Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah and Joel Shlian

Rabbit in the Moon is a mystery-thriller that follows Lili Quan, an American doctor of Chinese descent, as she travels to China to search for her grandfather, Ni-Fu Cheng, whom she believed to be dead. But Lili is not the only person hot on Cheng's trail, because Cheng's research might hold the secret to a veritable modern-day fountain of youth. A variety of tensions add to the plot. The story is set at a time of great political dissension in China. Corporate interests play an important part, as does science, romance, and mystery.

One of the primary strengths of Rabbit in the Moon are the setting, including both place and time period, which draw the reader in and make the story that much more interesting. This is not the cookie-cutter dash from place-to-place adventure. Also, the premise itself is intriguing, and the medical angles are presented in a believable way (at least to the lay person). On the downside, I felt that there were far too many scene breaks, particularly early on in the book. Some were so short that it jolted me out of the narrative, and I was forced to remind myself where I was in terms of point-of-view. This skipping around made it difficult to identify with the characters. As the story progresses, the pacing slows. This might be a negative for some adventure/thriller lovers, but it allows the reader to delve into the characters and setting to a greater degree. The Shlians seem to find their pace in the final third of the book, and the conclusion is satisfying.

Rabbit in the Moon is a solid debut novel, and I look forward to the Shlian's next book.