Chimera

A touching story on the nature of family, trust, and love lies hidden in this action thriller. While raiding a secret facility for genetically modifying and training children to be deadly assassins, Stefan Korsak, a young bodyguard for the Russian mafia, finds a boy who strongly resembles his younger brother, Lukas, kidnapped 10 years before. Now the protective, wisecracking, strangely naïve big brother and the brainwashed killer teen are on the run from the man who transformed the boy from gentle child to lethal property. Thurman (the Cal Leandros series) weaves personal discovery seamlessly into the fast-paced action, making it easy to cheer for these overgrown, dangerous boys. The technological background is superficially different from the supernatural framework of Thurman’s earlier books, but the themes remain the same, and readers who enjoyed her previous work will find this just as satisfying. (June)