Virals by Kathy Reichs
I’m sure you’re familiar with Reichs’s Temperance Brennan character from either her bestselling novels or the hit television series Bones. But did you know she has a niece with her own series? Tory Brennan is the main character in the book Virals, the first in a new series. Tory, like her aunt, is a bit of a science nerd but that is where the similarities between the series end. Tory is in high school, lives on Morris Island outside of Charleston and is a bit of a modern day Nancy Drew with a twist. She and three of her fellow Morris Island teen residents stumble upon a decades old mystery/conspiracy/cover-up and manage to get themselves infected by a strain of (supposedly) canine-only disease. I don’t want to give too much away here, but the kids call themselves “virals” and they can do some pretty neat things with their senses now.
While adults will want to read it because of the author, those that don’t like a little science fiction with their mystery may not enjoy it as much as teen readers. A great pick on audio – the use of sound effects adds to the suspense and the accents are great.
