Constance
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-08 09:16:16
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew FitzSimmons
- ISBN：B08Q7GGMNG
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A breakthrough in human cloning becomes one woman’s waking nightmare in a mind-bending thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Gibson Vaughn series。
In the near future， advances in medicine and quantum computing make human cloning a reality。 For the wealthy， cheating death is the ultimate luxury。 To anticloning militants， it’s an abomination against nature。 For young Constance “Con” D’Arcy， who was gifted her own clone by her late aunt， it’s terrifying。
After a routine monthly upload of her consciousness—stored for that inevitable transition—something goes wrong。 When Con wakes up in the clinic， it’s eighteen months later。 Her recent memories are missing。 Her original， she’s told， is dead。 If that’s true， what does that make her？
The secrets of Con’s disorienting new life are buried deep。 So are those of how and why she died。 To uncover the truth， Con is retracing the last days she can recall， crossing paths with a detective who’s just as curious。 On the run， she needs someone she can trust。 Because only one thing has become clear: Con is being marked for murder—all over again。
In the near future， advances in medicine and quantum computing make human cloning a reality。 For the wealthy， cheating death is the ultimate luxury。 To anticloning militants， it’s an abomination against nature。 For young Constance “Con” D’Arcy， who was gifted her own clone by her late aunt， it’s terrifying。
After a routine monthly upload of her consciousness—stored for that inevitable transition—something goes wrong。 When Con wakes up in the clinic， it’s eighteen months later。 Her recent memories are missing。 Her original， she’s told， is dead。 If that’s true， what does that make her？
The secrets of Con’s disorienting new life are buried deep。 So are those of how and why she died。 To uncover the truth， Con is retracing the last days she can recall， crossing paths with a detective who’s just as curious。 On the run， she needs someone she can trust。 Because only one thing has become clear: Con is being marked for murder—all over again。
Reviews
TJ
，
A nice mashup of sci-fi and mystery。
Nannette Pelletier
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Great book - lots of unexpected twists。
Sarah Baenen
，
This was a fun book that balanced sci-fi， mystery， and philosophy。 The pacing of the book was nice， with some nice twists which added some depth and intrigue to the bigger philosophical questions suggested by the author。 I liked the main character， Constance， and her insatiable curiously and her intelligence。 The ending was also satisfying; he major plot points were wrapped up but some lose ends were left， meaning that there would be plenty to explore in a sequel。 ARC from NetGalley
Jen
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Interesting ideas。 Some of the characters were a little 2-dimensional， but a good read。
Dawn Harvey
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Future possibleI didn't know what to expect when I started this book。 The idea of human cloning and how things would likely follow is very believable and very well written。 A few great twists kept it interesting right up to the end。 Future possibleI didn't know what to expect when I started this book。 The idea of human cloning and how things would likely follow is very believable and very well written。 A few great twists kept it interesting right up to the end。 。。。more
Jessica Mackey
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I don't normally read science fiction but this sounded interesting so I picked it as my Amazon First Reads book for this month。 It was a little predictable but overall it was well-written and had a creative and interesting storyline。 I don't normally read science fiction but this sounded interesting so I picked it as my Amazon First Reads book for this month。 It was a little predictable but overall it was well-written and had a creative and interesting storyline。 。。。more
Karen
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Fun read that uses cloning and various twists and turns。
Rory Martin Christian
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It’s a good book。 A nice summer read that’s part Sci-Fi though piece， social commentary and murder mystery all in one。 The characters are overall well developed and completely believable。 This book reads like a prequel to Richard Morgan’s “Altered Carbon”， but takes place in a near future that’s a bit easier to relate to than the one inhabited by Takeshi Kovacs。 Fitzsimmons does a great job of fleshing out the world the story takes place in and I really enjoyed the world building aspects of the It’s a good book。 A nice summer read that’s part Sci-Fi though piece， social commentary and murder mystery all in one。 The characters are overall well developed and completely believable。 This book reads like a prequel to Richard Morgan’s “Altered Carbon”， but takes place in a near future that’s a bit easier to relate to than the one inhabited by Takeshi Kovacs。 Fitzsimmons does a great job of fleshing out the world the story takes place in and I really enjoyed the world building aspects of the narrative that made the story a much richer narrative。 。。。more
Chelsea
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Oh so many surprises and twists。 Apart from being a great sci-fi book， it asks a lot of really important questions about life itself。
Christine
