Features The Big Thrill Recommends: THE LAZARUS KEY by Rachel Aukes

The Big Thrill Recommends: THE LAZARUS KEY by Rachel Aukes

Recommendation By Daniel Charles Ross

Former Army medic and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) Special Agent Sam Brodie has seen many things in her time as a federal wildlife officer, but up to now, she had never seen a sabertooth tiger. Not a fossil. A carcass.

A shadowy group led by a billionaire uses gene-splicing to engage in “de-extinction”—bringing various deadly creatures back from extinction by splicing genes from similar contemporary animals with those of extinct creatures. One objective is to offer very expensive and utterly unique stalks for wealthy hunters looking for a bigger thrill than found in Africa, but the real goal is to clone extinct creatures for sale to the highest bidders.

The problem is that the refreshed predators are bigger and meaner—they hunt back—and if they get out into the wild, they present a serious danger with no natural enemies but Man. Who can also be their food.

While Sam investigates the incredible plot, she is soon thrust into the bad guys’ crosshairs. She’s recruited into WASP—the Wilderness and Animal Special Protection task force—a secret, underfunded, and understaffed FWS office charged with investigating such odd events. “Let me put it this way,” Sam’s partner says. “All those folks that call in sightings of Bigfoot? They get handed off to the WASP.”

Rachel Aukes is a best-selling author of more than 30 books. She’s crafted the page-turning THE LAZARUS KEY with a blend of DNA from The X-Files, Jurassic Park, some topspin from Ray Bradbury’s short story A Sound of Thunder, and even a bit of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett game warden character. It adds up to a terrific yarn that is unequivocally recommended.

THE LAZARUS KEY by Rachel Aukes