THE ECHO WIFE

Xe Sands narrates with a quiet tension that suits the slow creep of this sci-fi domestic thriller. Evelyn is an accomplished scientist in the field of cloning human adults, although her victories in advancing the controversial work feel bittersweet. Her husband, Nathan, is having an affair, but the sweet-voiced Martine isn't just another woman--Nathan has used Evelyn's own research techniques to create an obedient, domestic, and illegal clone of Evelyn herself. Evelyn wants nothing to do with them, and in short order Nathan is dead, and Martine is in trouble. Sands delivers all the slowly building suspense with her smooth first-person narration as the author delves into the ethics of cloning and the legacy of trauma while executing plot twists that make for a satisfying, if disturbing, story. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2021]