Review of The Rochdale Yeast
Posted: 07 Jan 2024, 23:12
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Rochdale Yeast" by Rik de Mora.]
Imagine a brewer's yeast synthesizing LSD while fermentation and the brewery producing LSD-laced beer. Sounds astonishing? Dr. Karen Spencer, an investigator with the Plasmid Control Commission (PCC), faces such a situation during her first solo mission. Police discover LSD-laced beer in a brewery owned by a shady businessman, Mickey Crystal. As she teams up with several others from various government agencies, the mystery unfolds to reveal a grave conspiracy against the British Royal Navy. The suspense builds when Karen receives a bomb in the mail and narrowly avoids being killed. Read Rik de Mora's The Rochdale Yeast to find out who turned a harmless yeast into an agent of biological warfare. Will Karen be able to apprehend the true mastermind behind the conspiracy without jeopardizing her own and others' lives?
The Rochdale Yeast is a story of organized crime, patriotism, friendship, betrayal, and unexpected revelations. Karen Spencer is a skilled molecular biologist working with the PCC. She is a strong female protagonist, independent and determined. Throughout the story, she shows great intuition and a knack for solving mysteries. Her internal conflict about her career is relatable. Her ex-supervisor, Dr. Eddie Classen, and current boss, Alan Rossiter, are intriguing characters with hidden agendas. The suspense builds from the very first page, and the story proceeds at a neck-breaking pace. It keeps the readers hooked with unexpected twists. The author discusses the procedure for turning the yeast into a genetically modified species in detail. Some readers may find it a little hard to follow, but I found it interesting, albeit a little farfetched. But it is a work of fiction, and imaginary scientific achievements are justifiable. The author uses an omniscient narrative that gives us a 360° view of the story and helps build the suspense.
Despite having a unique and suspense-filled plotline, I would rate this book 3 out of 5 due to the numerous errors. The absence of scene breaks makes it hard to understand that time has passed. The sudden jumps from one scene to another and one point of view to another hamper the reading pace. The omniscient narrative, though expertly done, doesn't help build emotional connections with the characters, and their reactions feel superficial even when tragedy strikes. Karen is too self-obsessed, and every man she meets starts drooling after her, which becomes annoying soon. Some parts felt rushed, and I would have preferred to be shown rather than told about the characters' emotions. The sex scenes add nothing to the story except the shock factor.
I would recommend this book to mature readers only due to the amount of profanities and the explicit sexual content.
******
The Rochdale Yeast
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Imagine a brewer's yeast synthesizing LSD while fermentation and the brewery producing LSD-laced beer. Sounds astonishing? Dr. Karen Spencer, an investigator with the Plasmid Control Commission (PCC), faces such a situation during her first solo mission. Police discover LSD-laced beer in a brewery owned by a shady businessman, Mickey Crystal. As she teams up with several others from various government agencies, the mystery unfolds to reveal a grave conspiracy against the British Royal Navy. The suspense builds when Karen receives a bomb in the mail and narrowly avoids being killed. Read Rik de Mora's The Rochdale Yeast to find out who turned a harmless yeast into an agent of biological warfare. Will Karen be able to apprehend the true mastermind behind the conspiracy without jeopardizing her own and others' lives?
The Rochdale Yeast is a story of organized crime, patriotism, friendship, betrayal, and unexpected revelations. Karen Spencer is a skilled molecular biologist working with the PCC. She is a strong female protagonist, independent and determined. Throughout the story, she shows great intuition and a knack for solving mysteries. Her internal conflict about her career is relatable. Her ex-supervisor, Dr. Eddie Classen, and current boss, Alan Rossiter, are intriguing characters with hidden agendas. The suspense builds from the very first page, and the story proceeds at a neck-breaking pace. It keeps the readers hooked with unexpected twists. The author discusses the procedure for turning the yeast into a genetically modified species in detail. Some readers may find it a little hard to follow, but I found it interesting, albeit a little farfetched. But it is a work of fiction, and imaginary scientific achievements are justifiable. The author uses an omniscient narrative that gives us a 360° view of the story and helps build the suspense.
Despite having a unique and suspense-filled plotline, I would rate this book 3 out of 5 due to the numerous errors. The absence of scene breaks makes it hard to understand that time has passed. The sudden jumps from one scene to another and one point of view to another hamper the reading pace. The omniscient narrative, though expertly done, doesn't help build emotional connections with the characters, and their reactions feel superficial even when tragedy strikes. Karen is too self-obsessed, and every man she meets starts drooling after her, which becomes annoying soon. Some parts felt rushed, and I would have preferred to be shown rather than told about the characters' emotions. The sex scenes add nothing to the story except the shock factor.
I would recommend this book to mature readers only due to the amount of profanities and the explicit sexual content.
******
The Rochdale Yeast
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon