Bloodline by James Rollins, a Mysterious Review.

Review: After the daughter of the US President is kidnapped from a yacht sailing off the east coast of Africa, her husband and the boat's crew killed, Commander Gray Pierce and the SIGMA Force are called into action in Bloodline, the eighth thriller in this series by James Rollins.

A covert wing of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, SIGMA operatives are typically sent on missions to protect against global threats. But not this time. President Gant has insisted the word of his daughter Amanda's abduction be kept silent. When asked if the members of his own family could remain silent, he replies, "No one would say a word. The Gant clan knows how to keep secrets." And, well they do. The Gants have moved through history gathering power, wealth and knowledge, often achieving these by enveloping themselves within a series of secret organizations, brotherhoods and fraternal lodges, the most powerful of all being the "True Bloodline", the ultimate masters of the shadowy Guild.

Pierce assigns former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane to lead the mission. Their expertise: extraction and rescue. There is some evidence to suggest that the kidnappers are unaware of who they have taken — Amanda was traveling under an assumed name — so time is of the essence. If they were to learn they have the President's daughter, the stakes would skyrocket. But someone else is also after Amanda, someone equally desperate, someone who wants to prevent her from being found at any cost.

Bloodline is a fast-paced, techno-thriller that incorporates several different sciences, from cyborgs and neuro-robotics to genetic engineering and stem-cell research, into the overall storyline … and quite creatively at that, making the complex seem, if not simple, at least believable. There is a large cast of intriguing and appealing characters, who add a human element to all the technology. The plot is satisfyingly unpredictable, taking unexpected turns while the SIGMA Force strives to save Amanda and her unborn child. A long book at nearly 500 pages, but one with a plot that is constantly on the move and thus feels much shorter.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Bloodline.

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William Morrow (Hardcover), June 2011
ISBN-13: 9780061784781; ISBN-10: 0061784788

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ISBN-13: 9780062135278; ISBN-10: 0062135279

Location(s) referenced in Bloodline: Washington DC; Somalia; Charleston, South Carolina

Bloodline

A SIGMA Force Thriller by James Rollins