In volume two of this three-part series, Bureau 13 saved mankind for a second time as they battled a crafty villain on the USS Intrepid and New York City’s West Side Highway.  At the conclusion of the book, we were able to breathe a sigh of relief as Special Agent Ed Alvarez and his team prevailed.  However, for Bureau 13, there is no such thing as the end and they are back again as a new enemy threatens to obliterate the City of Chicago and turn the United States in a land of  werewolves.  At first, the mere mention of werewolves sounds implausible.  But we must remember that this is Bureau 13 where the impossible becomes possible on a daily basis.

Volume three begins a retired veterinarian named Joanne Abernathy hears an earth shattering sound in the distance outside her home.  She lives in a place that could be best described as the outskirts.  Curiosity sets in and the aged and seasoned doctor heads out where she discovers a wolf that appears to have been shot.   But alas, this is no ordinary shooting and this is no ordinary werewolf.  What transpires after the wolf is tended to medically is surreal but sets the stage for the rest of the book.   The team is assigned to an unexplained occurrence in a small town called Hadleyville.  The issue at hand is large numbers of corpses without hands or heads scattered about.  Jessica realizes that something is amiss and the team makes a quick exit.  But they are far from danger and following them is a team of werewolves who speak and have one goal; eliminate mankind.   This book quickly takes us to Defcon 1 .

Chicago becomes ground zero and every law enforcement agency is briefed on the imminent doom.  But this will be no ordinary battled and all hands are on deck as Alvarez and team Tuna Fish take on werewolves, run of the mill creatures and even a floating apartment building.  Pollotta pulls out all of the stops and if the first two books did not meet the standard of guilty pleasure, then this part surely will.    This is the continuing saga of Bureau 13 and the strange and lethal world in which they operate.

ISBN-10: 1554047064
ISBN-13: 978-1554047062

Author Nick Pollotta returns with this second installment in the trilogy of the story of Bureau 13, the secret agency within the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for the tracking and apprehension of all supernatural creatures that pose a treat to the safety of the nation.  In book one, we were introduced to Special Agent Ed Alvarez and his team of supernatural crime fighters and followed them on their mission to save mankind from complete destruction.  The book was filled with all sorts of characters, weapons that we can only dream of and battles nothing short of epic.   The team returns in this second part, tasked with another earth shattering mission to save the world as we know it.

The story begins in a research lab whose location and origin are unknown.  What we do know is that an experiment has been conducted in which the goal is create a super human that heals instantly and is primed for infantry.  The recruits are former soldiers declared dead to society.  However, they are far from deceased, retaining scattered memories of their former lives.   They are self-aware and a scuffle breaks out after a disagreement following an attempt by a test subject to turn on his human controllers.  One subject is left standing, former Lt. Col. Kensington Sanders who we come to know as Alpha.  He becomes part of Bureau 13 in ways he could have never imagined.

Life for the agents is pretty normal with plenty of ghosts, demons and other creatures to chase.  But during a routine training exercise, an alarm is sounded indicating that a breach has occurred in the main containment facility.  However, this is no ordinary breach and a call to arms is broadcast.   The battle is surreal and the subsequent investigation reveals that there is far more to the story than meets the eye.  Bureau 13 does not just have a jail break on their hands but another crime on a much larger scale.  And to solve this crime, they need all of the help they can get, including Alpha and a few other recruits that blend right into Alvarez’s squad.  And later in the book, they are even joined by a familiar face.

In book one, the action was non-stop and came from all directions.  It was a high-octane ride from start to finish.  While book two has plenty of action, there is more of a story line that builds up to the conclusion.  The team is composed of seasoned veterans having engaged in endless deadly battles but here they are also investigators.  And their methodical approach feels like a scene out of Criminal Minds.  And similar to part one,  the second part of the book takes place in New York City with the USS Intrepid playing a critical part to the book’s conclusion.  The story seems completely far-fetched but in the world of Bureau 13,  the impossible is always possible.  And Pollotta keeps this ride going as only he knows how.  Special Agent Ed Alvarez and his team are always on the job but can they save the world?

ISBN-10: 1554047056
ISBN-13: 978-1554047055