(WPF) Find you First, by Linwood Barclay, 3.5- 4 stars

[NancyJ]

Find You First by Linwood Barclay. This is a fast paced thriller that made good use of "ripped from the headlines" stories about anonymous sperm donors, services to find genetic relatives, and sex rings for the rich and famous. The main character of the book is a rich tech entrepreneur who donated to a sperm bank when he was a struggling student. He now has reason to try to find his offspring, but learns that some of them have recently gone missing. The first one he finds is Chloe, an aspiring documentary film maker, and she helps him search for others.

Another major character in this 2021 novel sounds remarkably like Jeffrey Epstein, who shared young girls with his famous friends, including Prince Philip. (This week Melinda Gates revealed that when she met Epstein she thought he was evil personified.) We meet Nicky, a teenager who would like to escape his clutches.

These stories merge with the activities of a pair of contract killers working together to hide traces of their victims. As with many thrillers, some of the plot points required me to suspend disbelief, but the characters and story were engaging and entertaining.