Blind Instinct-Fiona Brand

Blind Instinct
Fiona Brand
Mira, May 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780778325819

Librarian Sara Fischer is cleaning out her late father Ben’s home in Shreveport following his recent death when she comes across a WWII Nazi codebook. That in of itself would be strange, but looking at it makes Sara have a sense of déjà vu; the codebook enigmatically reminds Sara of terrifying nightmares she suffered from as a child.

Sara asks her long time friend Marc Bayard for his help. The Assistant Director of Special projects at National Intelligence visits Sara, but his presence seems to have brought a nasty side effect, the dreams of her youth return. For some uncanny reason that she cannot grasp, thirty something Sara believes she and Marc worked together in 1943 as part of the French Resistance. However, neither she nor her protector realizes the value of the codebook to an unknown adversary whose price for ownership is to kill Marc and Sara as secrets must remain concealed.

The latest romantic suspense thriller by this author (see DOUBLE VISION and KILLER FOCUS) has the usual brand of non-stop action expected from this writer, but also contains a major unique element involving reincarnation. The story line is fast-paced from the moment that Sara finds the codebook and never slows down as an unknown enemy will kill her and marc to possess the book. Although Marc is skeptical about Sara’s theory (as will many readers), everyone will agree that Fiona Brand provides her audience with a strong exciting thriller as what happened in 1943 France seems to be repeating itself in 2008 United States.

Harriet Klausner