Chain Reaction By: T. C. Archer |
Former
Chicago Detective Jordan Pierce put his life on hold in order to protect America 's secret
weapon against the Nazis, The Manhattan Project. But he can't protect himself
as his humanity is eaten away by a
mysterious disease that destroys him, while at the same time makes him more
powerful than any man he's ever known. Jordan finds out how much the
disease has devoured his soul when he falls in love with the woman who might
destroy America
and tear apart his last shred of humanity.
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eBook: 300 pages
Publisher: Silver Publishing
ISBN: 9781920502409Source: book tour for honest review
Genre: Historical/Paranormal Romance
Series: Phenom League Book #1
Stars: 5
Flames: 2
Summary from Goodreads:
What really went on inside the Manhattan Project during World War II? The University of Chicago was where scientists observed the first nuclear chain reaction. And where the Nazis sent their most dangerous spy. When a spy is detected, and a scientist is tortured and murdered inside the university, former Chicago police detective Jordan Pierce is put in charge of the investigation. But Pierce faces two problems; he can't function during midday, and he's falling in love with the prime suspect. Pierce is thrust into the most dangerous and alluring assignment of his life, and comes face-to-face with his lost humanity. Many unsung heroes helped win this war, but few made a bigger impact and remained cloaked in more secrecy than Jordan Pierce. Chain Reaction is one of the many untold stories that changed the course of the war.
Review
This was a very fast read for me because I could not put it
down. This story is full of twists and turns, suspense and a who done it
mystery all wrapped up in a paranormal/historical element. I give this book 5
stars.
This book takes you back to the time of WWII and The
Manhattan Project where Jordan Pierce is the head of the night shift security. This
story follows his investigation into a possible spy network and the torture and
murder of a scientist working on The Manhattan Project. Jordan has connections
with MI6 as well as the Chicago police force and eventually the Phenom League
so it is interesting to see how all these play out in the story. I really
enjoyed the history in this story as well as the mystery. The time period
chosen I think is a good one for this story since you can work in so much. The
paranormal element in this story was also a mystery as we weren’t sure what
Jordan was afflicted with. I like in the end Jordan finally starts to discover
his abilities but I think more is to come.
I really enjoyed learning about Jordan as a person. He is a
pretty normal guy and a Chicago cop until he is attacked in an alley and he
believes infected with some sort of disease. Jordan is on a revenge mission to
track down the one who infected him but when he finds her, revenge has to take
a back seat to protecting his country’s secrets. Dr. Gladys Nichols is the love
interest and a scientist that works on the Manhattan Project. She also has a
brother who works for MI6. We are left up in the air as to Dr. Nichols
loyalties until almost the end of the book but it was fun guessing.
Also I liked the paranormal elements in
this book. They were a little different than most books are with different
powers and origins. The Phenom League seems to be a group of people with
extraordinary or supernatural powers who grouped together to do what they feel
is right and just in the world. They are on no one’s side but their own.
This was a good introduction to the series. I am
very interested in hearing more about the Phenom League and can’t wait to read
the next in the series. I also am kind of curious about Dr. Nichols brother.
How did he end up in MI6 and will he be associated with the Phenom League also?
Does he get his own book or will be mainly following Jordan and Dr. Nichols?
Can’t wait!!!Be sure to click on the below banner to check out the other blogs participating in this tour!
Excerpt:
A moment later, I halted in front of
the closed door where Dr Nichols waited. The name painted on the glass read: Dr
Enrico Roma, the alias of the great scientist and Nobel Prize laureate Enrico
Fermi. The alias didn't fool anybody but the ignorant. Light shone through the
milky glass window. I blew out a breath. The last thing I wanted to do was
interrogate a hysterical woman.
I opened the door and stopped dead at
the sight of a shapely blonde leaning against Fermi's mahogany desk. I stared
as realization sunk in that the Veronica
Lake look-alike standing
there was the same egghead pictured in her personnel file. The glasses she'd
worn were absent and, despite the red-rimmed eyes and drawn expression, the
single overhead light warmed the creamy complexion that had looked bland and
colorless in the photo.
Thick blond hair slid across her face
in a broad wave and flowed down slim shoulders. Suddenly, I understood the
reasoning behind the functional bun in the picture. Despite the legs that
mesmerized a man all the way down to the high heel straps, the tweed skirt and
blazer she wore emphatically stated the bombshell figure was off limits. But
the moment a man laid eyes on her luxurious hair all bets were off. My breath
caught with bloodlust as I drew in her scent from across the room.
Gray-blue eyes stared from behind the
drape of blond hair. Her gaze flicked to my waistband and I realized she'd
glimpsed the colt holstered beneath my suit jacket.
"You
wear your gun like a gangster," she said.
I startled. Her voice, low and sultry, held a shaky note,
but I knew the remark was payment for my staring.
