Traitors from the Inside Out - medical thriller that reads like current headlines

Traitors from the Inside out by M. M. Justine is a medical thriller that reads like current headline news. The story opens as Dr. Martina Strömstedt Edgren and her brother Sebastian lose their parents in a horrific car wreck. They carry on in their father’s footsteps continuing his research into the efficacy and possible adaptation of herbal therapies to treat and heal incurable illnesses.

 

Strong female protagonist

Martina is a strong female protagonist; a single mom and a successful businesswoman who finds herself navigating relationships with an ex-husband who still loves her and a doctor/co-worker who wants to marry her. Amid all the craziness of regular life, Martina experiences pressure and intimidation against her company’s herbal therapies, especially her father’s miracle cure, Rensblad. She is unsure who is behind the coercion, but learns of experiments done by her competitors on young people taken off the streets. It infuriates her. She ignores warnings to be cautious and takes risks to find answers and save lives. She uncovers a greed-driven plan by her big pharma competitor, shadowing elitists, and corrupt politicians who use subverted science to manipulate and exploit the general population into taking their harmful “Life Vaccine.” As she keeps digging, she uncovers a plot that threatens to wipe out humanity by replacing natural immunity with artificial immunity for financial gain. She faces danger straight on in order to do the right thing.

Justine’s descriptive narrative creates vivid backdrops as this suspenseful thriller unfolds. In today’s world of Covid vaccine controversy some might think this book was written after the Covid pandemic hit, but it was actually published in 2014. With that fact, it is a timely tale people can relate to. I recommend Traitors from the Inside Out to people who enjoy medical suspense with a touch of romance and sense of family. I did feel the story jumped forward in time at a few points that left a few gaps, but overall, I give this book 4 stars.

As Book Hookup, I am a long-time book reviewer. I received this book as a free review copy from the author, and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #BookTasters. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.  

 

About the author

M. M. Justine, is a Swedish/Ugandan author. She was born in Uganda, the pearl of Africa, where she grew up on the shores of Lake Victoria, in Entebbe. She has traveled widely, lived, and worked on four continents. She writes fiction from facts to educate the unknowing, depicting the turbulent world we live in. She continues with her passion and vocation with the same fervor and excitement to travel the world. MM Justine is a Corporate Executive with long experience in both public and private sector.

 

 

Half-Light by A. D. Lomardo an action-packed, entertaining, and unpredictable read

 I was introduced to author A. D. Lombardo writing when I reviewed her book Keegan’s Wrath, which happens to be book 5 in The Katori Chronicles. I fell in love with the characters, the world, the magic and how it all came together with action packed vivid clarity. When I finished the book, I decided to read the rest of the books in the series from the beginning. Not that I recommend reading the last book in a series first, but I have to admit, because I did, as I read The Half-Light, Book 1 in the Katori Chronicles with foreknowledge, it shined a light on the masterful job Lombardo does with placing subtle plot threads that will be pulled later to enhance and move the story along with continuity.

 

As the first book in the series, The Half-Light does a great job of introducing both characters and setting making the story come to life. Readers live and learn through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Prince Kai, the heir to the throne of Diu with a complicated history. He lost his mother to a dragon in the palace garden when he was young which live him with vague memories and nightmares. Most of life is spent in the palace with guards watching out for his safety until he learns how to sneak out.

Now that his father is remarried, he has half-siblings and a questionable stepmother who seems to have dark sway over his father. On a personal level, Kai was promised at birth to wed Princess Amelia of Diu and is slated to become King of the old Bangloo kingdom of Milnos far to the northwest of Diu when they marry. While Amelia is pretty and kind, she is more like a sister and another girl, a common girl, has captured his interest. 

 

Along with the normal challenges of growing into manhood, and doing his best to step outside the confines of palace life, Kai learns he has Katori powers from two people who knew his mother. These powers are to be kept secret, but at times they are quite obvious. I’ll say no more about this aspect of the story to avoid spoilers, but these abilities add an innovative layer to the story and the world that keeps the pages turning.

This book is action-packed, easy to read, entertaining, and unpredictable and am happy to give it 5-stars. There is nothing I didn’t like, and I look forward to reading Mariana's Secret (The Katori Chronicles Book 2) next. I highly recommend this book to epic fantasy lovers. It’s a perfect choice for a YA audience and those who are older and enjoy the genre.

As Book Hookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it.

 

Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

 

About A.D. Lombardo

Angela Lombardo was born in Akron, Ohio, raised on a farm by her grandparents. Angela loves animals, the country life and is still a tomboy at heart. You can take her off the bobcat, but you’ll never get her to enjoy the city. She dabbled in playing the piano, sports and fishing.

Her love of comics started with Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. Being a Trekkie and a BMX rider, Angela did not have many girlfriends or time for makeup. She spent most of her time with her older brother crashing dirt bikes and three-wheelers. As a teenager, her grandmother sent her to Barbizon to teach her how to be a proper girl. She is fortunate she had a son.

Angela started writing The Half-Light in fall 2017 after a sleepless night gave her pause about the mother in a made-up story she created for her son. She spent the weekend solving the mystery of where the mother went.

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