The New One by Evie Green

Published: March 28, 2023
Berkley
Genre: Technothriller
Pages: 400
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Evie Green is a pseudonym for a British author who has written professionally for her entire adult life. She lives by the sea in England with her husband, children, and guinea pigs, and loves writing in the very early morning, fueled by coffee.

“She had to look forward, not back.”

Tamsyn is frustrated with her teenage daughter's bad behavior and her husband's distance. When a tragic accident presents a unique offer, the family accepts. Not realizing they are giving up everything.

This was very well done. The storyline was smooth, and the way the various plot points worked together was seamless.

I enjoyed the way things developed, and I liked the alternating narrators. That added a lot to the storyline. Tam was a devoted mom who just wanted what was best, even if she wasn’t sure this was it. Ed loved his family and losing everything only reinforced that. Sophie was almost perfect, and Scarlett was trying to heal.

This was a unique and exciting book. The general plot was both terrifying and fascinating. I loved the themes within this book and the questions it raised. How far is too far? What would you do? Can a loved one be replaced?

The questions will leave you speechless and make you think. I enjoyed how fast-paced this book was and the way the twists came out and slapped you in the face.

I've never read anything by Green, and I haven't read many novels pertaining to AI, so I was excited to check this out ... and it didn't disappoint! It's a twisty tale (with one big, unexpected twist!) that keeps the reader engaged. The characters are well written and interesting. The overall storyline was unique. It really makes the reader ponder the possibilities of medicine and technology in the future. I look forward to checking out other books by this author.

Tamsyn and Ed have a difficult time with their daughter, Scarlett. When she’s hit by a car and put into a coma, they just want her back. They get that opportunity with a new AI invention.

My favorite aspect of this story was that it was sci-fi and techy but not too much so! I was able to enjoy it without having to absorb scientific information. There were some twists that kept me entertained too. The family drama and teenagers kept the story fresh too.

“…what could be more monstrous than a human clone? A person, not born but made? A Frankenstein’s monster? A human-robot hybrid?”

The New One comes out 3/28.

This started out as an interesting premise for a story, but quickly turned into a Stepford Wive/family sort of book. The characters tried gamely to jump out of the pages and become fully fleshed out characters, but never achieved it for me. By the end of the book I was reading to have final closure on what finally happened, but didn't necessarily care.

This was a fantastic science fiction thriller! I felt like I knew what was coming and it was great!

I really felt like this book did great at building characters and stating their back story and present situation very well. Usually t00 much information tends to kill a storyline but this book set up the backstory very well.

Overall, this book hooked me and I finished it very quick!

When Scarlett is hit by a car she is taken to the hospital and put on life support. The doctors are not sure if she will wake up in the next several weeks before her parents. Ed and Tamsyn's insurance stop payment. They are approached by a doctor for a trial experiment in which they have a chance to clone Scarlett and move to Switzerland all expenses paid. Can they really have their daughter back as an artificial intelligence clone?

The concept of THE NEW ONE was very appealing to me, so I had to read it. I am not a huge science-fiction fan, but I thought this book was clever and well written. I think if you are a fan of this genre you will likely enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing group for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

A book review or two ago, I spoke of how unusual it was to find a book in this genre with a truly different story to tell. Little did I know - nor did I dare hope - that I'd find another one. But find one I did, and by golly, it's a doozy.

The premise also is more than a little unsettling to me. Don't misunderstand - I'm a huge fan of technology, and my biggest fear of leaving this world is that I'll miss out on watching, and experiencing, all the advances that are sure to come. All the same, a few things on the developmental horizon that are often in the news frighten me a bit, such as artificial creation of human life (or purposefully altering it, as in gene manipulation) and artificial intelligence. While the prospects of both are exciting, I realize the enormous potential for misuse. So it was, then, that this book grabbed me from the git-go when Ed Trelawny's daughter, Scarlett, is rendered comatose following a hit-and-run - and Ed is offered the chance for her to participate in a research project in which a "new" daughter will be created from his daughter's body. In return, Ed, his wife and their "reanimated" daughter Sophie must exchange their drab, semi-miserable life in England for one of luxury near the research facility in Switzerland. Oh gosh, I said - what could possibly go wrong?

For openers, not long after Ed, his wife Tamsyn and Sophie are beginning to adjust to their new environment (quite happily, in fact), Scarlett - who really wasn't expected to recover - opens her eyes. And speaks. And soon, she recovers sufficiently to go home to be with her parents and, in many aspects, "twin" sister - one who's been programmed to be, well, an improvement of sorts. Oh gosh, I said once again - what could possibly go wrong?

