional gene” set the stage, and later chapters lean into the consequences: Genican building massive DNA databases for the FBI, activists like Gladys Turner shouting outside the building, and a reporter using leaks and hunches to tie the killing gene to the powerful Lynn family. We see how quickly a medical discovery can slide into surveillance, how tempting it is for governments and agencies to use new tools to sort people into “safe” and “dangerous.” A scene where Maggie lays out her theory that the same pattern shows up in both the Red Hook murders and old Alaska crimes really pulled me in, because it shows how seductive these neat genetic answers can be, even when the human stories under them are chaotic and tragic.
I also appreciated that the book lets its characters wrestle with the ethics in everyday ways, not just in speeches. Tatyana’s trauma around male violence colors how she looks at the killing gene work. Howard’s pain over his children pushes him to take sketchy donations and bend rules because he cannot stand seeing another family feel helpless. The Lynns use money and influence to steer science toward profit and protection of their name. Even the protest leader with her “Leave God’s Work Alone” group is more than a caricature, because you can feel the fear underneath her rage. There are moments when the story leans into melodrama, and the CIA angle near the end ramps the stakes up to almost global-thriller levels, but the core questions stay grounded: if a test said your child had a higher chance of violence, what would you do, and what should society be allowed to do with that information?
I would describe The Killing Gene as a thought-driven science and crime thriller with big ambitions and a lot of heart. If you enjoy stories that blend genetics, serial killers, family secrets, and media intrigue, and you like chewing on “what if” questions about DNA and justice long after you close the book, this will be up your alley. It feels especially suited to readers who enjoy medical and tech thrillers, fans of moral gray areas, and anyone curious about where real-world gene testing might lead if pushed a little further into the dark.
Pages: 200 | ASIN : B0FNXZZS79
