Cast of Shadows

Cast of Shadows (2005), a thriller with light sci-fi elements by Kevin Guilfoile, follows a father’s quest for justice after his daughter is murdered in chilling circumstances. Cast of Shadows received a positive reception from readers, and critics praised its unusual blend of sci-fi and crime elements. An American novelist and writer, Guilfoile’s work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The New Republic. Cast of Shadows, Guilfoile’s debut novel, is available in more than fifteen languages. The Chicago Tribune named it one of its Best Books of 2005.

Cast of Shadows takes place in the futuristic USA, where human cloning is legal and commonplace. The protagonist, Davis Moore, is a fertility doctor who clones babies for infertile couples. He understands that not everyone agrees with human cloning, and he is often the subject of controversy.

As the book begins, Davis encounters Mickey the Gerund. Mickey belongs to the Hands of God, a right-wing fanatical group dedicated to ending cloning practices. Mickey shoots Davis in the stomach and runs away. The authorities can’t catch him. Davis survives, but he cannot shake the feeling that his troubles are only just beginning.



Davis’s worst fears are confirmed when he receives news that someone murdered and raped his daughter, Anna Kat, a high school senior. Davis assumes that Mickey the Gerund is responsible, and the authorities agree with him. Unfortunately, there is no crime scene evidence to support Mickey’s conviction. The police have no choice but to seek out other suspects.

A year goes by and the police are not any closer to catching Anna Kat’s killer. They file her case as a cold case, and they give Davis back his daughter’s belongings. They also give him evidence from the crime scene, which includes a semen sample. Davis is convinced that if he can find out whom the semen belongs to, he can prove who the killer is.

After a while, Davis realizes that the semen presents other opportunities. He can clone the killer from his DNA. It will take years before the cloned killer is old enough to recognize, but once Davis sees what he looks like in fifteen to twenty years, he can show the picture to the authorities to finally bring Anna Kat’s case to justice.



Davis chooses fertility patient Martha Finn to carry the child. She can’t conceive naturally anymore. Recently, she lost her son in a skiing accident. Davis tells Martha that she is carrying the cloned embryo of her dead son and that it will be just like raising him all over again. Martha has no idea she is carrying the killer’s clone instead.

Martha gives birth to a boy, Justin Finn. She soon recognizes that he is no ordinary child. A genius, he spends his spare time thinking about religion, philosophy, and science. He skips a few grades because he is so much smarter than the other kids. It is obvious to Martha that Justin is not who she expected, but she dotes on him anyway, giving him a loving, nurturing home.

Davis watches Justin grow up for a few years, but he soon runs out of patience. He pays a private detective to take some photos and run them through a computer program to see what Justin looks like as an adult man. Once Davis sees the computer-generated image of an adult Justin, he knows who killed Anna Kat; he won’t stop until he finds him.



In the meantime, Justin grows up. Despite his stable upbringing, he is passionate about crime, violence, and serial killers. Davis, who still watches Justin from afar, realizes that he made a mistake when he cloned the DNA. If Justin grows up to be just like his clone, then he will be a murderer, too. Solving Anna Kat’s murder may not be worth the price if it means there is now another monster roaming the streets.

Davis loses sight of everything else going on in his life. He doesn’t care about his work anymore, he isn’t interested in relationships, and he wonders if cloning people is ethical after all. He sees that if he cloned anyone, it should have been Anna Kat, so they could be together again.

Finally, there is a break in the case, but it is not the break Davis hoped for. It turns out that the semen found on Anna Kat belonged to her boyfriend at the time. The authorities find out that he is innocent. Davis sees that he cloned the wrong person, which means the real killer is still out there.



The real killer reveals himself at the end. He is the product of Davis’s cloning techniques. Years ago, Davis used DNA to artificially inseminate someone. This woman gave birth to a boy who thought he was a natural baby. One day, he discovered the truth, and he wanted revenge on the doctor who made him. He killed Anna Kat to show Davis what it is like to play God.