Rudy Mazzocchi begins the novel “Equity of Evil” by describing experiments performed on fetuses in a laboratory setting. Certainly a scene to wake you up in the morning! The novel continues to detail a new company, EMBRYIA, which will commission and run mobile abortion units, MAU’s. These units will be stocked with a sterile environment, trained doctors and nurses, and a new technique that will allow the fetus to be removed intact, thereby preventing scaring and lessening trauma to the client. Promoting the social implications of this company by stating that it would lead to less backroom abortions by impoverished or embarrassed women, Roman Citrano decides to fund this new venture.
Based on true events, Roman Citrano suddenly finds himself immersed in a world of black-market organ donations, seedy scientists (led by the founder of EMBRYIA, Dr. Marcus Levine) who will stop at nothing to achieve their objectives, and a highly influential crime syndicate. Without giving too much plot details away, Citrano begins to unfold the PR nightmare involved with the intricate details of EMBRYIA’s operations.
Before analyzing the characters, let me start by stating that if you have strong pro-life views on abortion, the details in this novel will make you angry and upset. The author states in his afterword that he attempted to maintain a neutral stance on abortion throughout the novel, never declaring his own personal views, and I concur that the scenes did not substantially lean to any view on the issue. Overall, the details would be disturbing to any reader and are hard to digest as a true account. However, Mazzocchi does an excellent job of piecing together several intricate plot lines and characters. At first, the characters seem disjointed and robotic. As the reader continues to dive into Mazzocchi’s world, the characters begin to play their individual part in this mystery, allowing the reader to slowly discover EMBRYIA’s true mission.
In the beginning of the novel, Roman Citrano maintains his naivety in regards to the consequences and personal effects of abortion and his new venture. Not until someone he loves enters a MAU does Roman begin to search for answers and discover that Dr. Levine and others have constructed a puzzling game of Monopoly using women and unborn children. Mazzocchi uses intricate details, flashbacks, and emotional events to reveal the personal feelings and backgrounds of several characters, while continuously presenting several angles of abortion and the highly realistic MAUs. Based on true events, this novel continues to send shivers up my spine.
4 stars
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
