One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie #bookreview #scifi #dystopian #thriller #mystery

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Title: One of the Boys

Author: Jayne Cowie

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: July 11, 2023

Page Count:  348

My rating: 5 stars

About the book:

If you could test your son for a gene that predicts violence, would you do it? From the author of Curfew comes a suspenseful, heart-wrenching novel about the consequences of your answer.

Antonia and Bea are sisters, and doting mothers to their sons. But that is where their similarities end.

Antonia had her son tested to make sure he didn’t possess the “violent” M gene.

Bea refuses to let her son take the test. She believes his life should not be determined by a positive or negative result.

These women will go to any length to protect their sons.

But one of them is hiding a monster.

And there will be fatal consequences for everybody….

One of the Boys by Jayne Cowie is a mystery/thriller novel that is set up in a science fiction dystopian world. In this world violence and crime is at a minimum when male children can be tested at birth to determine if they may turn into a criminal with violent tendencies.

Antonia and Bea are sisters who are living completely different lives from one another all thanks to the genetic testing of their sons. At birth Antonia had her son tested for the M gene and was lucky enough that her son came back with a negative test leaving every opportunity open to him in life.

Then on the other hand there is Bea who also had a son born but refused to get her son tested knowing that if there is a positive result her son’s life would be set on a course she wouldn’t be able to stop. Even without having a positive test though the untested are treated just as poorly leaving Bea and her family to scrape by.

One of the Boys is actually the second book I’ve read by Jayne Cowie and I’ve really enjoyed them both. I do believe that the thrilling side to the story is more prominent and definitely keeps the pages turning. However, I also really appreciate when a dystopian world is clear in the world building and the author certainly came up with a thought provoking world in which her characters live. I couldn’t help but become engaged in the story wondering how it would all turn out and now look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

An avid reader and lifelong writer, Jayne Cowie also enjoys digging in her garden and making an excellent devil’s food cake. She lives near London with her family.

You can find her on Instagram as @CowieJayne