Blood Brothers-Rick Acker

Blood Brothers
Rick Acker
Kregel, May 2008, $14.99
ISBN: 9780825420078

They are twenty-first century versions of Cain and Abel as brothers Karl and Gunnar Bjornsen have worked together for years building up Bjornsen Pharmaceutical; the former is the CEO and the latter is president. In a shocking move, Karl manages to have his sibling voted out as a company officer. The only setback with this betrayal is that Gunnar is the only person who knows how to create Neurostim, a miracle drug that makes people smarter, quicker, and stronger.

Karl sues his brother to force him to reveal how to produce the miracle elixir, but Gunnar counters by hiring lawyer Ben Corbin to make the case that criminal acts by his sibling makes him unfit to run the firm. Side effects show up during the test trials, but Karl keeps that concealed while Ben, his wife and his co-worker go to Norway to visit a Bjornsen subsidiary. They interview a scientist who has proof that Karl committed felonies to remove Gunnar from the company. However, an arsonist burns the building that contained the evidence destroying the documents in the inferno. Having also made a deal with the government, Karl seems indestructible as everything goes his way.

Part crime caper and part legal thriller with a supporting medical thriller foundation, BLOOD BROTHERS is an exciting thriller that demonstrates the talent of Rick Acker to keep fan interest throughout the plot. There is a lot of action in the exhilarating story line, but it is the characters that grip the readers especially fascinating is the good vs. evil fratricide war. Ben is determined as he fights for his client who he fully believes in.The war heats up as his wife gets shot while applying forensic skills to financial documents, and likable Gunnar who knows his brother is a ruthless dirty adversary, but tries to remain on the moral high road in spite potholes, detours, and obstructions.

Harriet Klausner