This book literally starts with a bang when Kayla's lab is bombed and her coworkers are executed one by one. She escapes out a window with the only surviving sample of a gene editing serum that can reverse aging and save millions of lives. The only way to save her life's work is to inject herself with the serum, but the antidote to stop the process has been stolen and Kayla has under a week to get it back before she dies from the effects. And the only ones she can trust to help her are her military vet ex-loverand a young journalist determined to learn the truth. With both the FBI and a contract killer on her tail, time is running out.
I absolutely loved this sci-fi thriller! It's fast paced and full of action plus a lot of sciencey facts. Mirroring scientific breakthroughs in genetic research and technology in real life, the plot is terrifyingly real. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dark Side of Angels is a sci-fi thriller, packed with action, twists, and turns, that got me hooked from the first page. It also deals with a deep desire of the human race to attain the cure for cancer and other illnesses, but as always, medicines may be good for something and awfully bad for others that the scientists did not even think about when putting together a new formula. I loved reading this story!

This is the action packed story of Molecular Geneticist Kayla, who is on the run after she is the sole survivor on an attack on her lab. The story is intensely fast paced, and it is literally a race against time for Kayla who has injected herself with one of her drugs. It was a thrilling read!

What a thrilling read! Intriguing plot, interesting characters, and riveting telling. The Dark Side of Angels has got everything to keep the reader hooked, start to finish!

Fabulous read
The one thing she’s lost is the only thing that can save her…

Molecular biologist Kayla Covington has been called the most dangerous woman on earth. Ten years after her experimental treatment failed to save her twelve-year-old son, she’s on the brink of the world’s first human gene-editing trial. Her discovery, that unlocks the genetic code of the only immortal animal in the world, will reverse aging, save millions of people, and cure her ailing father, salvaging what’s left of her broken family.

But when a fiery explosion rips through her lab, she watches masked intruders execute her team. Scrambling into the night with the only surviving sample, she knows two things: The prefilled syringe containing the age-reversing serum can’t make it through the night, and the second injection that stops the serum’s process has been stolen. In desperation, Kayla does the only thing she can to preserve her life’s work: she injects herself.

Now, wanted by the FBI for the killings and hunted by the deadliest contract killer the CIA has ever known, Kayla must rely on her jilted lover and a young reporter hellbent on the truth to find her attackers and recover the antidote, and in the process prevent the weaponization of the greatest breakthrough in the history of medicine—or die from her own creation in five days.

The Dark Side of Angels is an extraordinary and entertaining thriller that blends a real scientific discovery and intriguing fiction to examine to moral battleground of genetic modification.

My first novel by this author and all I can think of saying is WOW. Hey, that's even too small a description. I'll definitely be looking out for this author in the future.

It literally starts with a bang. Then it gets better from there. I couldn't put it down. I tried and went to bed but I couldn't stop thinking about it. In the end I got up made a coffee and finished it. I'm not over emphasising here, it is awesome.

It's a modern day scientific thriller that could be happening now. It's about a molecular biologist who may have found a way to extend lives and exterminate diseases such as cancer. But as all new things it can also be made into something that is destructive., So many people want this.

Lots of twists and turns a long the way. But one epic read.

Enjoy!

It's fast paced, action packed sci-fi with hints of romance, told in multiple povs, with a decent plot and great characters.

Kayla is a driven scientist with one goal in her mind which is to achieve a relief from all the diseases and she'd go to any lengths to preserve it, even with a bullseye at her back and the death peaking around the corner. In her quest to preserving her cure, is her ex, Harrison who is a delightful character that lends her the support and love she didn't think she'd deserve and left before, but this time maybe it could lead to what she'd wanted but was to scared to reach.
With FBI, assassins on her back, she and Harrison have to run as fast as possible, using every means at their disposal to survive and somehow also let the world know how her cure isn't a curse but a boon, how it is at the side of the angels, it's just that there's a dark side of angels too.

