Blood Evidence (NCIS Series #2) [Paperback]

Mel Odom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2007

While investigating the abduction/kidnapping of a marine captain's teenage daughter, Will Coburn and his team of NCIS agents discover a link to a high-profile murder that took place more than seventeen years ago. As the team investigates, they discover a trail of lies, betrayal, and a political cover-up. Forensics specialist Nita Tomlinson will need a faith deeper than she can imagine as she struggles with the past and a family that she can no longer ignore.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mel Odom is a full-time writer with many published works to his credit. Mel has been inducted into the Oklahoma Professional Writers Hall of Fame and received the Alex Award for his fantasy novel 'The Rover'. The first novel in the Apocalypse series, 'Apocalypse Dawn', continues to appear on the best-seller list. Mel resides in Oklahoma with his wife and five children.

From AudioFile

Mel Odom's latest addition to his NCIS series is a lackluster story of a serial killer ravaging a small town--with a twist, of course. While investigating the abduction of a captain's daughter, Will Coburn and his team of Navy Criminal Investigation Service agents discover a possibly related murder 17 years earlier. Narrator Kevin King burns his way through this story at a breakneck speed, racing through the paragraphs. Further, his portrayal of basketball-playing teens is annoying. Because of King's breakneck pace, the suspense of the novel is lost to listeners. L.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; 1ST edition (March 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414303076
• ISBN-13: 978-1414303079
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write in a number of fields, but always with the hope of telling an interesting tale that will incite a reader to think for himself or herself, to examine his or her own place in the world, and offer a little nudge in the direction of dreams, faith, and personal growth in spite of whatever odds a person has to face. I also believe we were all put here for a purpose. Hopefully, several purposes. I'm a father, a little league coach, a teacher, a friend, and a writer. I struggle to keep that balance, as many of us do these days, but I hold tightly to the belief that I'm doing all I can be doing, and doing what I should be doing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NCIS: Blood Evidence by Mel Odom, March 27, 2007

By 

Ronald W. Simpson (oklahoma City, ok United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Evidence (NCIS Series #2) (Paperback)

Blood Evidence continues where Paid in Blood left off. Commander Will Coburn's NCIS team is called in to rescue a Marine's kidnapped daughter. The kidnappers are a local gang involved in illegal drugs and weapons. During the rescue, Will's team discovers that they are also involved in the third world slave trade. There is a violent gun battle at the farm that ends with another gruesome discovery.

The body of a Marine, missing for seventeen years is found after an explosion. Found with him is a charm belonging to a girl murdered long ago. Her case is a cold case thought to have been linked to a serial killer that was caught soon after her murder.

At the same time all this is happening, Nita, the team's medical examiner, is caught up in her own troubles. Her home life has deteriorated and she has turned to alcohol to numb the pain. This has come to Will's attention and he finds he must deal with her marriage problems while still trying to come to grips with his own divorce.

The investigation ensues and they soon find it involves a powerful US Senator, the girl's stepfather. Digging around for answers in the years old murder turns up plenty of skeletons long thought buried. It finds corruption, blackmail and murder in the corridors of power in DC.

As exciting as all the action and the investigation is, I was drawn more to the story of Nita Tomlinson. Her personal problems stem from a hard life as a child with a mother that was never there. She led a poor life and had no respect for her mom and as soon as she could, she left and never looked back. Her childhood trauma has affected her adult life in ways she could never have guessed and it is destroying her marriage.

She finds her mother and after a fight she watches as her mother is run down in an attempted murder. As her mother lies on the asphalt, moments from death, Nita uses her training to save her life. She knows she is destined to fail and finally, after years of running, faces her life. She prays for the first time and her mother fights back from death.

This epiphany leads her back home to her husband and child. The most memorable moment of the book follows soon after as she seeks to mend her marriage by admitting her weaknesses in front of her husband's church. It was a very powerful scene.

