Virals eBook by Kathy Reichs - Review

Virals is a young adult crime cum fantasy novel. The author of this novel is Kathy Reichs who has also penned the famous TV series Bones. This novel is the 1st book in the Tory Brennan series. The novels have elements from the author’s TV series too. Here is our review of the 1st book.

The Story

A gunshot is the loudest sound in the universe. Especially if the bullet is coming at you.
These opening lines of the book got us hooked to the story almost instantaneously. Virals is an edge of the seat story that will make you forget your real surroundings. It is about a 14-year-old Tory Brennan, who is the niece of Temperance Brennan of the Bones series. Tory has just moved in with her father (she didn’t know she had a father!) on Morris Island in Charleston, SC. Tory is finding it hard to adjust to her new surroundings and family but she has her friends for support. She has fun exploring the island, swimming and fishing, thanks to her great nerd friends- Ben, Hiram and Shelton.

One day at the island, she spots something that triggers a series of strange and dangerous events. Circumstances force her and her friends to get involved in finding hidden experiments, come face to face with a long-unsolved murder and a mystery surrounding a stolen wolf-dog hybrid puppy.

That’s not all, they also have to deal with a bizarre twisting of fate that gives them new power and talents that they can’t really fathom. They have a tough job of getting to the bottom of the various mysteries, all while trying to not get killed in the process.

The Writing

Kathy Reichs is a master storyteller when it comes to crime plus fantasy novels. Her descriptions of the tensest situations in the book are bang on. She has the ability to make the reader get hooked to the story without trying too hard. She chooses to tell this story through Tory. Reichs has kept the chapters short and gradually increased the pace of the story, making reading it quite similar to riding a hair-raising roller coaster.

Verdict

We give Virals 4/5 stars. This adult science fiction novel mixed with bits of supernatural will get a thumbs up from lovers of fast-paced, adventurous and intellectual novels.

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Virals by Kathy Reichs