In all, I really enjoyed reading it. And I'd recommend it to others too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange of an honest review

The Dark Side of Angels, by Steve Hadden is an exciting & fast paced thriller with a side of romance & science "fiction" (or maybe, future science possibility?). I waa so excited when I read about the immortal jellyfish that I had to look it up to see if it's a real being. All novels should be this educational while being so entertaining.
Kayla Covington is a molecular biologist, who's been referred to as the most threatening woman around. Ten years ago she unsuccessfully used her own untested treatment on her son. Now she’s about to oversee the 1st gene editing trial. Her findings will reverse aging & could save millions of people, including her dying father. Then an explosion tears through her lab & she's forced to watch intruders murder her team. She's able to escape into the dark with the only sample left. The prefilled syringe with the age reversing serum won’t survive the night & the 2nd dose, that stops the process, has been taken. She takes the only option that's available to save her life’s work: she injects it into herself.
Suddenly, she's wanted by the FBI & she's also being stalked by the most dangerous killer the CIA knows of. Kayla must count on her past lover & a new reporter who's hellbent on the facts, if she has any hope of finding the antidote. At the same time, she's trying to stop a dangerous killer from turning the most important creation in medicine into a weapon.

I originally thought this book wouldn't be very, well, original. I read the summary and thought I had read of several authors, famous ones, who have already done this. But... I was surprised. This is definitely worth reading.

While there are a lot of Dan Brown wannabes out there in the thriller genre, Mr Hadden is definitely not one of them. The Dark Side of Angels is the most engrossing thriller I've read in a long while.

The book has a unique and interesting take on the usual FBI/terrorist story-line. The main character, Kayla is a geneticist who creates a new gene editing technique to eliminate diseases associated with aging.

Someone is out to frame her for murdering her team and destroying her lab and research, so Kayla sets out to find out who and why. However, the clock is ticking as Kayla needs an injection to stop herself from dying, and time and opportunities to find the critical injection are fast running out.

Will Kayla survive? Will her research be lost forever, of worse, be weaponized? Or will she be able to save her work and use it ‘on the side of Angels’ for the good of all humanity?

This book is a great read. The CRISPR theme is interesting, well researched and timely and the plot twists will keep you captivated from beginning to end.

I rarely give 5 stars for a work of fiction, but I think this book deserves it. Thanks to NetGallery for providing a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

This hit a little too close for home during this Pandemic. But it was still a really interesting book! You really felt for the main character Kayla, and the loss of her son was heart breaking. I will definitely be picking up more books by this author!

Kayla is a very successful molecular biologist who couldn’t save her son but hopes to save others in similar situations with her research. While celebrating a remarkable breakthrough in gene editing therapy her lab is attacked and her team murdered. She goes on the run taking the last syringe of her treatment and in doing so makes herself a suspect in the case.
There are some great characters in this story including Harrison the man she ran from when things got too much, Sienna the young journalist out to make a name for herself and FBI agent Reed with a personal interest in tracking down Kayla.
My favourite section was when the assassin turns up at the remote cabin. The atmosphere got a little tense and I was holding my breath with nervous anticipation.
I really enjoy books where it’s not hard to imagine the discovery of a new cure in real life. Advances in medical research and treatments may bring this therapy into the real world. Also the author’s background in medicine and chemical engineering is an asset as it really shows through and compliments his writing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this interesting, science-based fiction book that incorporates the very real CRISPR gene-editing technique. Molecular biologist Kayla Covington has discovered a way to improve and prolong life, almost to the point of immortality, and wants to use her discovery for the good of mankind. Others have different plans, and when her lab is destroyed by a mysterious explosion, she finds herself on the run, blamed by the FBI for the destruction and pursued by those who are actually guilty. Nice combination of human drama and cutting edge science. Very good! Thanks to NetGalley and Telemachus Press, LLC, for providing an ARC.

In The Dark Side of Angels, Kayla has developed a serum that will make a person immortal using jellyfish DNA. However, it must be followed up within five days with a different serum to stop the DNA from going too far.

One evening, Kayla’s lab is attacked. All of the other workers are killed by a bullet point blank to the head. Kayla escapes by jumping through her office window. Luckily, she gets a prefilled syringe of the first serum. Since it will spoil soon, she injects herself.

