Factor-7 hooked me with its blurb, but the book itself didn't entirely align with my taste. It was evident May really did his research, but sometimes too much jargon can turn off the reader and take them out of the story.

I couldn't foresee myself enjoying this book the whole way through, therefore I decided to stop reading and see if I regained interest another time. I'd love to update my review if I do end up finishing the book, but for now, it wasn't the book for me.

Thank you so much to Palmetto Publishing Group, J.D. May, and NetGalley for the ARC of Factor-7.

Ok so this book took me two months to finally finish. This was a science fiction book with bio technology and conspiracies on why and who was to blame. Well with Covid it isn’t science fiction anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author an opportunity to read an advance copy of Factor 7

I used to read a lot of medical thrillers years ago, but haven’t read a lot in recent years. This is definitely a great story line, but the writing was a bit choppy for me at times. The author definitely did a lot of research - I think with a little bit more editing,p, the book would heavy even even better .

Factor-7 is a new book from J.D. May.

"Dr. Sam Hawkins is the head trauma surgeon at St. Peter's Memorial Hospital in Galveston. When his good friend dies from unknown causes, Sam tries to find answers about his death. All he finds is a cover-up. He starts making noise about it and is told to take a break. An infectious disease doctor from Italy, Rainee Arienzo, approaches him with information about what is happening - an infectious agent targeted to specific groups. Together they go in search of answers - but one long-hidden society will do anything to stop them..."

This book has a great premise - a secret society wants to use a manufactured virus as a bioweapon targeted at terrorists. There is so much potential here - but the execution is just not there.
There is a lot of unnecessary detail on the science - a lot. As a reader I just need a high level description. It sounds like the author did her research, but it doesn't all have to go in the book.
There are several plotlines - too many - secret society, undercover FBI, doctor egos, personal issues, drug cartel succession plans. A better book would benefit from fewer storylines and a tighter storyline.
And the graphic, raunchy sex is so unnecessary and unwelcome. It doesn't add anything to the story

Fans of Crichton, Cussler and Rollins might like this book. There are some good reviews so see for yourself

I usually love books about international intrigue and conspiracies. The premise was a good one. The bioterrorism story can be great when done well. This one was awkward. The language seemed strained and the relationships between characters did not feel natural. The research into both the medical and bioterrorism were extensive.

I really enjoyed Factor-7 by J.D. May – especially after almost a year of Covid-19. The idea of a rogue group formulating a bio-terrorism virus that can attack specific DNA types no longer seems improbable. Doctors Sam Hawkins and Rainee Arienzo become unwilling partners attempting to find the truth and hopefully stop the use of the virus. From Texas to Mexico to Vancouver and Mali the doctors try to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. This is a non-stop page turner. #Factor7 #NetGalley

I would say this book suffers from trying to do too much. We have a crazy disease (which acts to kill within HOURS rather than days or weeks), a jaded doctor in a failing marriage, sexual tension, a clandestine quasi-government organization, conspiracies on conspiracies (and not handled very well? They're super obvious to anyone paying attention, which makes you wonder how on earth these bad actors have survived this long)...

Also, the writing was clunky. The medical jargon was heavy-handed and kind of repetitive in the beginning. The dialogue was bad and, again, repetitive. Sam Hawkins was insanely selfish and had a horrible tendency to just... Zone out when other people were talking? And that was a plot point?

All of this led to slow and awkward pacing and a plot that didn't grab me or keep me interested

I'd actually like to give this book 2.5 stars. The concept behind it was a fun one, but a number of things about the writing made me enjoy it less than I'd hoped. I'd suggest another round of editing to address things like stilted dialogue and info dumps. I also felt that the Fatal Attraction-esque subplot didn't add anything to the story.

The medical research necessary to create this story was ehaustive and very interesting. The novel was only hindered by the personal relationships created to add a romantic aspect to the novel.

The premise of Ms. May's novel is a fascinating one. It involves a bio weapon with a 98% mortality rate held by a secret group and meant to be used to liquidate members of organizations that have become enemies of society. The group consists of people that hold themselves ready to make the judgement of who is to be liquidated. If the weapon is used it is set up to take out every person belonging to the group selected: men, women, children, new born babies. In other words an enormous amount of power in the hands of a relatively small group of people.
The story opens at a point when Dr. Sam Hawkins the head trauma surgeon at the University of Texas Galveston branch is faced with having to operate on a friend, actually his mentor, who is brought in and dies from a hideous physical disease. Looking to find clues as to what killed his friend Dr. Hawkins finds a strange description in the journal of the man. At this point the very beautiful Rainee Arienzo an Italian infectious disease doctor pops up and allies herself with Dr. Hawkins to investigate what happened with Bill Roberts, the friend who died on the operating table. Sam and Rainee begin a love affair and also start their investigation into Bill Robert's strange death. It seems that Sam has just gone through a divorce from his wife who became an alcoholic and slept with the man that was cleaning their pool. Rainee was not attached to anyone.
The telling of the story meanders through finding out about the secret group known as the keepers, a mix up with the biggest branch of the Mexican cartel, a forced Plastic surgery operation on the head of the cartel. Coming up against the FBI who warn off Sam and Rainee from continuing with their investigation and a visit to a Mexican resort city where Bill Roberts kept his copious notes on the Keepers.
The plotting of the book is more than a little disjointed and rambles on presenting incident after incident which serves to muddle the plot and cause the reader's interest to wander away.

Get ready, conspiracy theorists - this one will set your minds spinning! This was a genuine thriller in the true sense of the word and so cleverly done. There must have been a good deal of research behind the medical aspects of the story because it seemed completely credible and almost scary in the context of a global pandemic. You won’t want to put this one down!