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The story was very fresh and original。 I enjoyed it。 But the male author wrote the female main character as very angry， male-esque。 Also， why did he need to detail every character's race？ The story was very fresh and original。 I enjoyed it。 But the male author wrote the female main character as very angry， male-esque。 Also， why did he need to detail every character's race？ 。。。more
Audrey
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EhGave sci fi a try this time around。 It was alright， but a little convoluted by the end。 Still a decent read。
Sarah
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I really wanted to like the story， but the main character's decision making was at best really stupid at times in this book。 It felt like I was missing something in her persistent drive to solve her murder。 Disappointed， but far from the worst thing I've read。 I really wanted to like the story， but the main character's decision making was at best really stupid at times in this book。 It felt like I was missing something in her persistent drive to solve her murder。 Disappointed， but far from the worst thing I've read。 。。。more
Geoff
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A Mystery Wrapped in a Paper on EthicsCharacters of medium weight， crime scenes peppered with clues， and a story line that never allows you to feel like you want to get off the ride until you've reached the very end， all contribute to making this a very enjoyable 4-star book。 My Fifth Star is a reward for delving deeper into the ethical dilemma spresented by human cloning plus some great quotable passages。 A fine example being，"In this country， power doesn’t derive from defeating a threat; true A Mystery Wrapped in a Paper on EthicsCharacters of medium weight， crime scenes peppered with clues， and a story line that never allows you to feel like you want to get off the ride until you've reached the very end， all contribute to making this a very enjoyable 4-star book。 My Fifth Star is a reward for delving deeper into the ethical dilemma spresented by human cloning plus some great quotable passages。 A fine example being，"In this country， power doesn’t derive from defeating a threat; true power comes from the fear of the threat。 And maintaining power requires a continuing threat。" 。。。more
Gen
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This is a sort of murder mystery mixed with cloning sci-fi。Set just far enough in the future that things aren't exactly the same -- but close enough to easily imagine -- Constance D'Arcy is a depressed， disaffected musician dealing with grief and what seems like PTSD。 Her aunt just happens to be the multimillionaire founder of a cloning company。 One day， Constance wakes up as her own clone。 Her original was brutally murdered， and she needs to find out what happened。Honestly， the idea of a clone This is a sort of murder mystery mixed with cloning sci-fi。Set just far enough in the future that things aren't exactly the same -- but close enough to easily imagine -- Constance D'Arcy is a depressed， disaffected musician dealing with grief and what seems like PTSD。 Her aunt just happens to be the multimillionaire founder of a cloning company。 One day， Constance wakes up as her own clone。 Her original was brutally murdered， and she needs to find out what happened。Honestly， the idea of a clone investigating her own murder sounds RIGHT up my alley。 I love that kind of sci-fi， and I also love murder mysteries。 There is a problem here， however， and I'm not sure what it is。 Could it be Constance's vaguely downbeat， ruminating personality？ The fact that I never seemed to be able to really invest in her character？ Constance's stubborn insistence on moping her way into danger with as little thought as possible？ There were at least five times where she showed up somewhere and seemed to not know why exactly she was there。 She'd meant to go there。 Planned to go there。 For what reason？ We just don't know。 She felt compelled。Sadly， I did not feel compelled。 Not nearly as much as I wanted to， and should have。The mystery itself is still interesting， but it gets buried under my lack of interest in Constance as a person， and the who-am-I-what-am-I moral dilemma that takes up all of her thoughts。 Sci-fi like this is absolutely required to confront that moral dilemma， and spending a lot of effort on the topic I think was fine。 In my opinion， though， this book didn't pull it off。 Ideally， you should end a story like this feeling sort of disconnected from reality and questioning some of your own assumptions。 By the end， all I was feeling was a little annoyed at Constance's frequent solemn flashbacks and reveries。The climax， at least， is free of this kind of slogging。 As soon as we begin to wind up the story， it winds up quickly and with a bang， more like a thriller series than either the murder mystery or philosophical sci-fi the rest of the book is trying to be。 I enjoyed it as a welcome relief。 Overall， this book was nothing outstanding， but it does do a solid job telling a genre-bending story and serves up an interesting plot。 。。。more
Roger D。 Lee
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Are clones the same person they replace？ Yes and no。What would you do differently if you came back as your own clone but with 18 months of missing memories？ So many questions and many others all leading to danger。 For now， survive so you can keep digging。 Enjoy。
Cindy Mink
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I like Sci-fi with a little cloning thrown in。I liked the story and it had me guessing all the way through。 I will read the next book in this series。
Sebastian