I am all for suspending disbelief when reading. But Kayla’s actions defy logic. She injects herself “to save her life’s work” even though she has no idea where she will get the second serum? Dumb. She doesn’t call the FBI after the attack, even though they are charged with lab security, because she sees her pursuers wearing FBI jackets? If you were the FBI, would you wear jackets with your logo on the back to an event meant to look like a terrorist attack? Of course not, that’s stupid. The plot just continues on this stupidity spiral.

While The Dark Side of Angels was a miss for me, you may like it. It is an exciting chase if you can overlook the underlying ridiculousness. 3 stars.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

First if anyone gets upset over the subject and wants to start a debate about playing God remember this is a work of fiction. But it is a riveting work of fiction that is fast paced and will keep your attention. There is no sense in repeating the summary as it covers the book well. I could see someone buying the movie rights for this one. If there is a downside I would say there are a couple of sections were it gets a little deep in the science but give this a read anyway you will not be disappointed.

A fast paced action thriller with some bombshell twists.

This novel starts off with a bang, literally. Kayla Covington's lab is blown to bits, killing her entire research team as she escapes with only her life and the last vial of the newly developed treatment she was working on. In order to save the treatment, she injects herself, the catch is, she needs the second dose in order to live.

The race begins as Kayla seeks help from her ex to get to her daughter, a research scientist as well, in Washington State to make the second dose. On the run from the FBI, who believes she is responsible for the bombing, as well as a highly skilled assassin, Kayla's time is ticking in a race against her body and the authorities who want answers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, the characters and the plot lines. The multiple narrators give you look into the whole action packed race. From Artemis, the assassin, to Reed, the FBI agent eager to prove himself, the whole thing is one wild ride, with some great surprises.

As a Washingtonian myself, I really enjoyed seeing the local known and lesser known towns of WA serve as backgrounds for all the action packed scenes as well.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

#thriller #actionpacked
#sciencegonewrong #netgally

I couldn’t help it, my finger just slipped onto that fifth star! I really loved this book - action with sci-fi although very light on the fi part because the science is pretty close to what the book was about. I know that the CRISPR gene editing tool is already being used. Human trials can’t be that far off.

Kayla Covington is a brilliant molecular/genetic scientist. She has devoted her life to finding ways to eradicate some of humanity’s worst diseases, especially those that affect the ageing and cancers. Her first trials some ten years ago resulted in the death of her 12 year old son who had an inoperable glioblastoma (brain tumour) but 38 other people were successfully treated. She has fixed all the problems with the treatment and now has a wonder drug that will reverse ageing. She is ready to start new trials when her lab is attacked and all the scientists are killed. Kayla herself, who was in her office at the time, manages to escape through a window with one pre-loaded syringe of the treatment.

Not knowing who is behind the attack she is on the run and, since the treatment will not survive unrefrigerated she has no choice but to inject it into herself. This sets the clock ticking as the process must be halted after 5 days with a different injection or death is the likely result.

The race is on! She is being pursued by the FBI and a bunch of other law enforcement as they suspect her of the attack on the lab. But there are other forces at work and she fears that if her treatment gets into the wrong hands it could become the basis of a terrible bio weapon. Kayla seeks help from a number of sources but I won’t go into that. The forces arrayed against and her helpers are very well informed and powerful. It seems there is nowhere she can turn.

The tension is unbelievable and unrelenting. Kayla is a very driven character who was portrayed really well. The rest of the cast of characters were also really good but this book was more about the action. The pace was full speed at all times and I flew through this book very quickly. The scary thing is though that I can see this sort of thing actually happening and not too far into the future. There are big questions to be answered by scientists and ethicists and many safeguards to be put in place. This book is a timely reminder of what may lie ahead and I applaud the author for such a plausible story. Thanks to Netgalley and Steve Hadden for the free review copy. My review is given voluntarily and honestly.

The Dark Side of Angels is an interesting and compelling book. The premise is quite scary to think about. The author did a nice job of creating three dimensional characters and a good storyline with a solid plot.

This was a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish with a great storyline, interesting cast of characters and all capped off by skilful writing. It's well worth your time if you appreciate great storytellers.