This cruel design by Emily Suvada

Mortal coil, book 2. Penguin 2018. ISBN 9780141379289
(Age: 13+) Recommended. Following on from the first book This mortal coil, This Cruel Design is best read in sequence as much of the first book is necessary to understanding the convoluted plot of the second.
Cat might have succeeded in cracking and releasing the vaccine, however it seems that her problems are far from solved. Bit by bit, the infamous gene-hacker Jun Bei is coming back, but Cat isn't sure where the line between her current and past selves belongs. Jun Bei is vicious and stunningly smart - a potentially lethal combination. With the vaccine released it seems all that's left to do is secure Lachlan. Together with Cole and Leoban, Cat intends to apprehend her father and stop him causing anymore damage. But before they can find him, the vaccine evolves. With the plague rife again, Cat must do everything she can to find Lachlan and secure the patched vaccine before Cartaxus launches flood protocol, wiping out everyone on the earth's surface to rid the world of the plague.
When reading this novel it was hard to keep track of everything that was going on. A large part focused on Cat rediscovering her past with a lot of reckless violence, while the other part held the meat of the story and all of the action.
Suvada deals with so many interesting ideas in the Mortal Coil series however This Cruel Design seemed almost too slow and too rushed in places. I would recommend the series to young people interested in science and technology aged thirteen and up. There is a lot of violence in this technological dystopia, yet it is highly intelligent and thrilling.
Kayla Gaskell