Bad Seed
An Alex Bernier Mystery
By Beth Saulnier
Warner Books - Feb. 2002
ISBN: 0892967498 - Hardcover
Mystery / Reporter

Reviewed by: Robyn Glazer, MyShelf.Com
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Gabriel is a town up in arms over basically everything. Protesting is one of the favorite pastimes for the citizen's of this upstate New York community. However, things get out of hand very quickly when Kate Barnett, a respected professor, is beaten to death.
Kate's fight to get genetically engineered food put on the market was her passion and she would do anything to make her vision come true. She ended up giving her life for her dream.

Though Kate's public image is one of a saint, the more reporter Alex Bernier digs into Kate's life, the less this proves true. Alex wants her newspaper article to be factual, but never thought she would find so much dirt on Kate. Besides her shattered illusions of Kate, Alex is also dealing with her best friend's hospitalization, due to an overdose. She cannot even seek solace from her boyfriend, Brian Cody, because as a police officer he has been instructed to stay away from reporters. Alex is trying her hardest to cope but when attempts are made on her life, she knows she must have uncovered something very dangerous.

Bad Seed is a wonderful follow-up to The Fourth Wall. I really love Alex and admire how strong she is. Saulnier strips away all of Alex's defenses and allows the reader to get closer to her than ever. She is a strong individual, who is bettered by the people around her, but still a great person when left to her own devices. Bad Seed has writing that flows and the conclusion comes way too quickly, leaving me wanting more. It is obvious that Saulnier did research on genetically engineered food and was able to inject information into the story without making it clunky. This is a wonderful book and I look forward to seeing where Alex goes from here.