Primacy by J.E. Fishman: Book Review

Author's Site

Publisher: Verbitrage | Published: September 1st, 2011

Hardcover | 384 pages | ISBN 978-0983380900

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Are you an animal lover? Do you buy products that say "No animal testing used in the production of this item?"

 Tens of thousands of monkeys and apes suffer in animal testing labs. If just one of them could speak, what might it say and whose interests would it threaten? from Goodreads

Primacy is suspense-filled novel and unusual love story.  Liane Vinson is a research scientist for the largest and most secretive animal testing facility in Farmingdale, Long Island.  When she discovers that two bonobos (twins) she has been working with can speak - literally talk in human words, the race is on to save the twins from the sociopathic owner of the lab, Axel Flickinger.  The stakes are raised when Axel removes the voice box of the male bonobo.  Liane takes it upon herself to rescue Bea, the female bonobo before Axel can do any further damage to her.  Liane gets help breaking into the facility to bust Bea out from an unlikely source - the protesters from FAULT "Folks Against Unnecessary Lab Testing."  Once Liane has Bea, her neighbor and love interest, veterinarian Mickey Ferrone comes to her aid while Liane comes up with a plan to get Bea out of the country and back to her home in the Congo.  Chases abound while Liane and Mickey are pursued by the folks from the lab, FAULT as they see Bea as a tool to parade in the media, shadowy government entities and other unknown forces. Oh, and the love story ~ well obviously Liane and Mickey but there's the FAULT leader, Corey, who comes into the picture from Liane's past, but I believe the love shared between Bea and Liane is the precious piece to behold.

The plot was fast-paced and interesting enough to hold my attention long into the night.  I wanted to be sure Bea made it home!  The sideline characters were the ones who I found to be most intriguing - Dikembe Kasa, the bushman who while trying to support his family made one wrong decision that had far-reaching effects; Henley Pulsipher, secret-agent man for the Dept. of Agriculture - who knew the Department of Agriculture even needed secret agents? He tracks Bea from Long Island to the northern tip of New York to the Congo, facing his own internal battles as he goes.  And Bea - she was heartbreaking, she was inspiring.

The action scenes were thrilling and had my heart racing to see what would happen next.  The side story about Liane's mother dying could have played a more integral part; however, Mr. Fishman was juggling so many questions and issues already with animal testing and rights, the book would have been a lot longer.  I can see how her mother dying could have brought up more questions about is it right for us to use animals for medical testing or medical parts?  All-in-all, Primacy was an enjoyable read.  The research he must have done into animal testing and animal rights is phenomenal and shows!  I look forward to his next endeavor, whatever it may be!  And to find out if Bea makes it home to the Congo, well, you'll just have to read Primacy!

Oh, and as an aside - this is probably one of the best covers I have seen for a suspense/thriller in a very long time! Kudos to the publisher!

The Bonobo: The bonobo has a lifespan of 40 years in captivity. It is endangered and is found only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The discovery of the bonobo is credited to a German anatomist in 1928. Along with the common chimpanzee, the bonobo is the closest extant relative to humans.  The species is distinguished by long legs, pink llips, a dark face and tail-tuft. In the last 15 years the Congo has experience two wars, each having a major impact on the bonobo population. The World Wildlife Fund believes as few as 50,000 are alive. For more information please go to friendsofbonobos.org.

Recent animal rights issues - where do you fall on the subject?

• Should animals be treated as equals to humans?
• Should animals be experimented on to test a product's safety?
• Should animal body parts be implaned into humans?
• If animals don't have duties or obligations, can they have rights?
• How should overcrowding or overpopulating of animals be addressed?

J.E. Fishman's literary background includes serving five years as a book editor at Doubleday, where he edited the works of NFL superstars Jim Kelly and Ronnie Lott. He founded The Bedford Book Works Literary Agency (later sold to Dystel and Goderich Literary Management), where he represented dozens of writers and personalities, including Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Kweisi Mfume, then head of the NAACP.

Fishman, 49, is a lifelong nature supporter, is a former trustee of the Eastern New York Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the North Salem Open Land Foundation.

An animal lover, he owns two horses, two dogs, a cat and a pond full of fish. He resides with his wife and daughter in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Primacy is the first read in my R.I.P.  VI Challenge!

Happy Friday Lovelies!