The action and pace are as excellent as they could be. The characters are brought to life through the well thought and written story. Mel has included plenty of the science and methodology behind crime scene investigations but in a way that does not leave the reader feeling dumb. Another must read from Mel Odom.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting Thriller!, April 21, 2007

By 

Deborah Wiley (Winter Haven, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood Evidence (NCIS Series #2) (Paperback)

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) team has another case in this phenomenal sequel to PAID IN BLOOD. NCIS Commander Will Coburn is called into the kidnapping of the daughter of a Marine captain. The team assembles to rescue the hostage only to stumble upon evidence of a cold case involving murder. Will and his team soon find themselves neck deep in the political machinations of Washington, DC, while following the trail of the evidence. Meanwhile, team member and medical examiner, Nita Tomlinson, is struggling with her family life and her drinking is beginning to become an issue. Will the NCIS team be able to resolve this cold case and allow a grieving mother peace? And what choices will Nita make in her personal life?

BLOOD EVIDENCE is an absolutely riveting thriller! The investigative details are both informative and entertaining as Mel Odom does an excellent job at explaining the reasoning behind each step of the investigation. The twists and turns will keep readers on their toes, as Mr. Odom throws in a few surprises along the way. In fact, this reviewer thought she had figured out the entire plot early on but this was obviously not the case due to the clever plotting by Mel Odom.

The character development is superb in BLOOD EVIDENCE. Will's character continues to struggle with his role as a now divorced father who is trying to balance his visitations with his two children and his duties at work. However, it is Nita who takes a central role in BLOOD EVIDENCE. She, too, is struggling in her identity as a mother and a wife. Her husband, Joe, is a solid Christian man and his faith terrifies Nita in ways she is unable to vocalize to him. Mel Odom does yet another fantastic job at interweaving realistic issues with the Christian faith as BLOOD EVIDENCE deals with marriage, infidelity, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, childhood traumas, and death without being overbearing or preachy in any manner. In fact, the last 100 pages or so had this reviewer in tears due to the powerful emotions and strong testament of faith conveyed by Mel Odom.

BLOOD EVIDENCE is a wonderfully action packed thriller! Readers should be prepared for a wild ride into the dirty underside of politics through the eyes of the NCIS team. BLOOD EVIDENCE can be easily read as a stand alone novel but there are tiny pieces of each team members' character that are being carefully crafted together to create an overall picture of the NCIS team led by Will Coburn. Mel Odom demonstrates with BLOOD EVIDENCE that he is an absolute master at combining action packed adventures with the tenets of the Christian faith. BLOOD EVIDENCE is easily recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Page-Turner, August 9, 2007

By 

DSK (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Evidence (NCIS Series #2) (Paperback)

This is the second book in Mel Odom's series on the Naval Criminal Investigative Services. The head of the team, Will Coburn, is separated from his wife, and he is trying to spend more time with his children. But he is called away to rescue a teenage girl who has been kidnapped. In the course of the rescue, they stumble on the corpse of a Marine who has been missing for 17 years. Inside the pants cuff of this Marine, they find a charm from a girl who had been murdered 17 years ago, supposedly by a serial killer. How did the charm get there? Is there a connection to the serial killer? The investigation leads the team into twists and turns in the plot that made this story a page turner that I could not put down.

The medical examiner on the team, Nita Tomlinson, has become an expert in forensics, but she finds the roles of wife and mom to be stifling. She grew up without a father and with a promiscuous mother who drank too much and often abandoned her, and Nita has no feel for how to act as a wife and mom. She feels compelled to visit her mother, with whom she has not talked in fourteen years. Though hurt feelings remain and the relationship is strained, Nita and her mother move one step closer to understanding one another.

The pacing of this novel is excellent, and the characters are so real they come to life. I also enjoyed the many details about how the criminal investigation and forensics jobs are conducted. This is the work of a master story-teller who seems to get better with each novel.