The Subiaco Post - November 16th 2002 (Australia)
Cover to Cover - Recommended reading
Expiry Date
By David Michie
Published by Little, Brown
David Michie made a lot of enemies by exposing unsavoury practices in public relations in his non-fiction book The Invisible Persuaders, published in 1998.
Then the former PR analyst and consultant-turned-author tried his hand at writing fiction, successfully creating a while new genre, the PR thriller, in which the dirty tricks, manipulations and greed of high-powered spin doctors dorm the backdrop to corruption and murder.
Michie, who was born in Rhodesia and is now based in Subiaco, has produced the third in his series of PR thrillers, called Expiry Date. After focusing on corporate PR with his first novel Conflict of Interest, and celebrity PR in Pure Deception, Michie now turns to the ethics of biotechnology with Expiry Date.
Dr Lorna Reid has discovered an anti-ageing drug that will put back by decades the expiry date written into our DNA. Health insurers are all too aware of the devastating impact of her work on their industry - and they'll go to any lengths to protect themselves.
Lorna can't understand why her successful research project is falling apart. Throw in the sudden and tragic death of young Matt Norton, a boy suffering from the ageing disorder Progeria and one of Lorna Reid's research subjects, and you have the making of a fast-paced thriller.
Michie has developed a formula with his novels and by the time you read the third it is not too difficult to sport the red herrings. But you also know it is compulsory to read to the very end because he never lets go of the final twist in the tale.
His insider knowledge of the world of high-powered
PR adds a fascinating and enlightening dimension to
his books.
By Sarah McNeill