Attempting to fill the void left by her Newsflesh Trilogy, Mira Grant gives us another near-future made dystopic by a health cure gone wrong. This first entry in the Parasitology series brings us likeable characters, a quasi-believable medical threat (though to be honest far less plausible than how she envisioned zombies), corrupt business practices, mad egomaniacal scientists, strained family relationships and two sweet dogs.
Parasite is not quite as awesomely page-turning as the Newsflesh books, and you might guess the big cliffhanger secret way before it's revealed. I think it could use an edit, and maybe since I read a pre-release version, it will be. Regardless of its less-goodness, it's still plenty compelling and worth the read.
PS A.j. Michel is a god for sending me the galley she picked up at BEA in May. She's also the one who turned me on to the smart, addictive and funny Newsflesh Trilogy and lots of other books and zines I've reviewed on this blog.