Bilal is a young Palestinian who seeks paradise by causing the destruction of the Western Wall. When his plan goes awry, he ends up being treated by a Jewish surgeon, Yael Cohen. Yael discovers that her DNA and the DNA of her patient are almost identical. How could that be? Their story is thousands of years old and as the narrative goes from the present to nearly 2000 years in the past, readers will discover that they are linked through their two, once all powerful families. Once powerful allies, the two families fell out over time to the point that they became sworn enemies.

This thriller takes place in the modern and ancient Middle East, with all its conflicts. There are good and evil characters on both sides. Two of the modern main characters are a female Jewish doctor and her patient, a failed male teenage bomber. It is fascinating and hard to put down. The modern era and its characters are better portrayed. My only problem with Bloodlines is that it is volume 1 of 3 and the 2nd is not being published until August of 2015. I do not want to wait to read more. Highly recommended.

This is an incredibly moving story that begins in the modern Middle East. When a Palestinian fanatic is shot and wounded he is operated on by an Israeli surgeon who is shocked to discover that they share a rare blood type. In a search to find out more about their shared DNA the story shines a light on the fight for faith and power that has engulfed that region through the centuries. This is supposed to be the first volume of a trilogy and I look forward to learning more about these characters and the history they share.

REVIEW BLOODLINE by Alan Gold and Mike Jones

BLOODLINE is the first volume in the HERITAGE TRILOGY series, an action-packed thriller which is both contemporary and historical, comparing and contrasting, and shining a spotlight on the millennia-long conflicts throughout the Middle East. A. Palestinian Arab boy and a Jewish Israeli doctor discover by chance that they share DNA, and that this connection is no accident of nature, but impelled by conspiracy.