"This incident requires I carry a
weapon." My drill sergeant used to berate any reference to the word gun.
"Your gun is between your legs, son. Your pistol or rifle is called
a weapon."
She continued to stare and guilt
stabbed at me. She'd discovered a colleague who'd been brutally murdered, and I
stood in the doorway gawking at her. I swallowed, feeling like a school kid.
"Dr Nichols, I'm Agent Pierce,
head of nightshift security." Her fingers tightened around a lace
handkerchief gripped in her right palm. I didn't want to step closer, but had
to. Her pheromones were making my blood, or what was left of it, crave an
infusion from her veins. "What happened?"
Her gaze dropped to the hankie and she
began working the fabric with both hands. "I was working late and needed Leon to come to
the lab. I couldn't get the Geiger counter to calibrate. I knocked. When no one
answered, I opened the door and…" Her eyes swung up to meet mine. "So
much blood." Her gaze remained locked with my eyes as if demanding a
response.
"I'm sorry," I offered. "I thought you
were assigned to dayshift."
She swiped at the corners of her eyes
with the handkerchief. "I switched shifts yesterday so Leon and I could
calibrate the new equipment."
I nodded. The scientists worked a
twelve hours on, twelve off schedule seven days a week. We were in a race
against Nazi scientists while men died in Europe ,
North Africa , and the Pacific. "Did you
notice anything unusual tonight?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Hear anything strange on the way to Dr Heinrick's
office, pass anyone in the hall?"
She shook her head. "Maybe he's still here."
Something in the way she stared at—through—me,
searching for answers and fearing what she might find,
threatened to tip me off balance. "The murderer is gone," I replied
in a level voice.
"How
do you know?"
"A
hunch," I said, and meant it.
"Why
kill Heinrick?" she said. "Why not Compton or Fermi? But
Heinrick…" Her voice trailed off.
"Are you saying Heinrick didn't know anything worth
killing for?"
"I suppose we all know something
worth killing for. Each scientist on this project is top in his or her field. But
the project will go on without Heinrick. If we lost Oppenheimer, or Fermi, the
project would be delayed, if not brought to a standstill."
"Did you enter Heinrick's office?" "No, I
took one look and ran."
The response, given without hesitation, or guile, made me
wonder if this woman ran from anything.
"This
was the first office I came to," she said.
Her story made sense, and my instincts
said she was telling the truth. I had learned to trust my sixth sense,
especially the last eight months. This ability was another one of those things
I couldn't explain, like being conscious of the way her pheromones where
working on me double-time.
"Are you staying in the dorm?" I asked. She
nodded.
"I'll
have someone escort you there."
Desire to go with her shot to the
surface with the heat of a volcano. I pictured white skin, full breasts, and
blond hair between perfect thighs. I forced my breathing to remain even, and
the swelling in my shorts abated. I'd never experienced such sudden, intense
lust. If I escorted her back to her room I would drink her blood—and God only
knew what I would do to her afterward. My pulse jumped with the thought of her
warm blood flowing past my tongue down my throat… and her tight walls closing
around me as I entered her.
"I have to complete my
measurements before the day shift," she said. I jarred from the erotic
thought. "There's not enough equipment to go around," she added.
I
nodded. "Of course."
Clipped footsteps sounded almost
noiselessly on the linoleum floor of the hallway and I recognized McHenry's
walk two seconds before Dr Nichols's eyes shifted over my shoulder.
"Pierce."
I glanced back to see him standing in the open doorway.
"The
general wants to talk to you."
A measure of sanity reasserted itself.
I had to get away from her, now. "Could you escort Dr Nichols back
to the lab?"
His expression lightened. "No
problem." He stepped aside and motioned toward the door with an open hand.
"Dr Nichols."
His expression lightened. "No
problem." He stepped aside and motioned toward the door with an open hand.
"Dr Nichols."
She cast me a farewell glance and
headed toward the door. I tried tearing my eyes from the gentle sway of hips as
she walked past, but couldn't, and felt the heat swell to the surface again. I
had to find one of the small rodents whose blood I drank to keep my thirst for
human blood at bay, or go back to Heinrick and hope the congealed blood in his
decaying body would make me forget the craving. Rising desire twisted my
insides and I feared even Heinrick's dead blood wouldn't work against the warm,
pulsing blood of Dr Nichols.
About the Author:
T. C. Archer
is comprised of award winning authors Evan Trevane and Shawn M. Casey. They
live in the Northeast.
Evan puts his
Ph.D. to good use by writing about alternate realities, and Shawn channels the
mythology and philosophy she studied during her wasted youth into writing about
exotic places and times.
Evan and
Shawn write romantic sci-fi, paranormal romance and romantic suspense.
Find the Author:
Thanks for a great review and excerpt! I'm very excited for this book! It sounds fabulous!
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Another great story by T. C. Archer. I've read the book, so please don't include me in the give-away. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your review.
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