Powerfully vivid, endlessly fascinating and intensely horrifying, Blood Lines wreaks havoc on your emotions, keeps you on the edge of your seat and has you questioning the current state of the world.

Army CID Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are reunited in Berlin to investigate the murder of fellow CID Agent Harry Vance. German law enforcement believes this is an open and shut case of Islamic terrorism, with the US Embassy’s legal attaché and her team in full agreement. But to Brodie and Taylor the facts are too convenient and as they continue to ignore the narrative and follow new leads, they discover additional evidence that points to a more sinister plot. One that dates back to the Cold War and the Stasi secret police of East Germany, involves the rising threat of the neo-Nazi movement, and includes a traitor code named Odin who has gone unexposed for over three decades. Now Brodie and Taylor are the only ones who can stop a cataclysmic event from occurring…if they can decipher this twisted web of clues in time and avoid becoming victims themselves.

Brodie and Taylor are fantastic characters, with Brodie being the brash, sarcastic, impulsive, anti-authority “bad cop” to Taylor’s thoughtful, methodical, follow the rules “good cop” (thought Brodie’s approach definitely rubs off on Taylor as time goes on). As a pairing they are incredibly formidable, putting aside subtextual sexual tension to focus on the case and getting justice for their colleague. And despite pissing on procedure and pissing off every single member of the German and American law enforcement community involved in this investigation, they see things others cannot or will not see and they get results. Causing incredible frustration witnessing the resistance they face along the journey but experiencing extreme satisfaction when they are proven right in the end.

But the star of Blood Lines is the ominous plot and its linkages back to Nazism, Communism and the Cold War. It’s no exaggeration to say I felt extreme anxiety at the real reason Harry Vance was murdered and the dastardly, murderous scheme that comes to light. It feels all to plausible in this age of scientific and technical advancements coupled with increasing xenophobia and extremism. Which is beyond terrifying to consider. Though it makes for one hell of a heart-pounding thriller.

Kudos to Nelson and Alex DeMille for crafting such a compelling, entertaining and frightening story. Combining past and present narratives, they’ve delivered a highly effective and distressing cautionary tale in thriller form. And it’s excellently executed. A brilliantly constructed novel that you will not soon forget.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

I enjoy the interaction and dialog between CID special agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor. In their second book, they are assigned to investigate the death of CID special agent Harry Vance, one of their own, in Berlin.

No one knows what Vance was investigating in Berlin. He was doing an independent investigation on his own. Even his partner did not know what Vance was into and why.

The first half of this book was slow going and hard to get into. I realize the need for background and the characters doing the groundwork. It all makes sense the further that Scott and Maggie get into the case. They take a direction that the German Police and authorities, as well as the FBI cannot see or will not look at.

When Scott and Maggie follow all the clues, they discover a plot that is much bigger than the death of Harry Vance. He had found the tip of the iceberg, but Scott and Maggie came across the bigger plan of destruction.

If you enjoy DeMille stories, this one will not disappoint.

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. It has a fast moving plot with a connection to the past. You don’t know who can be trusted, there are a lot of people with their own agenda. This book is part of a series but it works as a stand alone. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Having just completed my read of an ARC of "Blood Lines" by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille (provided to me courtesy of Scribner), I am pleased to report that it was a strong entry in its genre. Candidly, as a staunch fan of Nelson DeMille's canon, I am both protective of his legacy, and a bit biased towards "coauthored" works. I am pleased to report that my initial misgivings were thoroughly overcome by the time I reached the conclusion of this text. This is not to say that I don't still have some reservations, but I am aware that I may be guilty of some nitpicking in my zeal to defend Nelson DeMille's delightful canon. For me, the key to enjoying his work, and the major thing that sets it aside from the pack, is his trademark humor and delightfully witty send up of the bureaucratic buffoonery and political correctness which has become the hallmark of modern "law enforcement". If you, like me, cannot help chuckling out loud while perusing the elder DeMille's work, you can relax, Alex is on the right path. Alex is significantly less over the top in his humor than his father, but the seeds are there, and I am very glad to see it. In addition, the thoughtful plotting and pacing as well as the complexity of the central plot does credit to everyone involved in the project. By the time I reached the midway point of the novel (it took awhile for me to quit sulking), it was hard to put the text down. The convoluted plot, which involved history (principally German) and modern concerns with immigration and terrorism from both the right and the left was refreshing and very much on target if you follow current events. I will certainly look for more of these collaborations in the future as I found the protagonists, a pair of CID agents, one male and one female, to be as compelling as any characters presently gracing the pages of other well known authors working in the genre. If you enjoy Nelson DeMille's work, take heart; there is enormous potential in these new characters. If you are not already a fan, give this a shot; it is well worth your time.

