This is the second in a three-part series about books in my new Parallel Ops series. Next week I’ll (re)introduce you to the 4 “stars” of my novels and provide a little of their back story that you may not know, even if you’ve already read the Seeds of Civilization series that precedes “POps.”

The Scientists features Professor Jim Barnes and an entirely new supporting cast. Before hooking up with Frank Morton, Tony Nicoletti and Linda McBride, Jim was a professor of anthropology but his activities during the Seeds series have turned him into one of the world’s leading authorities on ancient civilizations. While attending a conference in Europe he  learns of The Six and their sinister plan from another scientist. Jim makes a couple of strategic location moves during the course of the story, but The Scientists has my usual secondary plot and other characters will take you to Europe, Washington D.C. and more interesting places.

Although he’s never been the adventurous type, Jim picked up some of Tony’s bravado during their travels together in Seeds and he steps forward to lead a select group of international scientists against The Six by combining their resources – and the secrets of mysterious ancient artifacts they have all come to possess.

And here’s a little secret you’ll only hear on this blog: The Six also show up in Book 2, The Informants, when Linda and friends intercept a string of coded messages and they appear again in Book 3, The Guardians, where Tony Nicoletti is trying to distract them away from a site he’s sure they want to find.