A Fatal Inheritance is a well written layman accessible real life medical mystery/thriller by Lawrence Ingrassia. Released 14th May 2024 by Henry Holt & co., it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
Cancer research and our body of knowledge is expanding constantly. Obviously for patients affected by cancer and their families progress feels insufficient and slow. This is the background story of Li-Frameni syndrome, a genetic flaw with the P53 tumor supressor gene. Much of the book concerns the author's own family; he's the only one of 4 siblings who didn't inherit the flaw and his siblings died young, one after another.
Part of the book contains case histories of other families. It's a poignant and difficult read in places. It's meticulously researched and annotated throughout. The links and chapter notes will provide readers with hours of further reading.
Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, book club review, or non-fiction readers. For readers who enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Being Mortal, this selection will likely appeal as well.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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