Canine Kids Fight Crime
Fact fact: 12 hour drives are really good for getting some reading done. Today I breezed through Virals by Kathy Reichs. I bought and read it quite a few years ago, but it remember almost none of the plot, so it was like reading it anew. I actually enjoyed it more this time around!
If you've heard of Kathy Reichs, you'll know she writes the books that inspired the TV show Bones, centering on forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Virals centers on her great-niece, Tory Brennan. Tory is living with her father on a remote island off of South Carolina. He's a marine biologist working at a research facility on another nearby island. Tory, meanwhile, has befriended the other scientists' children- Hiram, Shelton, and Ben. They're all wicked smart and love science and their island. While investigating one of the other islands, Tory and her friends discover a wolfdog pack. When one of the pups goes missing, they're on a hunt to find it. When they find him hooked up to various tubes and infected with a strain of parvovirus, they rescue him and take him back to their secret hideout to help him heal. From there, they fall into a 40-year-old cold case, a conspiracy, and something strange that happens to their very DNA, all the while contending with nosy parents, popular kids, and school work.
I did not remember this book being so good. Tory was spunky and unabashed in everything she did. Her friends were quirky and had excellently placed jokes. All the characters were believable. There were some plot twists that even totally took me by surprise. Reichs' vivid descriptions of the islands and South Carolina landscape transported me- I could see the palm trees and sandy beaches clear as day. This was a fun, rollicking read, chock full of mystery, camaraderie, surprises, and well-placed humor. I highly recommend it! There are several other books in the series, but I haven't read them. I should put them on my list, apparently!
If you've heard of Kathy Reichs, you'll know she writes the books that inspired the TV show Bones, centering on forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Virals centers on her great-niece, Tory Brennan. Tory is living with her father on a remote island off of South Carolina. He's a marine biologist working at a research facility on another nearby island. Tory, meanwhile, has befriended the other scientists' children- Hiram, Shelton, and Ben. They're all wicked smart and love science and their island. While investigating one of the other islands, Tory and her friends discover a wolfdog pack. When one of the pups goes missing, they're on a hunt to find it. When they find him hooked up to various tubes and infected with a strain of parvovirus, they rescue him and take him back to their secret hideout to help him heal. From there, they fall into a 40-year-old cold case, a conspiracy, and something strange that happens to their very DNA, all the while contending with nosy parents, popular kids, and school work.
I did not remember this book being so good. Tory was spunky and unabashed in everything she did. Her friends were quirky and had excellently placed jokes. All the characters were believable. There were some plot twists that even totally took me by surprise. Reichs' vivid descriptions of the islands and South Carolina landscape transported me- I could see the palm trees and sandy beaches clear as day. This was a fun, rollicking read, chock full of mystery, camaraderie, surprises, and well-placed humor. I highly recommend it! There are several other books in the series, but I haven't read them. I should put them on my list, apparently!
(picture courtesy of goodreads.com)
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