Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

The provided text is an excerpt from the novel Prodigal Son, co-written by Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson, which is established as the first book in the Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. The narrative follows New Orleans homicide detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison as they investigate a gruesome serial killer nicknamed "The Surgeon," who removes specific body parts from his victims. Their investigation leads them to encounter Deucalion, a mysterious, unnaturally strong man who claims to be the original creation of Victor Helios, a brilliant, centuries-old scientist known publicly as a philanthropist but whose real identity is Victor Frankenstein. The story balances the police procedural elements of hunting a killer—who turns out to be another of Frankenstein's creations, Detective Harker—with the shocking revelation that Frankenstein is creating a "New Race" to replace humanity, forcing Carson and Michael to grapple with the new, terrifying reality of man-made beings living among them.