Virals by Kathy Reichs

Val Penny ♦ April 5, 2013 ♦ 2 Comments

Dr. Kathy Reichs is a fascinating person.  She is one of only eighty-two forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and is currently a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. She is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. From teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab, as a forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers.

For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec.  I usually really like her books, but I am not really the target audience for this older child, young adult novel.

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage “sci-philes” who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their new found physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot-if they can stay alive long enough to catch the scent of the killer.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends- they’re a pack. They are Virals.  Unfortunately, this is a very poor book and not up to Reichs’ usual standards.  It really disappointed me. The storyline is far-fetched, the characters not well drawn and I certainly cannot recommend this work.

Books by Kathy Reichs that I have reviewed are https:// bookreviewstoday.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/deja-dead-by-kathy-reichs/,  ‎https://bookreviewstoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/virals-by-kathy-reichs/, https://bookreviewstoday.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/bones-are-fore…y-kathy-reichs/, https://bookreviewstoday.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/mortal-remains-by-kathy-reichs/