The latest thriller by Nelson DeMille and his son Alex is every bit as good as I’ve come to expect from this author. Set in present day Berlin, it features a resurgent white supremacist culture coming into conflict with German’s official stance of welcoming refugees from the Arab world and other areas. Scott Brodie and his former partner, Maggie Taylor have been assigned to work together on a case involving the murder of an American CID agent in Berlin. Higher ups want a quick resolution with minimal embarrassment for either German or US governments, and clues seem to provide just that. But Brodie is sure there’s more to the story, and goes rogue to pursue his own off-the-books investigation. Will he be able to solve the case or meet the same fate as Harry, the murdered man?

Loved the sarcasm and bravado Brodie and Taylor displayed, and the constant ratcheting up of tensions as the story progressed. Fans of DeMille won’t be disappointed.

This book is even better than the first book with the team of Taylor and Brodie. I'm not sure why I'm so surprised, because I've been reading Nelson DeMille for over 25 years and have loved his characters, but these books are truly amazing. The story opens with our duo forced into separate posts as a result of the cover-up stemming from the last case they had worked together that culminated in being ordered to hide what actually happened to Captain Kyle Mercer and forcing them to serving a form of administrative punishment, and splitting up the partners. The murder of a CID agent in Germany forces command to send in their very best investigators which puts the team back together and sends them seeking answers. Maggie and Scott are expected to sit on their hands while the German government and the FBI perform an perfunctory investigation but they refuse to be sidelined on the murder of one of their own. The trail is muddied with Muslim extremists and Lebanese mafia, as well as neo Nazis, East German Stasi and Iraqi chemical weapons scientists, not to mention the political infighting and their CIA nemesis stalking the pair. As complex as the story becomes, it's laid out so clearly that it's easily followed and frightening in its scope, leading to a search for an American turncoat. I imagined that this was going to be a simple investigation which is further from the truth. The intricacies of the search for answers is fascinating and hard to put down. Taylor and Brodie are as dynamic a duo as I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I enjoy reading these books as much as anything I've ever read. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about these characters while hoping that somehow they'll end up having to work with John Corey, which would mean there's truly a Santa Claus. Obviously, storytelling runs in the DeMille family and we, the audience is the beneficiary of that talent, I hope it continues for many more decades.

Military Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Agents, Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are together again after a harrowing experience in Venezuela. Their associate, Harry Vance, has been murdered in Berlin. Together, Brodie and Taylor are assigned to investigate the incident. Once landing in Germany, they find that people and events are not what they seem. Adventure ensues.

This story is classic Nelson DeMille, and I got caught up fast with my old buddies and their antics. This story is exciting, unpredictable, and full of action! I read it in record time, though I did get quite bogged down in the middle of the book, and wished that it had been edited down a touch. Also, I tended to get a little lost with all the Military initials, like CID. I loved the ending, of course, and look forward to the next Nelson/Alex DeMille adventure!

Highly Recommend!!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Blood Lines.

