Blood Lines (Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor Series Book 2)
The first in the Scott Brodie & Maggie Taylor Series, The Deserter, introduced us to Army Criminal Investigations Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor and promptly plunged them into Venezuela, a country that was once a democracy but has been under authoritarian rule for over a decade. The chaos of such a system and the rugged terrain make it a great place to hide out. Scott and Maggie are sent to search for such a man, a deserter, but they find more trouble and more danger than they bargained for.
Bloodlines, the second installment in the series, takes the duo to Berlin, again on a quest that seems simple—facilitate local authorities in their search for the person or persons who murdered a fellow Army CI. But nothing is simple for Scott and Maggie. They find evidence that the murdered CI, Harry Vance, was on the trail of a double agent—a man who had once worked with the East Germans to develop biological weapons. If the double agent is still alive, and if what Scott and Maggie suspect turns out to be true, the quest for a biological weapon never stopped and has taken an incredible and horrifying turn for the worse—unless you happen to be blond and blue-eyed and hale from the Aryan Nation, if you know what I mean.
To make matters even more dicey, other interests (cough, CIA, cough) would prefer the whole thing be swept under the rug for various reasons known only to the powers that be (cough, spooks, cough.) In other words, if Scott and Maggie want the truth, they’ll have to fight the bad guys and possibly their own government to find it.
One thing I enjoy about Nelson DeMille’s books is that he takes the complex inner workings of government agencies and boils them down. Even if you don’t want to delve into the machinations of the alphabet agencies—and, seriously, you should not do that—the action and suspense will carry you along. The finale of Bloodlines is one of the most exciting I’ve ever read, and it kept me up well past my bedtime.
Bloodlines is one of Nelson DeMille’s last books. The author passed away in 2024. His son, Alex DeMille, coauthored Bloodlines and seems to have his dad’s gift.
So, long story short—I highly recommend Bloodlines. You don’t need to read The Deserter first, though that is a fantastic book.
Warning: slightly political comment on the way.
Ready?
Ok—DeMille dances around current issues with his books, and maybe I’m reading into them things he did not or would not intend, but the whole Venezuela thing—thriving democracy to chaotic autocracy– is terrifying since we seem on the threshold of the same thing. The white nationalist thing in Bloodlines is equally terrifying for the same reason. I totally understand if reading this kind of book isn’t your thing right now, but on the other hand, complacency isn’t an option for either situation, should my concerns turn out to be true. Just food for thought.
