Bloodline

September 10, 2012
Rollins' eighth thriller featuring the covert U.S. intelligence agency known as Sigma Force (after The Devil Colony) is of a piece with its predecessorsâit's fast-paced, full of twists, and thick with intrigue. Beginning strong with an engaging preface discussing the shadowy history of the Knights Templar and 21st-century medical breakthroughs with the potential to make immortality possible, Rollins rewinds to the 12th-century recovery of the Bachul Isu, the staff of Jesus Christ. Just a few pages later, Rollins presses fast-forward again to "Five Days from Now," when Commander Gray Pierce of the Sigma Force has U.S. President James T. Gant in the crosshairs of his sniper rifle. The rest of the novel explains how things got to such a pass, starting with the abductionâapparently by piratesâof President Gant's pregnant daughter, Amanda, off the Seychelles. The narrow escapes and betrayals between Amanda's kidnapping and Gant's imminent assassination are unsurprising, but the momentum of the plot will carry along those looking for an exciting escape.

December 1, 2012
The prologue for this complexly woven tale, the eighth entry in the "Sigma Force" series, could have come from the History Channel--one of the original Knights Templar, a woman to boot, finds the staff of Christ, which holds the key to immortality. Fast-forward to the present day and the descendants of the group, which include the U.S. President, continue the quest for immortality, only they are now using modern technology. The President's daughter is kidnapped, and there is an assassination plot brewing. Painter Crowe's Sigma Force is called upon to protect the commander in chief and get to the bottom of the plot. Peter Jay Fernandez does well in reading this work. His voice is quite relaxed and is usually measured during the narrative sections. He affects individual voices for the numerous characters, which succeeds in relating the player's personality. VERDICT Public libraries that have the earlier works in this series should purchase this one, while others also may wish to consider buying it. [The Morrow hc was a "New York Times" best seller.--Ed.]--Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll., Lynchburg

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2012
Rollins returns with another Sigma Force thriller. Rollins delivers more by-the-numbers mayhem. Cmdr. Pierce travels to Zanzibar to recruit Capt. Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane, a Malinois. Wayne wants no part of Pierce, his mission or Sigma Force, a supersecret organization affiliated with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The mission: rescue Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of James Gant, POTUS. Somali pirates have taken Amanda hostage. Do the pirates know who their hostage is? What evil designs do they have on the baby? Are the British Special Forces on their side? The plot points appear with the regularity of mileposts. Love and gunpowder are in the air. Seichan, Asian assassin extraordinaire, used to kill for the Guild, a shadowy organization with ancient roots and ill intentions. Having defected to the good guys, she bats her lashes at Pierce and flashes dagger-eyes at the evildoers. The stogie-chewing, wisecracking Kowalski is the lovable oaf in residence. From Takoma Park, Md., and Washington D.C., to Somalia, Dubai, the Carolinas and points between, the team hurries, the time zones helpfully noted. A predictable tale in which the hits, and the blood spatter, just keep coming.

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