The "Virals" Series

The "Virals" series is written by Kathy Reich, the author of the adult novels "Temperance Brennan."
Virals
    Tory Brennan's mother has just died, so she's sent to live with her previously unknown father in Charleston.  There she befriends three boys, rescues a dog, and digs up a fifty-year-old mystery.  But everything has its consequences, and the four kids begin to suspect that the dog carries a strain of parvovirus that might be contagious to humans.  And their's no doubt that someone doesn't want them figuring why human bones are buried out on a monkey preserve.  It's a race against time on both fronts:  to figure out the secrets of the virus before it kills them, and to figure out the secret of Katherine Heaton before the murder kills them. 

Seizure
     Charleston University is threatening to shut down LIRI, the Loggerhead Island Research Institution, putting all of the scientists who work there out of a job.  Tory can't bear the thought of leaving her pack, so when she finds clues that Anne Bonny's pirate treasure might be hidden somewhere in Charleston, she can't resist.  But just how far will she be willing to go to get the money to keep her new family together? Treasure hunting is dangerous business, and the gunmen aren't making it any easier. 

I haven't been posting in a while, because there have been no books good enough to post on.  Thankfully, this science-fiction duo solved my problem. 
       The best comparison is that the these books are like "Max Ride," times fifty, and good.  Yes, the "Virals," as the call themselves, Tory and the three boys, become canine-mutants as the result of the virus.  But that's not the only reason the books are similar:  They have the same fast-paced tempo and snarky voice.  These books, the "Virals," though, don't move too fast to keep up with--it's not like rapid fire, every chapter only taking up two pages.  It's not headache-inducing like that.  A chapter takes up maybe twenty pages, and five-to-ten things happen in that chapter.  It's fast enough to catch your interest and keep it.
        The books are also wildly intriguing.  I'm not a fan of the traditional mystery genre (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, etc.), but this isn't a traditional mystery books in the same sense that makes Nancy Drew so dull.  There's a pattern with the Nancy Drew books, we all agree, no?  And that can make them enjoyable.  It can also make them incredibly dull.  There are no patterns in these books.  Well, save the fact that there are always gunmen after the four kids.  There are also several plot lines that intertwine over the course of the books, and that keeps you engaged. And the mysteries aren't your stereotypical mysteries either. 
          The characters are vibrant, too.  You really can't take anyone for granted, because they may have a treacherous back story that we haven't heard of yet.  Some characters do have the misfortune of being exactly who they say to be, but you can't get everything you ask for.  Tory, our main character, is exactly who she says she is.  This is a good thing, because it's first person narration, and it'd be rather strange if a first person narrator kept secrets from you.  The three boys she hangs out with, Shelton, Hi, and Ben, are pretty much who they say they are, but they all have quirks that keep you laughing and coming back (especially Hi's sense of wicked sarcasm.)  
        I also liked how things like life at high school and Tory's looming debut (as a lady, not as an author or actor) is intertwined with things like murder and life-threatening sickness. It makes the whole story so much more believable, like it could've actually happened. Because the basic things still count, I guess, while you're running around in the middle of the night, breaking and entering historic buildings and private property. 
         There are some things that annoy me:  We don't know of Tory's love of dogs until, like, fifteen pages before she decides to kidnap (dognap?)  Cooper, the wolfdog.  Little stuff like that.  And why did they have to break into the library?  Why not just go during the daytime?   Yeah, so.  Maybe I was reading too quickly, but there are little details like that escape my notice and slightly annoy me.  I don't know.  Maybe I'm just too picky.
         Tory Brennan and her pack astounded, surprised, and amused me.  Leaping from the pages of their story into their lives, they took me on a whirlwind tour of Charleston and the mystery/sci-fi genre.  They've broken open my heart -- I can only hope that my front door is not their next target. 
       
If you wanted to see the "official" bios of these books, www.kathyreichs.com  There are a bunch of her other books on there too, so you have to click "books" to find anything about the "Virals."