“The whole thing started with a dog tag.”

From Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs’ Virals.

After her mother’s sudden death, 14 year-old Victoria “Tory” Brennan moves to Morris Island, South Carolina to live with her estranged father. Tory lives her new life on the bottom of the social ladder with only three neighborhood friends: Ben, Shelton, and Hiram. The teens all live secluded lives because their scientist parents work with the Charlestown University on a special research island (Loggerhead Island). Each friend has strengths in different areas, such as technology, lock-picking, and a driver’s permit. They rely on each other through all the day-to-day problems they face with life (and their Charlestown socialite classmates). The kids’ parents’ jobs allow Tory and her friends access to Loggerhead, where the teens discover a wolf-pup that is being tested in a secret lab. After kidnapping the dog, the kids begin to experience feelings, thoughts, and experiences that are canine in nature and almost superhuman. The group soon realizes that they were infected with a mutant strain of the Parvovirus (a virus that only infects dogs unless it has been genetically enhanced and given to a young wolf-pup). Because they caught the virus stealing the puppy from the University they cannot go to the hospital or their parents, so they continue to sneak around Loggerhead Island in search of answers to their infection. The “powers” that Tory and the boys develop prove to be unpredictable, but occasionally helpful. During one of the slightly illegal searches for information on the virus, the Pack uncovers the body of a young woman and the real mystery begins. Now Tory must discovere the dead woman’s identity, allude the killer chasing the group, survive the debutant outings that she has been forced into, and understand the virus living inside all of them.

The first book in Reichs’ young adult series takes off and doesn’t stop. A mystery story with hints of historical, detective, and science fiction thrown in for a satisfying variety. This book connects to other Reichs’ Bones series through the main character Tory, who is the great-niece of Dr. Temperance Brennan, but that aspect is enhancer and not a main point. The characters are real and consistent; each character has unique characteristics, but manages to interact with the other characters in a believable way. The friends do not possess unnatural wisdom, but rather they use the resources that are around them. The effects of the virus are explained and supported (minus the fictional superhuman abilities) by science and biology. At the conclusion of the book, the reader can come away with a sense of satisfaction, both in the storyline and the conclusion of the mystery. Virals is a solid start to a fascinating series, and definitely worth the read.