Public Offerings Book 1: Birthright

Blurb

"A terrific launch for the author's series, but readers may want to have the sequels handy… LiVolsi’s novel, the first in a series of four, is a densely plotted thriller that churns out suspenseful scenes: Civil unrest in Nigeria and Sierra Leone is lucidly detailed with relentless explosions, and even Dave’s racing to Liv’s volleyball game is tense. Characters are refreshingly intricate. Protagonist Dave isn’t a flawless hero; he seems to be an obsessive workaholic. The bad guys are even better…” Kirkus Reviews
One out of four children in Sierra Leone will die before their fifth birthday. Ebola, civil war and corruption have decimated the nation and its people. Dave Clement’s company can help by stopping malaria, the biggest single killer of children under five. A biomedical executive in Colorado, Dave has it all: a wife and daughter he treasures, a career with a mission in which he believes, and a job about to make him rich through an initial public offering. Then his fifteen year old daughter, Liv, inexplicably contracts a virulent form of HIV, ripping his life apart. Dave discovers that his work with Sierra Leone may be responsible for Liv’s disease. Using his industry contacts, he scrambles for a cure only to become embroiled in a genocidal cabal of powerful conspirators, including his business partner Claire McQuaid, head of a powerful pharmaceutical firm. Liv’s fate is attached to the outcome of the genocide. Dave must cooperate or Liv and everything he cherishes are doomed. Seeking a way to fight back, Dave unpeels the layers of the conspiracy, but Claire anticipates his moves, stopping him at every turn. Disease and war loom ominously as the stakes escalate. With time running out, Dave is forced to play God with his own child and a million innocents. Who will live and who will die? And how will Dave live with himself.
Ripped from today’s headlines, this breathtaking roller coaster ride undulates from the snow-capped Rockies of northern Colorado to the rain-soaked jungles of West Africa. Birthright, Book 1 of the Public Offerings series, is a cinematic and breathtaking adventure into the 21st century heart of darkness.
Installment # 1 in the Public Offerings series. Winner of the prestigious Writers League of Texas competition for best thriller.