A first-year medical student determined to do everything right . . . discovers something very wrong. Now somebody wants her dead. Tanna Christensen spent countless hours planning for her first gross anatomy dissection, but nothing could have prepared her for what she found. Beneath her scalpel lies a cadaver riddled with disturbing genetic abnormalities—evidence pointing to an unthinkable crime. Tanna believes her discovery is the tip of a terrifying secret that goes far deeper than a single corpse. But when her investigation leads to a brutal murder, a lethal cover-up threatens to destroy the future she once dreamed of. And now she’s the next target. Afraid and on the run, Tanna must expose the truth before more lives are lost—including her own. Or is it already too late?

Thanks to the author, BookSirens, Hidden Gems Books, and editors Jim Thomsen and David Gatewood for this ARC!

THE FIRST HARM is an excellent first outing by author Steven Piskula. There is suspense, mystery, sci-fi medicine, and a strong female lead character. Aspiring physician Tanna is drawn into a conspiracy when she secretly dissects a corpse that has an unusual anatomy glitch. Soon, her world comes crashing down around her as she is hunted mercilessly to prevent her from sharing her knowledge with the world. She finds an unlikely ally in an emotionally damaged former biker, Jason, who gets caught up in the whirlwind cat-and-mouse game purely by accident.

Tanna is a strong character, yet weak at the same time. She is filled with self-doubt and sometimes hesitates when she should be acting. She is full of dogged persistence, however, as she never gives up in her quest to uncover the truth. At times I wished she would stop second-guessing herself and be confident; this was probably the most frustrating thing about the story.

There is a love-to-hate self-aggrandizing head scientist, Dr Craig Emmerson, who is the head of Modern Genetics, a futuristic but entirely plausible company doing some unethical research. He is arrogant, narcissistic, and brilliant. Even though he was the baddest of villains, I enjoyed reading his innermost thoughts and learning about his evil intentions. I would be eager to see a prequel with him as the center of attention (this fictional character would LOVE that!) to learn more about his journey as he created Modern Genetics.

I did feel dubious about Jason, who is an addict who just wants to be high so he can escape his demons. He is very rough around the edges, but no fool, as he helps Tanna escape some precarious situations. As the book progresses, they become more of a cohesive team while the action ratchets up. I was definitely turning those pages to see what was going to happen next!

The author’s writing style is straightforward and easy to read. His ability to create the sci-f medicine of Modern Genetics is amazing and thought provoking, as his creation of other characters, some of which may be unreliable narrators. I was not sure who I should trust as the book progressed, and the ending was satisfactory without being abrupt or inconclusive. There were twists along the way that held my interest and I could not predict how the book would end. Piskula is an accomplished screenwriter with an MFA, and his talent shines bright in THE FIRST HARM. It was a wonderful read.

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