The Catalyst

When human bodies are found with scales and tails, DNA Detector Kat Crocker is tasked with determining what caused the victims' abnormalities. But even as she hunts for answers, she's being hunted. Unbeknownst to her, the people behind the mutations need Kat—at least a piece of her—to complete their plan. They will stop at nothing to get what they need. Kat is teamed with Detective Greg Prescott for the investigation, a partnership that neither of them is happy about. Prescott doesn't believe she should be on a murder investigation, while she blames his father for mishandling the investigation into her father's death years earlier. But this is the opportunity Kat's been waiting for. She wants to prove her DNA Detector—a device created by her late father—can revolutionize police investigations. Then her device produces impossible results. The first victim's DNA is no longer entirely human. When a second victim appears hours later with similar unimaginable results, Kat and Greg race to find the cause before more people die. Their trail leads to a newly released VR game powered by impossible genetics—and to the scientist behind the mutations. The man who has put Kat in danger. The person she trusted more than anyone in the world.