Corruption, greed, black operations, shadowy organisations and the lust for unadulterated power is the setting for Gregory Meritt’s The Adoption. Claire and Logan just wanted a child to complete their lives but, unable to have one of their own, they turned to the adoption route and were rewarded with a beautiful, five-year-old girl by the name of Samantha. Samantha, however, was much more than she appeared to be on the surface. Part of a dangerous experiment conducted by a secret organisation hidden beneath the desert, Samantha is just one of two children “created” by this shadowy organisation and imbued with special powers that the backer hopes will eventually allow him to rule the world. Caught up in an unstoppable chain of events, Claire, Logan and Samantha find themselves running for their very lives, unsure of who or what was after them and who to trust.
This story is incredibly fast-moving and, for me, was an absolute page-turner. I really had to find where the tale was ultimately going to lead. For a debut novel, The Adoption has certainly struck all the right chords with me, the reader. As what may well be the first in a series of stories about the crime-fighting organisation Omega, this book certainly piqued my interest. The author took us on a journey full of twists and turns, engaged in the ultimate of all battles: good vs evil. The characters were strong and believable. I especially liked the way Samantha and her seven-year-old compatriot in the experiment, Scott, were the perfect antitheses of each other in all ways. This story is well written and would be an absolute must-read for conspiracy theorists, but anyone that loves a good, rollicking, spy-style story will certainly enjoy this book. A great first effort from Meritt.