Police procedural expert Mr James has spread his wings with this thought-provoking adventure.

It’s a cautionary tale of designer babies with a nice thriller plot thrown in. An otherwise happily married couple mourning the death of their only child decide they must have a family but want to stop hereditary issues that killed their child from affecting any more offspring.

Enter the twisted baby doctor and his designer baby menu and mayhem ensues.

But it is wonderfully controlled and Mr James ratchets up the tension as we follow the couple from their delight at conception to the fitting finale.

The action hops from the US to the UK, via multi-million-pound yachts and sojourns in the Greek Islands, the Middle East and an unspecified location straight out of the Ian Fleming school of megalomaniac mansions. A gripping tale from the not-so-distant future.

PETER THORNTON