“Imagine Jack Reacher falling into a plot written by Dan Brown, and you might get some hint at the rollercoaster of a ride found in this book.” That’s how New York Times bestselling author James Rollins describes Michael Laurence’s forthcoming new novel, The Extinction Agenda.
That’s some pretty good hype for a book not due out until August 27, 2019. Likewise, Mark Greaney calls it an “exciting, bold, and dynamic thriller,” before adding that “The stakes are impossibly high, the action and suspense is non-stop, and the characters are vibrant and memorable.”
Rollins’ mention of Dan Brown may point to Brown’s Inferno, as Laurence’s new novel follows an FBI agent tasked with stopping the release of a deadly virus that could forever change the world as we know it. Read the official plot details below!
An FBI agent fights to stop a conspiracy to unleash a deadly virus on the world in this propulsive, exhilarating new thriller
We’re fighting a war, whether we choose to admit it or not. A war for survival. A war we may have already lost.
While searching for the man who killed his partner and his wife, FBI Special Agent James Mason uncovers a shadow organization on the brink of enacting its genocidal agenda and a sinister mass murderer who’s been photographed at the epicenter of every historical pandemic since the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918—without appearing to age.
Mason’s quest for answers takes him from the criminal underbelly of Denver to its untouchable elite, from a dark union at the turn of the last century to a network of Nazi collaborators and a plot for global financial domination. Aided by his longtime friends Gunnar Backstrom—a corporate espionage gun-for-hire—and Ramses Donovan—a sin merchant of questionable morality—Mason uncovers a conspiracy against mankind more than a century in the making. A conspiracy to unleash a deadly virus and make a killing in the process.
Can Mason’s small team bring down a seemingly unbeatable shadow empire that’s rooted in every facet of our society, or does its influence run too deep?
The Extinction Agenda is the first book in a new series. It falls between Brad Thor and Boyd Morrison on the conspiracy spectrum, James Rollins and Steve Berry on the historical spectrum, and the story-telling and world-building skill of John Connolly.
Michael Laurence is a pseudonym for Michael McBride, a third-generation Coloradan. A registered radiologic technologist with additional certifications in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, he combines a comprehensive understanding of human anatomy and physiology with an interest in emerging technologies to create novels that straddle the line between science fiction and horror, positioning him right at the heart of the thriller genre.
The Extinction Agenda is currently slotted for publication on August 27, though that could change as we get closer to next summer, and is not yet available for pre-order. We’ll update this article just as soon as it is. In the meantime, check back for more details soon, as we’ll be covering this one right up until it hits bookstores shelves.
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck (“The Godfather of the thriller genre” — Ben Coes) has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.