Nelson DeMille's books are always priority reading when a new one comes out. This one doesn't disappoint. With his signature plot development he gives us a very satisfying read. Don't miss it.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I have been a huge fan of Nelson DeMille's books for years, and I was happy to read more about the characters from The Deserter. I think his recent books could use better editing. It took a long time to get into the action of the story. I think it got bogged down with excessive details about navigating around Berlin, etc. It was interesting to read about the bureaucracies in the embassy, military and FBI working with their German counterparts. There were lots of twists and turns in the investigation of a murder and frightening events with neo-Nazis. By the end of the book, I was able to see more of the "vintage DeMille" that I have enjoyed over the years. I look forward to reading more in this series, and I think DeMille's readers will be happy to read this one.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of Blood Lines by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille

If there is a stronger word for "tenacious" (inexorable, maybe), it would describe Scott Brodie in this second reckoning of good vs. evil in Blood Lines.

Brodie finds himself in Berlin where the past wrongs during the Cold War along with the strength of the neo-Nazi presence in present-day Berlin are at his heels at every twist and turn in this complex, action-packed story. Brodie and temporary partner Taylor will follow up on every hunch Brodie develops as his mission is to try to discover why a revered agent in Berlin was found murdered in a park.

At every turn, Brodie faces opposition to his investigation which includes a number of government agencies with impressive names but lacking in drive and determination. Brodie is to do his work without a weapon and without appropriate backup. When government powers take the easy way in solving the crime, it will be Brodie alone who will work his theories into a dangerous reality, putting his life, Taylor's and one accompanying colleague in jeopardy.

Brodie desires to clear the names of those falsely accused of becoming double agents. His thinking outside the box will lead to the ultimate showdown and his possible redemption. Will Brodie in the future learn to work within the parameters of his assignment?

Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille worked painstakingly to bring to readers a harrowing and human drama.

A solid enough DeMille-style thriller, but all it would have taken to make this an outstanding thriller would have been an editor with the balls to insist on some deep cuts.

It's at least 20% too long, and it feels padded and overwritten. There were huge chunks of Berlin history and travelogue here and there and they read like they were cribbed directly out of Wikipedia. They contributed next to nothing to the narrative, not even atmosphere. Worse, the ending -- which was honestly a little bit silly to start with -- went on and on and on and on for no reason at all.

I've always loved DeMille's books, but I have to say that since he started writing with his son it feels like their standard has dropped. The prose isn't nearly as tight, the dialogue isn't nearly as snappy.

I miss the old-style DeMille who made the John Corey books sing and dance. But if we can't have them, then I guess this isn't a bad substitute.

A very strong 4.5 stars! This book, while long, keeps you engaged the entire time. It is full of action and intrigue with a touch of humor. The historical details were a bit hard for me to keep straight as the names and locations were often similar, but it didn't detract from this thrilling roller coaster of an adventure. I highly recommend this book for those that enjoy espionage, history, and character development. I am grateful to have received an ARC and thank the publisher, authors, and NetGalley. All comments are mine.

I really enjoyed Blood Lines. I always enjoy Nelson DeMille's books. I love the character of Scott Brodie, he's always very sarcastic and has a quick wit - those little moments make me laugh, even in stressful moments in the book. It's a real page-turner and you have to follow along closely, remembering the characters and what their roles are. I liked looking for the clues set up throughout the story. This was a very good mystery/thriller and I would recommend it to fans of Nelson DeMille.

5 stars. *****

Some five years have passed since the first novel in this series took place (The Deserter) and Army CID agent Scott Brodie is stuck. He’s been assigned a less-than-ideal partner and has been put on basic, boring run-of-the-mill cases. Despite many attempts, his efforts to communicate with his previous partner, Maggie Taylor have gone unanswered. It’s obvious their time in Venezuela and subsequent uncovering of highly classified operations there have led to their being buried at work.

But now one of their own, an Army CID agent has been murdered in the unified city of Berlin, Germany. His death in a park at midnight leads to speculation that he was on the trail of something important. Brodie and Taylor have been assigned as part of an international and interdepartmental team.

