Virals by Kathy Reichs 454 pages

Although I enjoy watching Bones on TV, I have not read many of the Temperance Brennan novels. I was intrigued when I heard that Reichs had written her first novel for teens with a connection to Temperance Brennan. I was expecting a teen CSI / forensic mystery novel and while this has some of those elements it requires a rather large leap of the imagination. Temperance's 14 year old niece, Tory Brennan, and gang of bright misfit geeks stumble into a weird "mad scientist" plot on an island near Charlotte, South Carolina when trying to rescue a wolfdog pup. They become infected with a mysterious disease with bizarre side effects. Tory has only recently moved to the area since her mother's death to live with the father she has never known. She doesn't know who to trust -- especially since she doesn't really connect to the rich, snobby kids at the private school she is now attending. This has an interesting mix of science, mystery and adventure but I don't know if Reichs is hoping to spin this into a series.