Thursday, April 14, 2011

Virals by Kathy Reichs

Title: Virals
Author: Kathy Reichs
ISBN: 9781595143426
Publisher: Razorbill, 2010
Hardcover, 464 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: A gunshot is the loudest sound in the universe.

Tory Brennan is the niece of forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit television series). She's an admitted technology addict and "sci-phile" who loves the excavation tools and other technical gifts her aunt gives her. She and her friends live on a remote island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, and hang out in an old Civil War bunker.

Tory is fond of a small pack of wolf dogs who roam a nearby island, and when she discovers that one of the pups has been caught and is being used for medical testing, she and her friends rescue the canine, not knowing that it carries a contagious new strain of parvovirus. At roughly the same time on the same island, Tory finds a dog tag that sparks her curiosity. As she tries to find out more about the person who wore the tag, she and her friends unearth a skeleton. Things-- and their health-- begin to get seriously weird.

Reichs had me feeling as though I'd crash-landed in a bunch of teenagers that I'd have a blast with-- basically because I'm interested in the same things and had the same "fun" with the popular kids in my own high school. The chapters are short, move quickly, and pack a punch. Even though I'd deduced the identity of one of the villains, I didn't care, because the mystery involving the dog tag and skeleton held my interest so tightly. (The setting was superb as well.)

With Tory and her friends learning how to deal with the aftereffects of this strain of parvovirus, I'm really looking forward to the next book in this series.

8 comments:

  1. Cathy - Thanks for this review. It does sound like a very interesting premise for a story, and I do enjoy novels with a keen sense of place. I like the way Reichs has chosen to create this new series, too...

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  2. I love "Bones" but have never read any of the books about Temperance or Tory. Maybe I should.

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  3. I have not even read a Temperance Brennan story yet, but I have an omnibus on my TBR so perhaps I will catch up one day :)

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  4. Margot-- I know that I'm certainly looking forward to other books in this series!

    Barbara-- The books are very different creatures from the TV show-- just to warn you!

    Dorte-- I'm always trying to catch up!

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  5. I love the "Bones" books so I've been curious about this one. It sounds like it's well worth the read.

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  6. I've been interested in this one since I first heard about it, just haven't gotten a copy yet. I'm so glad you liked it, makes me want to read it even more.

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  7. Kris-- I hope you get a chance to read it. I really enjoyed it.

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