Clues are uncovered but the more they find, the less sense it all makes. The ghosts of Berlin’s past seem to be playing a role in the form of neo Nazi’s, but other forces such as a myriad of Islamic terror cells and refugees from Syria’s civil war also appear to be involved. At one point, Maggie Taylor even remarks that they keep finding puzzle pieces, but they seem to be from different puzzles.

Essentially, this novel is a detective-style mystery with large overtones of international and military thriller action. The mystery is, indeed, complex with lots of moving parts. Brodie is a character much like Nelson Demille’s other series characters such as John Corey and Paul Brenner: snarky humor combined with an unerring need to seek justice even if it means bending the rules so far, they break completely. Maggie serves as his foil, often pulling him back from the brink but occasionally egging him on and going over the waterfall with him. Together they make a great team, both in the field, and on the pages as characters in a novel. The plot is a bit of a slow burn but the finale has all the action you would expect from a Demille novel or an action movie, with a nicely satisfying conclusion.

This is a story about Scott Brody and Maggie Taylor who are US Army CID agents. They are sent to Berlin to investigate the murder of their work colleague Harry Vance. Once they arrive at the scene and are in their first inter agency meeting with the FBI, State Department, Berlin Police and German Intelligence they soon learn that their hands are tied and they aren’t allowed to investigate only to observe. Well of course this doesn’t sit well with Bodie and he immediately decides to go his own rogue way. Maggie tries to keep him in line some what but soon sees that his methods get results.

This is a complete spy adventure story with multiple bad guys from neo-Nazi groups to old East German Stasi spy’s. Throw in a bunch of Syrian Arab immigrants and it’s chaos everywhere.

I was happy to see that Maggie became a bad ass warrior and was a true heroine in this story. And two great quotes from the book gave me food for thought. “The past is not past” and from Nietzsche: “ Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he too does not become a monster”.

I’m a big fan of Nelson DeMille and I hope he keeps turning out great books with snaky characters.

ARC received from Scribner thru Net Galley for an honest and voluntary review.

Love it. I usually prefer books with a US setting, AND I’ve gotten use to DeMille writing in the 1st person. But even though it was set in Germany and the 3rd person, I still enjoyed it immensely. Highly recommended.

A rip roaring ride of a book. I haven't read the earlier one in this series, but I will now. It certainly works as a standalone, with enough references to the earlier case to help establish the characters and give context. The plot is complex and the characters compelling. Looking forward to more in this series. Well done DeMilles!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ecopy of this title. This is the second featuring Army CID investigators, Scott and Maggie. They are sent to Berlin to investigate the murder of another CID agent based in Germany. Along the way, they discover links to terrorism, the Cold War, and biological weapons. The plot is fast-paced, and the characters are well-drawn. The vibe is similar to the John Corey books, but these characters definitely have their own different and distinct qualities. Highy readable!

Nelson DeMille has reunited Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor in an exciting, faced paced thriller which takes place in Berlin as the duo attempt to uncover who killed a colleague. The writing is first rate with traces of sarcasm and humor - “he sabotaged his career with an assist from Johnny Walker “ and “his favorite machine in the gym was the vending machine.” The repartee between Scott and Maggie is especially memorable and impressive. The story has them demonstrating their superior investigative abilities, which often leads to conflicts with other branches of government. The ending is unexpected and, hopefully, completely fictional or the whole world is in a lot of trouble!

I thank NetGalley and Scribner Book Company for the opportunities to read and review this book prior to publication.

Another really, really good DeMille story with returning ACI agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor tasked with finding the killer of one of their own fellow CIDs in Berlin. Nonstop action, intrigue, very well defined and definitely interesting characters as is the usual DeMille style; puts you right into the story and makes the places and events even easier than usual, to visualize.
Working with their hands somewhat tied because they are US agents on foreign soil makes the story roll even more suspensefully.
Brodie and Taylor are definitely a blockbuster force to be reckoned with - both at home and abroad.
Here's to knowing a winning team when you have found one.
Bring on the next adventure.