Trust me, it's plenty - including an unexpected rivalry between the two girls that threatens to pull the family apart once again (or worse). Chapters trace what's going on both past and present from the perspectives of various family members. As the end nears, I was itching to get on with it - and then got hit with a whopper of a twist. More than that I can't say without giving away too much, but I won't hesitate to say I couldn't put this one down. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. As for those reading this review, I urge you to read it for yourselves. Wow!

The amount of twist that are thrown at you in this book are uncountable.

I cannot remember the last book I read that genuinely threw me for a loop and I wasn't able to figure out what was around the corner. Evie Green as something really special within these covers. The story starts off with drama and tragedy, a setting that makes the reader invested. Then a strange new concept in introduced with the augmented people and bam, you're was hooked.

The family dynamic felt grounded in real life and the mystery surrounding each character was wonderful. As the story is told from different points of view, I really felt what each person was feeling in the moment, and the author did a great job of not giving away to many details of the end story.

Five stars! This was a great read. Loved it from start to finish.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for sending me an early copy of THE NEW ONE. This book publishes on March 28.

This glorious book is a blend of science fiction, horror and thriller. THE NEW ONE creeped me out, kept me up super late at night and I will be thinking about it for a long time. If you liked the shows Black Mirror and Orphan Black then this one is right up your alley. These characters and this setting came to life in front of me and I know this book will be a smash hit.

Ed, Tamsyn, and their daughter Scarlett are not getting along. That is actually quite an understatement. Scarlett changed almost overnight from being the perfect daughter to an unruly terror. They have very little money, work too many hours for low pay, and live cramped together in a camper van. But all that is about to change when Scarlett runs off in the middle of the night. A terrible accident will turn their world upside down and expose them to a very very different place.
And away we go into cray cray land and a new life for Ed and Tamsyn. Scarlett has been seriously hurt, as she lingers between life and death. In a coma, they now have to worry about their insurance ending. But there is hope on the horizon. They are offered a chance to include Scarlett in a medical trial in Switzerland. She will get the best care, and they will come to, living in a furnished apartment, with money being no object. Suddenly living better than they ever could have imagined.
Oh, there is one small price to pay to VitaNova. An artificial Scarlett,a clone / a reanimation will be created. What! The stuff of science fiction, right but what choice do they have? None. Money is some thing they do not have without this trial and Scarlett will die without the cutting edge medical treatment they can provide.
Holy I’m seeing double. I won’t say more because of spoilers, but this was such a twisty tale, with some things that I just didn’t see coming. I read this on Sunday and I may have let my other plans slide until I was done. One word summary: bonkers.

This was a suspenseful read, it had what I enjoyed from the genre and from the description. I was glad I got to read this and go through this. Evie Green has a great writing style and it worked well with the whole concept. I enjoyed how good this was and how well it worked in the thriller genre.

"She looked at her daughter and willed her back to life. You can be as moody as you like, she told her telepathically. She took Scarlett’s hand. Please, darling. Come back before we have to do this. You don’t have to tell me where the clothes came from. We can draw a line under everything. Every little bit of it. Maybe we can find a way to get a house."

I’m not typically a science fiction fan and I’m not sure if this novel would fit totally in that category, but I really loved this book! There were fabulous twists that I didn’t expect at all, and the momentum built up in a way that was very satisfying for me as a reader. I could easily see this being brought to the big (or small) screen.

Pub date: 3/28/23
Genre: thriller
Quick summary: Tamsyn and Ed are devastated when their rebellious daughter Scarlett is gravely injured, and they enroll in an unorthodox medical trial in Switzerland to create Sophie, a regenerated and optimized" version of her. But when Scarlett recovers, this family of four will find that their problems are bigger than they could have imagined.

I read a lot of thrillers, and this one has something special! I loved the concept behind the medical trial, and Sophie was a little spooky from the start. Author Evie Green built up plenty of tension and suspense, and I did not see the mid-book twist coming. I don't want to say too much more for fear of spoilers, but fans of scientific/medical thrillers should enjoy this one! I read it in less than 24 hours because I needed to know what would happen!

Thank you to Berkley and @letstalkbookspromo for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for gifting me an early copy. Below is my honest review.