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More of a murder-mystery than sci-fi。 I did enjoy the exploration of the implications of transferring consciousness and cloning。 The practice of naming each character， no matter how minor， by race was extremely distracting。 "She walked in to see a black bouncer blocking her way。 Behind him was a white bouncer and another white bouncer。 Behind the bar a bartender， also white， was mixing a drink。" It was clearly intentional， so I am sure Mr。 FitzSimmons was trying to accomplish something， I am jus More of a murder-mystery than sci-fi。 I did enjoy the exploration of the implications of transferring consciousness and cloning。 The practice of naming each character， no matter how minor， by race was extremely distracting。 "She walked in to see a black bouncer blocking her way。 Behind him was a white bouncer and another white bouncer。 Behind the bar a bartender， also white， was mixing a drink。" It was clearly intentional， so I am sure Mr。 FitzSimmons was trying to accomplish something， I am just not sure what it was。 。。。more
Cassandra Albergaria
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Hoping for a Sequel ！You know a book is good when you can’t help but wonder what comes next for the “world” within the book that you just spent hours feeling a part of。 This book was so good， I found myself reading it when I woke up in the middle of the night。 Thought-provoking and original even though the theme is as old as time。 Would make a great movie， so that all the non-readers out there could enjoy it。
Jilly
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I would call this book a murder mystery with sci-fi elements。 It is set in the future and is about human cloning。 Con wakes up from her death to find that she is now a clone。 She cannot remember how she died and she is determined to put the pieces together and "Solve" her own murder。 It's a very weird， twisty， turny， story that throws up lots of ethical questions。 EG。 Can a clone be held responsible for crimes committed by it's original？ Thought provoking。 I don't think I would want to be a clon I would call this book a murder mystery with sci-fi elements。 It is set in the future and is about human cloning。 Con wakes up from her death to find that she is now a clone。 She cannot remember how she died and she is determined to put the pieces together and "Solve" her own murder。 It's a very weird， twisty， turny， story that throws up lots of ethical questions。 EG。 Can a clone be held responsible for crimes committed by it's original？ Thought provoking。 I don't think I would want to be a clone！ As seems to be the case recently， I was a little disappointed by the ending but I believe this is book one in a series and I guess you have to read book 2 to find out what happens next。 I am not keen on series。 I like a book to be a complete standalone story where the ending really feels like the ending and doesn't leave unanswered questions。 ************************In the near future， advances in medicine and quantum computing make human cloning a reality。 For the wealthy， cheating death is the ultimate luxury。 To anticloning militants， it’s an abomination against nature。 For young Constance “Con” D’Arcy， who was gifted her own clone by her late aunt， it’s terrifying。After a routine monthly upload of her consciousness—stored for that inevitable transition—something goes wrong。 When Con wakes up in the clinic， it’s eighteen months later。 Her recent memories are missing。 Her original， she’s told， is dead。 If that’s true， what does that make her？The secrets of Con’s disorienting new life are buried deep。 So are those of how and why she died。 To uncover the truth， Con is retracing the last days she can recall， crossing paths with a detective who’s just as curious。 On the run， she needs someone she can trust。 Because only one thing has become clear: Con is being marked for murder—all over again。 。。。more
Sheri Ray
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Original or copy？Cloning is intriguing。 How can one differentiate what is real？ We all sometimes feel like we're a fraud。 Finding our joy is the key。 Original or copy？Cloning is intriguing。 How can one differentiate what is real？ We all sometimes feel like we're a fraud。 Finding our joy is the key。 。。。more
Susan
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This was sort of interesting， but I never could quite care that much about the main character。 Skimmed quickly toward the end。 Abigail never was a full character to me， either， so the resolution was just meh。 Freebie from Amazon。
Amy Johnson
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An emotional rollercoaster with lots of twists and turnsA great sci fi read that delves into the psychology behind cloning。 The characters are relatable and can be good， evil， or a little of both， but even the evil characters have their kind hearted moments。 All in all， an enjoyable read with a melancholy ending。
Trudy Nye
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Though a good story， this book could have benefitted from being set a little further in the future， say 2138 instead of 2038。 The futuristic changes were just too hard to swallow in a world a mere 17 years hence。。。and this will be more problematic for readers as time goes on。There were a few grammar and spelling errors as well。 Don't writers have editors any longer？ A good editor should have corrected those as well as advising the author to revise his timeline。All-in-all it was an interesting re Though a good story， this book could have benefitted from being set a little further in the future， say 2138 instead of 2038。 The futuristic changes were just too hard to swallow in a world a mere 17 years hence。。。and this will be more problematic for readers as time goes on。There were a few grammar and spelling errors as well。 Don't writers have editors any longer？ A good editor should have corrected those as well as advising the author to revise his timeline。All-in-all it was an interesting read。 。。。more
