I was not expecting how much of a mystery this story would turn out to be but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The premise of "what would you do if you had to investigate your own death" is fascinating, but it did become a little convoluted.

I also enjoyed the diversity and inclusion represented.

Less is more, I'd say. My problem with this novel lies in that the author wants to cover a great number of subjects/issues, which overcomplicates the storytelling and takes out from the possibility of going deeper here. I do not say that the premise is not interesting, as it is - the science-fiction topic of cloning is both quite creative and bringing the huge moral and ethical questions to the table. But the author works with this topic politically, he is already decided what is right and what is wrong (based on his thinly veiled actual political beliefs), which is a pity, as the actual questions are burning and very interesting and they should be covered much more deeply.
Also, the characters are quite bland. Yes, there are some exceptions (as the Children of Adam's leader, actually, or the cop from Virginia - all opposing the main ideas, but curious enough to have a look with their own eyes, which is the way the good storytelling should go in my opinion), but not the main character, as Con is "running" throughout the whole novel, being confronted by many surprise twists, but never taking the crisis as a chance to evaluate her attitudes.

But maybe there is a chance of redemption in the incoming second volume in the series?

Lots of twists and turns in the company of an engaging heroine. A solid sci-fi thriller with an interesting clone angle.

A fabulous cloning story! 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.
Really enjoyed this one

Fascinating sci-fi thriller that started really great but it didn’t hold up the entire way. It’s well written and the characters are developed in a good way but unfortunately I lost interest in the final act of the story.

Thanks to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the copy.

It is 2040. Constance was given a clone of herself by her aunt, the mother of cloning. She goes to upload her consciousnesses, as she does monthly, and wakes up 18 months later as a clone. The original Con has died and the clone was activated with a year-and-a-half gap in her memories. She sets out to find the truth of what happened to the original Constance. This was good, but things got somewhat tangled by the end. It was a little hard to keep track of. It seems like there may be another book in the future as this is listed as "Constance #1" on Goodreads. I would probably give another book a shot too. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons is a fantastic read.

I'm Merannda, and I am excited to write my first review for Baroness Book Trove, especially because Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons is a fantastic read. I read the book with my good friend Sheri who contributed to this review. Constance is a fast-paced, thrilling ride, with twists, deeply moving passages, and an easy-to-digest yet philosophically heavy question; Is cloning humans a good idea? Fitzsimmons doesn't hand you the answer on a silver platter, nor does he overburden you with scientific principles. Sheri and I both enjoyed the freedom given to the reader to seek out their own opinion while joining a wonderfully relatable main character on a path of self-discovery.

Con
Constance D'Arcy's life is on a downward spiral when we meet her. She has experienced devastating loss just as her life was about to take off. For me, that wasn't what made her relatable, although I'm sure some readers will relate. The case could be made that we, the reader, never really get to know the original Con. After all, we only get to spend a few chapters with her, and then spend the majority of the book with Con's clone... Con, or Constance... it gets complicated. The complications are what made her relatable to me; issues like self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and the fear of confrontation all hit close to home.

Fitzsimmons molds the issues of subtle and overt racism into what I'm calling "clonism" in a very effective way. In her efforts to learn about the Original Con, Clone Con experiences deep and sometimes devastating connections with long lost friends, new loves, and other clones as well. Sheri and I found ourselves still pondering the main question of Constance long after the last page.

The Question of Cloning
There are a lot of moral quandaries brought out in Constance. Is cloning safe? Good? Equally available to all? Do clones have rights? Can they be held responsible for their original's actions? Fitzsimmons doesn't answer all of these questions in his novel, nor should he have. Fitzsimmons can also be commended on his novel's not-so-distant futuristic setting. It's easy for the reader to take the issues we see in the present and imagine their progression along a timeline where this fictional world is completely plausible. Corporate greed, political corruption, and good intentions all pave the way to at least one clone's personal hell, and a great read we highly recommend.

Five Stars
My rating for Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons is five stars.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons.

Until the next time,
~Merannda

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.

Thank you to NetGalley, Matthew Fitzsimmons and Thomas & Mercer for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't read a ton in this particular genre, but I absolutely loved this! The characters are so interesting and I found the concept very unique! I loved every minute honestly and I found it a wild ride. It was a quick paced, thrilling novel that covered something so futuristic and if possible, definitely something I could imagine going just like this novel. I loved Constance and the twists! They were amazing. I didn't see any of them coming and I really hope that there will somehow be a second Constance novel.

With thousands of high, helpful ratings and reviews already out there, I don't have anything new to add. I'll just recommend it to scifi and mystery fans.

Thanks very much for the free review copy!!

Being that I've become a bit obsessed with cloning of late, this book was written for dystopian mind-bender fans like me. And it's a wild ride! Constance is a likeable, gutsy character who finds herself navigating one twist after another in her quest to unravel the mystery of her own existence. The social, ethical, moral and legal implications of cloning humans play a big part in the story, and there are passages that gave me the shivers, much like Gilead of the Handmaid's Tale.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and look forward to reading more of his works. Constance's story seems perfect for a sequel. Actually, where the future possibilities of cloning are concerned, endings are probably optional.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy..

Constance (Con) D'Arcy is one of two people in her family who have escaped a dismal existence in Texas. The other is her aunt Abigail Stickling, a brilliant scientist who founded PalinGenesis in order to clone humans.

