ALEX BLAKE NOVELS
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IMMUNITY is the third Dr. Alexandra Blake novel. She began her adventures in SEQUENCE and continued them in THE SILENT ASSASSIN. When she needs to think about a tough problem, Alex wanders through the National Museum of Health and Medicine, which was founded in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln. Here I am at that museum in front of an exhibit of Major Dan Sickles’ leg bone, which was shot off in the Battle of Gettysburg. The quirky major (who killed his wife’s lover in public and was the first person to plead the insanity defense) survived the war and would visit his leg bone yearly on the anniversary of the battle!
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THE SILENT ASSASSIN
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Alex is assigned the delicate task of managing the return of several skulls that American servicemen took home from Vietnam. Even the president is involved, and the actual exchange will take place at a White House ceremony. Alex understands the ceremony’s importance—her father was killed in Vietnam—but compared to her top-secret research, the skulls seem insignificant. When another case that her colleagues are working on develops a connection to Vietnam, suddenly Alex and her colleagues are on the trail of a killer.
“In Andrews's outstanding follow-up to 2006's Sequence, geneticist Dr. Alexandra Blake, a forensic specialist working for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, finds herself caught in a web of intrigue…. The tight plot moves toward its explosive conclusion when a peaceful White House ceremony to return the skulls to Vietnam erupts into intense violence.” --Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Andrews is a quickly rising luminary in the thriller/medical sleuth universe (which includes Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell and Robin Cook), Blending elements of forensic-powered mystery, psychological suspense and a Ludlumesque espionage thriller, Andrews' newest is a page-turner with enough jaw-dropping plot twists to satisfy the most demanding mystery reader. It's highly recommended.” --Chicago Tribune |
SEQUENCE
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Alexandra (Alex) Blake is a cutting-edge geneticist who has just taken a two-year post at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) in Washington, DC. Her boss Colonel Jack Wiatt, angry at losing his chance to head the FBI, decides to outfox that agency by pulling Alex away from her work sequencing the 1918 Spanish flu and thrusting her into forensic work.
Alex helps track a serial killer who is targeting women near Navy bases, raping them and tattooing them after he murders them. But when Alex's work expands to include the murder of the FBI head's ex-husband, the suspects include the Senator, a Congressman who is Alex's one chance at a stable romance, and even Wiatt and his staff. Alex puts her own life in jeopardy to bring the case to a surprising conclusion. “Alex is a fabulous protagonist, a beautiful, brilliant woman who tempers her toughness with a hidden emotional side. The science of genetics is temperately discussed, never overwhelming the balance on this expertly crafted mystery.”------Romantic Times |