Now, I am a big fan of Kathy Reichs and her creation, Temperance Brennan. She’s so popular that she inspired the hit TV series Bones, due to the sheer cleverness of plot, accurate detail and witty writing style. With crime novels you can’t really change the basics of the storyline- someone’s murdered, the main character is involved, a lot of thinking, puzzling and action follows, case solved. Yet I found each book of the series (13 so far) having it’s own signature and characteristics- Reichs was surely in her element. Then she decided to try and crack the teen market.
Enter Temperance’s niece, Tory, a fourteen year old girl who is still getting used to her new-found father, Kit. I have to admit, I was dubious. I loved Reichs’ books because her anthropological knowledge made her novels more believable, so how was she going to use that to follow the story of a teenager barely past puberty? On top of that, elements of science-fiction was promised in the blurb. Oh what fun I was in for…
However, to my surprise Virals was actually very well executed. Maybe because in my head I was hoping Reichs wouldn’t disappoint, but even so the storyline turned out a lot better than I had originally thought. Tory and her friends start to develop strange powers after rescuing a puppy infected with canine parvovirus, which they use to their advantage when being chased by bad guys and trying to track down clues to solve a certain murder. Furthermore, there’s the usual teenage drama of crushes and parental disapproval. Sounds crazy, and it is crazy, yet if you’re open to anything the plot grows on you. Reichs throws in her criminal know-how by creating a particularly smart main character who loves to read scientific journals, but like everyone else Tory has her own problems, including some catty schoolgirls and her dad’s new girlfriend fanatical about debutantes.
There were some shaky moments in the novel admittedly. For starters, how can a fourteen-year-old girl confidently identify a non-sterilised skeleton’s gender, age range and height in less than 10 minutes? Even if she read her aunt’s journals, it takes years of university for many to do that. There was also a repetition, used for effect, that got on my nerves a tad. Nevertheless, Reichs’ wit was still there, and the plot was driven by a strong mystery with romance and school angst merely a bit on the side. Tory is affected by love issues and insecurities, but she remains independent with a determined stature. It takes a good YA author to do that.
I guess overall Reichs kept her excellence when writing Virals, although there were spots where it seemed a little try-hard. I think that’s coming from an avid fan who’s used to her adult literature though. Coming from a female author probably puts male readers at a disadvantage, but I think if they can get through the hints of “I do like Chance, but he’s with Hannah”, then they would appreciate the humour. Not the best book Reichs has ever written, but I do recommend it, for it’s good teen quality we rarely see amongst the numerous Twilight-wanabes and overdramatic schoolgirl diaries.