Paul Edlund
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There were some great ethics vs public policy questions raised in this book that made me stop and think。 It was engaging for sure， but some of the plot shifts felt like the literary equivalent of cheap jump scares in horror movies。
Lizard
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4。5 or 5 stars
Brenna
，
Captivating。 Couldn’t put it down。 Unpredictable。 A little chaotic and confusing at the end but still quite good。
Steven Ramirez
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My introduction to the story of a person attempting to solve their own murder came when I saw the outstanding 1949 noir classic D。O。A。， starring Edmond O’Brien。 The idea of a character hunting their killer is powerful。 And when you wrap it in a sci-fi thriller about human clones， it sings。 In Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons， human cloning exists， although it comes with a few glitches。 In classic whodunnit form， Con D’Arcy’s clone awakens because her original is dead。 That’s the rule。 And like th My introduction to the story of a person attempting to solve their own murder came when I saw the outstanding 1949 noir classic D。O。A。， starring Edmond O’Brien。 The idea of a character hunting their killer is powerful。 And when you wrap it in a sci-fi thriller about human clones， it sings。 In Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons， human cloning exists， although it comes with a few glitches。 In classic whodunnit form， Con D’Arcy’s clone awakens because her original is dead。 That’s the rule。 And like the first Constance， she’s independent and fearless。 Despite missing eighteen months of memories， she goes in search of answers。 Besides the excellent writing， it’s the research that makes this novel enjoyable。 The world-building is solid and believable。 And the questions cloning raises are numerous and troubling。 There was one idea that stood out for me。 If a person commits murder， can their clone be held responsible after the original dies？ That， my friends， would make for some interesting dinner conversation。 And here’s another one。 Should clones enjoy the same rights as their originals？ Are they even people？If you love well-researched thrillers where， at times， the bad guys outnumber the good， then I suggest you grab Constance。 And when you’ve finished reading it， ask yourself one question。 Do I want to live forever？ 。。。more
Belinda O'donnell
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Constant changeExcellent story compelling the reader to analyze the changes in our sciences and our world。 What one sees as progress another sees as dysfunctional
Amanda
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If you’re a fan of “Altered Carbon” you will love this book！ Set in the future， the main character juggles understanding who she is and who people expect her to be while solving a crime that affects her life and the lives of everyone else。I couldn’t put this book down。 #kindlereads have been my go to lately for newborn feedings and this one did not disappoint！
Johanna
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A great sci-fi book about cloning， the meaning of self， megalomania， and immortality。 Constance， aka Con， is a poor musician whose band is defunct - their van crashed one night just before recording their first album。 A couple of the band died， Con’s lover went into a coma， and Con and her best friend haven’t talked since the accident。 Emotionally， she’s barely getting by。 Con’s aunt Abigail， however， is a wealthy， brilliant cloning scientist who’s estranged from the family。 For that matter， Con A great sci-fi book about cloning， the meaning of self， megalomania， and immortality。 Constance， aka Con， is a poor musician whose band is defunct - their van crashed one night just before recording their first album。 A couple of the band died， Con’s lover went into a coma， and Con and her best friend haven’t talked since the accident。 Emotionally， she’s barely getting by。 Con’s aunt Abigail， however， is a wealthy， brilliant cloning scientist who’s estranged from the family。 For that matter， Con is estranged from them， too， but that doesn’t mean she’s close to her aunt。 In fact， they haven’t talked since she was a little girl。 Abigail donated clones to all the family but Con is the only one who took her up on the offer。 Now， once a month， she goes to the clinic for a refresh。 On the day of her last refresh， she learns Abigail has just thrown herself off a roof in an apparent suicide。 That’s the set up。 Then clone Con wakes up eighteen months later， discovers she’s been murdered， and goes in search of answers。 There’s the group Children of Adam who sees clones as an abomination and will lynch them。 There’s the state of Virginia where so many answers are to be found， but it’s an anti-clone state where Con can be arrested and executed just for being there。 There are the competing heads of the cloning clinic， each lying to her about why they want to get into her brain。 I enjoyed this because it’s a clever mystery wrapped up in the ethics of cloning。 How would it feel to wake up and realize the *real* you was dead and the current you wasn’t real at all， even if everything felt real？ What does it mean to be real？ How would you respond to people questioning who you are and， more importantly， *what* you are？There’s a sequel coming out in several months and I’m definitely going to read it。 I want more answers。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Constance
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Constance&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Constance&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0