Article first published as Book Review:The Eden Prescription by Ethan Evers on Blogcritics.

Finding a cure for cancer is often in the news. New progress, new research, and new discoveries are written about periodically, looking for that elusive cure. What would happen if a cure were found? Would there be different companies trying to hide the information, for the sake of the ever important money involved?

In The Eden Prescription by Ethan Evers, we follow the research of Dr. Elliott Liddell as he works to formulate a cocktail to eradicate cancer, which involves numerous natural supplements. Both elusive and secretive, the doctor works for a company called Mitogenica. They are in the running for a go ahead from the FDA for a release of new drugs that have done well in trial test groups. Or have they? In the game of who will be the first to release a drug that will create billions of dollars in revenue, there are always those who will cheat to win.

Dr. Elliot does not trust anyone; he knows the game better than anyone suspects. He understands the greed and the machinations of those involved. He has been secretly working with Annika Guthrie, an employee of Chromogen, one of Mitogenica’s greatest competitors. When Dr. Liddell disappears, along with his almost completed cancer model, the cancer community is in disarray. Concerned for her safety and that of the doctor, Annika is alarmed. When Dr. Liddell does contact her, he entrusts her with digital information that is at the root of everything that he holds to be important. There are those who are looking for this information and they are willing to do whatever it takes.

As espionage and deaths begin to pile up, Annika finds herself running for her life. Dr. Liddell is being followed and soon Annika finds that there are others that know her secret. Will she live to help those most in need of her information? Can they find a way to use this information to help those that deserve their assistance?

The Eden Prescription is a medical thriller full of depth and information. The characters are written in such detail you can picture them in your mind. Dr. Liddell is so well written, I kept having to remind myself this was only a book, and not real life. The information behind the drugs and supplements were extremely well researched and quite believable. Annika is a little too naive for the work she does, and is very quick to trust. She does not always see the obvious. She is young and the naivety comes out just right, and yet you wonder how she is able to keep such a belief of hope alive as she finds herself running for her life.

Each of the characters is driven by different motives that become clear as the information unravels. There is both surprise and at times dismay, as the characters either cement themselves as heroes or finally reveal just how jaded they have become. There is surprise and hope, as you are guided through a roller coaster of emotion.

This book is both believable and imaginative. I could imagine reading the headlines in a national newspaper, reporting much of what was written. With so much involvement and research, I found myself believing this was really happening. That is the mark of a well written book.

I would recommend this book for those who enjoy medical thrillers. It brought to mind several of the Michael Crichton books I have read in the past. The background is a little more like Clancy however, in order to do the content justice there had to be some in-depth information leading the way.

This book was received free from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the information. ( )

This is likely the hardest book I have had to review since I started this blog. First, you might want to check out the synopsis here.

Let's start with the plot. Great plot. It's all about corporate espionage. Two drug companies in competition with each other to create the next cancer wonder drug. There's intrigue, secrets, corporate moles, gun fights, good guys, bad guys, guys caught in the middle. What's not to love about all that? From page one the reader is thrown into the whole sordid mess. It's great!

The characters were well developed and believable. I started to get paranoid about characters and their motivation early in the book. That's how I know I've really been drawn into the suspense. I didn't know who to trust. (If I ever get into one of these situations for real I will be totally paralyzed and unable to move.)

I also liked the bibliography at the end of the book. If any part of the cancer drug related plot leads the reader to want to do some research, there's a place to start.

So why is it hard to review? Because it was so hard to read. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why I was struggling with getting through the book. After a quick discussion with my fantastic husband, we came to the realization that the problem was technical. It's hard to read black print on bright white paper. It's hard to read when the spacing is close between lines; the paragraphs are long and the print is small. Even the size of the book was a problem, the pages are long and narrow. It's similar to reading columns.

Do I recommend this book? Well, there's the problem. Yes for the story but no for the reading experience. I guess you'll have to figure it out for yourselves. ( )