ABOUT THE BOOK
An FBI agent fights to stop a conspiracy to unleash a deadly virus on the world in this propulsive, exhilarating new thriller.
The discovery of a deadly virus being smuggled across the border pits FBI Special Agent James Mason and his strike force against an unknown adversary hell-bent on humanity’s destruction. In a desperate effort to contain the pathogen, they launch a predawn raid, only to find that their enemy knows they’re coming…and it’s not about to be taken alive. An explosion rips through the building, killing the majority of Mason’s team, including his partner and mentor.
Tormented by guilt, Mason returns to his home division, but he can’t seem to let go of the tragedy. He remembers seeing something inside the building before it went up in flames, something that convinces him that not only is the virus still out there, it’s merely the first stage of an even more nefarious plan. Obsessed with unraveling the plot, he launches his own investigation and uncovers a shadow organization on the brink of enacting its genocidal agenda, one carried out by a sinister mass murderer who’s been photographed at the epicenter of seemingly every historical pandemic…without appearing to age. An evil man who attempts to derail Mason’s investigation by murdering his wife.
With the help of his longtime friends—Gunnar Backstrom, a corporate espionage gun-for-hire, and Ramses Donovan, a sin merchant of questionable morality—Mason’s hunt for his wife’s killer leads him from a dark union at the dawn of the twentieth century to a network of Nazi collaborators and a conspiracy against mankind more than a hundred years in the making. Fueled by anger and driven by the promise of vengeance, he must overcome a monster preparing to unleash his virulent wrath upon an unsuspecting world if he’s to have any hope of exposing a deep-state entity that’s rooted in every facet of our society, an entity known only as…The Thirteen.
REVIEW
I enjoy conspiracy theories, and the best is when the villain's crime incorporates reason behind it. Extinction Agenda's intrigue contains feasible logic, and the players involved are far-reaching. It surprised me a couple of times the size of the syndicate at work, a few of the twists I did not anticipate. James Mason's quest kept me emotionally involved while the events unfolded around him. The group surrounding him was adept at what they were doing.
Regrettably, the story did suffer from a bit too much bulk. There are so many players involved, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but massive amounts of sidebars and background tales started to weigh the book down for me. I stopped paying attention at times. I prefer a less is more approach, more action, and fewer backstories. I will admit, it took me a great deal of time to get into this story. I contemplated at one point stopping. About midway through the novel, I was gratified by not doing so.
The Extinction Agenda by Michael Lawrence is the first in a series. I enjoyed reading this early copy enough that I will be checking out the next one.
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