There is a lot of discussion both here and later about the treatment of clones and ethics. Should clones be treated the same as their originals? Do they have the same rights? Should they have access to the entire life of their original? There are, of course, the usual people who want to hunt down and kill clones, presumably before any signal makes it back to PalinGenesis to pull out another and stuff that person's memory in place.

Abigail commits suicide by flinging herself off the building. As she suffered from a genetic health issue that prevented the cloning process from working, we're told she has no clone on standby.

For Con's part, she wound up in a band, led by her boyfriend. One night, tired from the rigors of the touring road, Con's boyfriend crashes their van. Two of the five members die, her boyfriend is left in a permanent vegetative state, Con suffers a knee injury, and the last member (also a woman) survives without major injury.

Con's aunt has built PalinGenesis into a cloning shop, catering to the uber wealthy - who can afford to have their minds downloaded every 30-ish days at the company's HQ and have a clone soaking in case of sudden death - and also to Con, beneficiary of her aunt's offer of a clone for each family member. Con is the only one who accepted, and goes to PalinGenesis dutifully about every month to download her head.

Something goes terribly wrong, however, and Con wakes up 18 months later, an entire year and a half missing. What this means first, of course, is that her original has died. And her original died without doing regular downloads. We know Con is a clone as she has no indicators of a lived life: no tattoos, no scarring on her knee.

We also know that Dr Brooke Fenton is breaking a ton of protocols to wake up Con and get her out of the building. But she does, and send Con out into the NYC night with just the clothes on her back an the things she came into the facility with. This is where the book veers heavily into mystery territory.

Con starts investigating her own death and discovers some interesting things along the way, including paid bad actors and an amazing admission from the leader of the protest group, a billionaire whose kids want to declare him dead (since he died and was cloned) so they can inherit, a fiance who is heartbroken, an old friend with a new life, differing stories as to Abigail's genius or sociopathy, and she comes face to face with a certain someone not once, but twice, and with another person who has risen from the ranks of the dead.

The ending felt a bit rushed, and we had a villain explaining things, but it's an enjoyable read. If you like purity in your genre, this ain't it. But if you're okay with your science fiction and your mystery mixing things up, this might be right up your alley/space lane.

Four out of five stars.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the reading copy.

My thanks to Thomas and Mercer, Matthew FitzSimmons and Netgalley.
Days go bye. You live them. Nothing ever changes, until it does. That's all just a day in life.
One day you wake up and discover that you're missing months of your life. Turns out You yes You are dead.
I would also have hunted down my killer..
Hey, I may be dead, but imma gonna find you!
That's putting my beliefs aside, this ending was righteous. I felt like it packed a wallop.

Another excellent story from Matthew Fitzsimmons. His Gibson Vaughan series has been consistenly high quality and this stand alone does not disappoint. Fast paced yet measured, it pulls you through Constance's journey of realisation.

I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them. This book not so much. I found the plot too convoluted and the characters not likable. The concept of the book was interesting but not well developed or delivered. I give the book a generous three-star rating.

I could not get into this book. The premise was good but it was just not one that I found compelling enough to read.

Somehow, this book didn't resonate with me. I used to read more and more Scifi the last few weeks, but this one just wasn't for me. And while I love some patriarchy critique, the overall picture in CONSTANCE on men was just disrespectful. During the book, more and more ethical questions are rising up-this felt good, but in a sort-of YA book, it felt a bit misplaced.

Constance is a great sci-fi novel from Matthew Fitzsimmons.

"Con is headed to her refresh. She's one of the few non-billionionaires to have a clone. Her's was gifted by her aunt, who invented human cloning. She lies down for her refresh...and wakes up 18 months later. What happened to her original? What happened during the last year-and-a-half? Is she still Con? Is the music still there? Where will she find answers?"

Fitzsimmons takes us on a nice journey as Constance searches for the truth. There are some interesting comments about whether clones are real people or not. This had a little bit of an Altered Carbon vibe. Similar plot device but different story and characters. Fitzsimmons gives us a character to pull for - you want Constance to find the truth and you want her to have a full, rewarding life. The ending may not be what you expect but Fitzsimmons makes it work.

Great story from Fitzsimmons

What a really solid and compelling read (though it did get a little weird at the end!).

As science advances, more and more of this kind of stuff seems possible. Cloning to cheat death reserved for those who have the wealth to spend on it? Sure. Drop the money and come in once a month for neural mapping / memory upload to make sure your clone is up to date.

Well what happens when the not rich neice of the mother of cloning is gifted a clone ends up going 18 months between her last 'refresh' and her death? What happens when someone is tracking her down? What happens when multiple someones are tracking her down?

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sci-fi type book but only in the way that people are cloned. I loved this book and all the twists.

I was so excited to receive this ARC and it did not disappoint!! The concept of human cloning is interesting and creepy at the same time, The author does a magnificent job of creating a storyline that gives the reader a view of the future where human cloning is a reality. Constance is gifted a clone. She uploads her memories monthly for the day when she dies and her clone comes to “life” in her place. “Con” is activated after eighteen months without an upload from Constance. (The name itself “Con” - a derivative of Constance - is a superb choice!) The author gives us plenty to think about in this novel - life and death, and the ethical considerations of both, and what makes us who we are - and his characters are well developed and complex. Fans of science fiction will want to pick this one up and read it. I’m looking forward to a sequel!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.