BLOOD OATH

A CIA special agent’s East African pleasure trip is turned upside-down by a mysterious kidnapping.

For her much-needed getaway at Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, paramilitary officer Alex Martel plans to shoot with a camera rather than a rifle. Beloved father David, a retired general, is along for support and banter. When a series of distant shots alerts the duo, they rush to rescue a wounded man, rushing past a ranger who’s too slow to act because he’s bringing some poachers to account. A stimulating and rewarding day is spoiled for Alex by two developments. David’s announcement, with no explanation, that he has to leave in the morning, triggers her concern, and the unexpected arrival of CIA agent Caleb Copeland, with whom Alex has a long and abrasive history (seen in Out in the Cold, 2024), puts her in a foul mood. Caleb’s brash, headlong nature offends the meticulous, analytical Alex. Will opposites attract? Sensing danger, Alex is in no mood for a reunion. As if in confirmation of her instinct, a helicopter arrives the next morning, and a team led by Harley, of the State Department, whisks Alex aboard and informs her of David’s kidnapping. The action in Alex’s third thriller unfolds in detailed and measured scenes, long on rich descriptions of terrain and culture, as well as the intricacies of regional politics. The story moves slowly, even after the revelation of David’s kidnapping, providing not heat, but light—with a surprising finale.

The evocative setting underpins a crisp, elegantly written thriller.