Evie Green's last book, We Hear Voices, ended up being a really fun sci-fi thriller, so I had high expectations going into The New One. Green did not disappoint!

This one was a fun romp into the world of AI and cloning, very reminiscent of Orphan Black - which just so happens to be one of my favorite shows.

One thing I loved about this one is that Green didn't take the obvious route - she turned some stereotypical plot twists on their heads and did something different, which was entertaining.

Definitely loved this one and recommend it to sci-fi thriller fans. After two hits for me, Green is going on my instant-read list.

Tamsyn's daughter is in a coma after an accident and doesn't have much time left before the insurance runs out. Without much of a choice, Tamsyn agrees to a medical trial. She agrees to let the company made an artificial copy of their daughter and in exchange they will provide round the clock care for her real daughter and pay all of the family's expenses. Tamsyn dreads meeting the artificial copy but is delighted to see she really looks, sounds and acts like her daughter. Yet this new daughter is hiding some dark thoughts. And what will happen if their real daughter ever awakes from her coma? This is an excellent science fiction story with a few surprises along the way. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Synopsis:

Tamsyn, Ed, and their daughter Scarlett live in a caravan. Things haven’t been the best lately and tensions are high. After one blow up, Scarlett takes off and is hit by a car. When Tamsyn and Ed are grappling with their daughter potentially not waking up from a coma, they are presented with a rare golden opportunity. If they agree to take a cyborg version of Scarlett and live in Switzerland, they will want for nothing. Its too good to pass up.

Having Sophie, their AI replacement, makes Ed and Tamsyn feel like they have their daughter back. But things go sideways when Scarlett makes a recovery and things aren’t always as golden as they seem.

Review:

This book was trippy! It really makes you question what you would do in a similar situation. I honestly don’t think I could go through with this type of experiment because it would be too heartbreaking for me in the end. I’m a believer that sometimes loss happens, and the only way through is by grieving.

This sci-fi dystopian novel is done where it feels entirely possible in our current world. Books like this are so fun for me to read because they give me a creepy and unsettling feeling.

This one is 400 pages, which by my standards is long, but it was a fast read. The writing was so well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This one had some twists that truly caught me off guard and made me question everything! So fun.

I highly recommend you check this one out March 28th!

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The New One by Evie Green

Hard working, barely getting by, Tamsyn and Ed are living a miserable life. Home is a camper van and close quartered life with their fourteen year old foul mouthed, angry daughter is more than either of them can take. Their daughter is the only thing keeping them together now but that togetherness is a ragged thread. Then there is an accident.

Their daughter is on life support and it's going to be turned off when their insurance runs out. But then they are offered a lifeline and they take it. It's too good to be true but they have no other option than to let their daughter die and neither of them want to let go of Scarlett. So off they go to Switzerland, to live a life of luxury and getting to know their cloned daughter, Sophie. Scarlett may never come off life support so what else could they do? And Sophie is like a perfect Scarlett in every way. She's well behaved, happy, brilliant, and a pleasure to be around.

Sure, there is niggling guilt, doubt, and suspicion. Why would all this be done for them? How could they be so lucky after being so unlucky in the past? Will this last forever?

Then Scarlett comes out of her coma and things are no longer so comfortable. Jealousy between a clone and her "origin" is a real thing apparently. And why is Ed getting more distant from Tamsyn when things had been so good between them when they first came to Switzerland? That isn't the only thing that is bothering Tamsyn, things seem very off and her niggling doubts and suspicions are ramping up into raging paranoia. This eutopia is losing its luster.

I didn't want to put this book down. Tamsyn, Ed, and Scarlett were living a horrible life before the accident but once they are in Switzerland their carefree, luxurious life does have some hidden price tags. There is a different kind of lack of privacy here and there are shackles they never imagined in their old life. The tension in the family is there again, a different type of tension than before and it's growing into something that can ruin everything. This was fun in a horrible way, as it becomes clear that this life will cost so much more than the family could imagine.

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

It's The Stepford Wife meets Logans Run with some dystopian rise of the machines stuff thrown in at the end too. Entertaining, but slow to start, and lacks a clear focus to this reader on the motivation of the evil scientists.

Well, it was a lot of pleasure to read this thought-provoking Sci-Fi, futuristic book! 400 pages went pretty quickly. It was simple to picture this happening in the not too distant future, however I'm not sure how I feel about way it ended.

This was a super weird, creepy and overall unsettling book. Probably a purchase for most libraries given the current AI climate