Primal Calling

Excellent story about a young man raised by his single mom. When he comes across his birth certificate, the search begins for his father. The search, the subterfuge, the relationships, and the repercussions are all examined in a tense story that also includes a bit of international intrigue.

This is a stellar first book. A richly written multi-layered story filled of intrigue and a nicely done portrayal of the power of persistence. Jack is the center of attention and the main player in this wonderful story.

The story focuses on Jack’s determination for find his father, a man he never knew existed, on his relationship with his mother and the developing relationship with a girl. This tense story brings us to Jack’s father, Stewart a man determined to fulfil his duty for the DIA ( a federal agency) and ordered to keep up with the subterfuge by his handlers for the safety of all. Following them we find ourselves enmeshed in an intricate world of national security and international intrigue.

A lot goes on and without going into too many details we have a story that takes off in several directions. The plot mainly set in the US brings some episodes to Germany and Arabia and as Jack’s gets closer to the truth so does the intrigue.... What a ride...and a heartwarming page-turner.

Persistence pays off but at what price. Jack’s every moves were track by a group of mysterious people...who were they?....haha!... you will need to read ”Primal Calling” I will say no more.....

Jack’s saga moves at a steady pace and keeps the tempo throughout: not too fast just smooth sailing. I like the portrayal of each character: each has a strong personality, we have no bad or good guys even when Steward got mixed up in a terrorist attack...oh yes we have a bit of a bang in a cafeteria and the usual aftermath...

I enjoyed this story quite a bit.

Jack is a confident high school senior who has a great relationship with his mum until he discovers his birth certificate. Jack’s world went into an almighty spin as he secretly decided to trace his biological father down. It isn’t your run of the mill story of tracking down a parent, this story is the one in a million, frustrating and dangerous step into the unknown. It isn’t just dangerous for him and the father he never knew he had but for countless others too.


This story strips relationships and emotions back to raw nerve endings that manipulate and distort feelings to something more primal. He had once asked a question about who his father was and been answered and accepted it. But now he was angry that his life had been a lie. He had to find out who his dad was and he had some leads to go on.


Jack is more mature than his years, I liked his character and felt that the author captured his reaction to events in a realistic way. Lisa, Jack’s mum, had always known that these events were a ticking time bomb but, the story gets across how one lie leads to another, even with good intentions, until time runs out.

I liked how this story didn’t follow the expected route and took on a more thrilling conclusion. All in all, this is a story that will keep your interest from the first to the last page.

Primal Calling by Barry Eisenberg is the perfect story to get into the new year. It’s all about the close relationships shared amongst friends and family, finding a purpose and valuing the little things in life.

Eisenberg’s debut is set to put Jack on a ride to find his biological father, who he hadn’t known existed until he found his birth certificate. For the next year it sets Jack on finding his father no matter what. There will be trials along the way that emotionally tear Jack apart, but knowing his father is still out there, motivates him to continue his search.

With Jack’s quick thinking, he’s able to surf the internet, bring up articles and make phone calls. Jack’s inquisitive thinking only gets him further from the truth when he hears how private his father’s life actually is with the help from a girl, Cathy. As their friendship develops, so does the search for Jack’s father.

The pace at which Eisenberg wrote brought out each character with enough backstory to state their purpose. Eisenberg introduces readers to both the world of Jack and his father, Stewart Jacobson. Stewart has worked for the government for many years and, too, has built relationships along the way. We’re shown the sacrifices Stewart has to make every day in order to keep his identity a secret. The amount of people who have Stewart’s back, not only in the United States but Saudi Arabia as well.

These friendships are put to the test when Stewart’s identity is in danger and it shows readers how far everyone has gone to not only protect this man, but their country. In turn, we’re also shown how focusing on one person might distract them from worrying about another who might’ve needed help and support.

Eisenberg has crafted such likeable characters throughout the story. Jack’s demeanour was mature yet predicted for a young adult like himself. Stewart was responsible, intelligent and understanding as someone who has just found out they had a son. Cathy was so supportive toward Jack and made him see both sides to the story whenever he was conflicted.

Overall, this is a beautiful story of family, love, grief, and relationships, and readers will become intrigued to find out what will happen next. This is a story that can take you to another place and watch the unravelling after the discovery of a birth certificate.