Saturday 7 September 2013

Kathy und Brendan Reichs - Virals

Somehow this new series has eluded me so far. I was rather thrilled, when I found out, and ordered the first two volumes stante pede, and yesterday evening, while waiting for my filmfestival tickets, I finished the first book - VIRALS.

Tory, grandniece of famous Temperance, lives after her mother's death with her father on Morris Island which is just outside Charleston.
Origin: Google Maps - © 2013 Google
 
One day, she and her friends Shelton, Hi and Ben make an excursion to Loggerhead Island - where research is in progress, but relatives (and from each teenager a parent is working there) of the workers may visit the island. Tory and her friends want to find out, what happened to the wolf-dog-pack on the island, and while resting, they are disturbed by a group of monkeys, and suddenly Tory is pelt with a dogtag, which has an unreadable name on it.
Tory, being the grandniece of Tempe, is thrilled, something to find out, cool! So they try to clean the dogtag, and fail. So the decision to return to Loggerhead Island is made in no time. They go back to the island, break into the laboratory, and clean the dogtag with chemicals. Just when the name becomes a little readable, they find out what happened to Cooper - the puppy of the wolfpack - he is being used as an experimental animal. As Tory loves all sorts of animals, and dogs in particular, they free the puppy and leave the island.
Now two things have to be taken care about, the puppy, which turns out to be immensly sick from parvo, and the dogtag, who was the person and what happened to him. While they are researching, one by one is getting sick. But is sick the right prescription? Seeing things, which are far to far away to be seen, hearing things, which are far to quiet to be heard? What is going on? And why is someone tracking them down all the time?

I don't want to spoil the fun of reading, that's why I stop recounting here. The story is a clear Kathy Reichs thing - a little french, a lot mentioning of a good long shower, interest in bones, super intelligence - but the cooperation with Brendan clearly makes the whole thing great fun. At the beginning I could not quite decide what to make of the superpowered virals, but now I am quite a fan. So I think I will return to Charleston immediately and start with Seizure.

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