The Kill Switch

The Kill Switch
James Rollins and Grant Blackwood
Harper
Harper Collins Publishers
New York, New York
ISBN: 978-0-06-213526-1
Paperback
January 2015
548 pages

Former Army Rangers have distinct skills that are frequently needed in other situations throughout the world.  Sigma Force is a governmental agency that employs many of these people who can actually keep the world safer.   Their latest mission is to assist a Russian pharmaceutical expert to acquire an organism that could be the survivor of all plant life, essentially being the equivalent of stem cells in plants.   Whoever can utilize and control this organism could rule the world.  This is definitely a new type of biological warfare.
Sigma Force assigns this particular job to Tucker Wayne and his partner, Kane, a military working dog.  These two have a special communication and relationship. 
Naturally nothing is as simple as the plan seems.  Tucker Wayne finds the scientist, Dr. Bukolov quickly but he insists that his daughter accompany him.  Naturally she is in another location and has secrets of her own.
The Kill Switch is non-stop action rushing through over five-hundred pages.  What is outstanding is the relationship between Tucker and his dog that is the driving force.   At times though, their actions seem larger than life and almost unbelievable that they are not killed, or minimally temporarily incapacitated.  Even with that, this is a fun novel and typical of Rollins' previous books where you feel rushed to the last page, panting.  
The historical aspects of the story including the Boer War makes this novel fascinating.  The authors incorporated much of the South African history while weaving a biological thriller.   The threat of invasive species in other parts of the world is already an ecological problem along with the discussion of LUCA, Last Universal Common Ancestor.  How this scientific information was woven into this story is masterful.
Who would enjoy this novel?  Anyone who enjoys a good adventure thriller will love The Kill Switch.
James Rollins is a former veterinarian turned author has written numerous novels.   Grant Blackstone has also written many novels collaborating with Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy.  A U.S. Navy veteran, he has written three novels, The End of Enemies, The Wall of Night, and An Echo of War.
The Kill Switch is a great fast-paced adventure.