Altar of Eden
James Rollins

Harper
December 2010/ ISBN 978-0062041517
Suspense
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

During the looting of the Bagdad Zoo in the early days of the Iraqi revolt in 2003 12 year old Makeen and his young brother observed two men dressed in khaki uniforms remove a large metal suitcase containing embryos from a secret facility at the zoo.

Now, seven years later, a US Border Patrol helicopter lands in the New Orleans Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species to take Lorna Polk, a Louisiana state veterinarian, to an abandoned trawler in the Mississippi Delta. In the boat Polk sees cages filled with bizarre creatures. She joins forces with US Border Patrol agent, Jack Menerd, to try to uncover the truth about the bizarre cargo. One of the mutant beasts escapes and runs amok across the countryside. They must capture it before it wreaks havoc and threatens the future of mankind.

This is a fast exciting page turner. There are suspenseful moments with animal attacks, gunfights and abductions. There is a debate about the implications of experimenting with animal research and its wisdom.

Don't fool with Mother Nature or bear the consequences.