So after finishing all Reichs’ Temperance Brennan books I moved on to her first young adult book, “Virals”. This book introduces us to Brennan’s grandniece, Tory Brennan, who has only recently been sent to live with her Father, Kit, Brennan’s nephew, and discovered the paternal side of her family. They live on Morris Island, just off the Carolina coast, with Kit working for a research lab on nearby Loggerhead Island. Tory and her group of friends are used to exploring Loggerhead without incident but when one such trip leads to the discovery of some dog tags caked in dirt they soon find themselves in the middle of a dangerous mystery.
To clean the dog tags they break in to a disused lab at the research institute their parents work for. Whilst there they find a wolfdog puppy that had been missing from the area, locked in a cage and sick from parvovirus. Paperwork indicates whatever experiment is being done on the dog is failing and Coop, as Tory christened him, is scheduled to be destroyed. The gang steal him and hide him away in their bunker to nurse back to health but soon begin to experience strange symptoms themselves.
Once cleaned, they discover the dog tags belonged to a Francis Heaton, a local soldier who died in Vietnam. His dog tags were last known to have been with his daughter, Katherine, who went missing not long after her Father’s death and has never been found. On examining aerial shots of the area they found the dog tags, Tory thinks she can see signs of a possible grave. Her and her friends go back late at night and she is proved right when they dig up the skeletal remains of a young girl. Unfortunately, whilst examining the bones they are shot at by a group of people. They flee and the next day tell their parents. Although initially skeptical their parents eventually persuade the Police to check it out, however when they get back to the island the Director, Karsten, is there and is not happy with the kids meddling. There’s more bad news when they get to the grave and find only monkey bones.
Karsten later interrogates them all about what has been going on, also asking if they’ve been ill. He slips up with Tory and tells her he knows it was her who stole Coop. She puts two and two together and figures the cause of their symptoms must be whatever virus Coop is carrying.
As their illness changes and they start exhibiting strange powers they wonder how this is all connected. Will they be able to solve the mystery? Is there a cure for what’s happened to them?
Although “Virals” is clearly aimed at teenagers rather than adults I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s just as well written as Reichs’ other books. Obviously some of the language is simplified and she makes greater use of pop culture references but that’s to be expected from a book of this nature.
I enjoyed the mystery, the kids worked the case as well as in any crime fiction. I was slightly sceptical about the reasoning behind Tory’s surname being Brennan when her Father’s isn’t. Seemed a little like a desperate attempt to make sure readers knew she was related to Reichs’ more famous character. That being said I would quite like to see an appearance by Brennan in this series. I’d be interested to see Tory interact with her famous relative who she clearly idolises.
All in all a good first book in this series, definitely want to read the next one.
thebookwormery 