The Gene Police: A Shep Harrington Smalltown Mystery

By: Elliott Light

Narrated by: James Romick

Before the words white supremacy filled the airways, before we learned of American Nazis and the alt-right, before there was a Muslim ban, before we considered building a wall or knew what DACA stands for, there was eugenics - a pseudoscience that promoted the belief that a race could be improved by controlling who was allowed to mate with whom.

It was eugenics that compelled white doctors to attempt to murder Baby John. It was compassion that led to his kidnapping. And it is the cruelest of circumstances - the murder of Jennifer Rice - that 50 years later leads Shep Harrington to search for Baby John.

As Shep soon learns, the quest brings him to the top of a slippery slope with an ill-defined edge. Question begets question, and the slide down the slope proves inevitable: What happened to the baby? Who took it? Why was he taken? And who killed Jennifer Rice?

When Shep learns that Baby John was born at a hospital run by Alton Nichols, a famous Virginia eugenicist, he is drawn into the dark history of the American eugenics movement and its proponents - the so-called "gene police".

©2018-- Elliott Light (P)2018 Bancroft Press

A very powerful story!

The Gene Police by Elliott Light is a well-crafted story with a complex plot that brings to light a harsh reality many American’s probably won’t relish taking a closer look at. I’m not going to tell you what that reality is... you will have to read the book for yourself to understand what I am talking about, but I will say that I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement with Mr. Light this morning when I realized he had a very valid point involving “eugenics”. If you aren’t familiar with that term right now, you will be by the end of this book. His dedication at the beginning of the story certainly hints at what is to come.

As you read, or listen to the book...whichever method you choose. Try to remember that much of what Mr. Light discusses actually happened here in the United States. It is a part of our American History, a part of what contributed to the Holocaust, a contributing factor to our chaotic political environment and in that sense it is a part of our present as well.

The main character, Shep Harrington is a good man with a troubled past who just seems to continually be drawn into situations he really should steer clear of. This he and his law partner Robbie are asked by a friend to look into who took some old photographs. They agree and a twisted and gnarled plot begins to open up, leading the reader into a dark and gruesome past; a past that has been buried for 50 years and one that many want to remain buried.

Shep, is a complicated man. He’s been on both sides of the law. He also recently inherited a ton of money from his estranged father and could live very well off of it, yet instead he chooses to live in a run-down house rather than the mansion on his property where his elderly “residents” live. He could do anything, live anywhere...instead he has his sights set on re-opening a Poor Farm to help others. His willingness to help others along with his simple lifestyle are probably the only thing that saves him when the Tax Man comes calling with a bill of $750,000 in unpaid taxes....courtesy of his now deceased famous father.

What’s not to like about a character like that? Shep sees himself as a dark and troubled man and yes he has a complicated past. However he doesn’t turn anyone away who is in need of assistance...that makes him complex true, but I don’t quite feel his darkness perhaps that’s more apparent in the previous books in this series. Instead I get more of a feel for his generosity and good heart.

Oh, and Shep has cats...lots of cats; just a few more creatures in need of help that he doesn’t turn away. These critters end up being a fun addition to the book too. I don’t say that just because I love cats (don’t judge me) but because they become tertiary characters due to how Mr. Light treats them. He does the same with the house Shep initially lives in at the beginning of the book, that too becomes a character in and of itself and becomes an integral to the plot at the end of the story.

As to the pace of this story, I really liked that. It rolls along at a steady pace, keeping the reader wanting to see what happens next and never losing the reader’s attention during the parts with less action. Not once did I find my mind wandering or wonder when the pace would pick up.

The resolution to the story was also very clever, I loved. No, I’m not going to elude to what it was...but it was clever.

If I had to pick something to criticize it would be this, character names. Yeah, I know I’m a picky picky bugger but it is something that came to my attention.

In this story we have two pretty important characters named Robbie and Reggie. Now, this may seem silly to bring up since one is a female lawyer and a potential love interest and the other is a male State Trooper but the names being so similar kept giving me slight pause. That’s a minor thing to point out and I’m not sure I even truly realized it was an issue until I sat down to write this review and found that I kept trying to call Robbie....Reggie in my mind when I would go back over the story in my head.

Really interesting storyline

While this is the third book in the Shep Harrington series, you can definitely start with this book.

The book was a great illustration of how crimes of the past (our own as well as past generations’ pasts) can be tied into crimes of the present. Most specifically where eugenics is concerned. I think my favorite part though is the lead character’s character. Shep’s compassion not just for those he loves but also the community he wants to help really defines him and makes him a likable hero.


The narrator was great. Good solid voice for crime, I’ll definitely be looking for more he narrates.