January 2013, Young Arrow
416 pages, Hardback
Review copy
Themes
friendship,
adventure, drama, bombs and explosions, teen life, special abilities, animals, family, games, puzzles and
cracking codes, following clues
Content
violence, some strong language,
Summary from Random House Children's Publishers
Tory
Brennan, great niece of Dr Temperance Brennan, and the Virals return
for their most terrifying adventure yet. Life appears peaceful on
Loggerhead Island – rescued from financial disaster, the research
institute is flourishing once more. But the tranquility is quickly
shattered when Tory Brennan and her technophile gang discover a
mysterious box buried in the ground. A seemingly innocent treasure
hunt soon turns into a nightmarish game of puzzles, as it becomes clear
that one false move will lead to terrible, explosive consequences. The
clock is ticking. Can Tory and the Virals crack the code in time to save
the city - and their own lives?
Review by Laura, a friend of Nayu who adores the TV series Bones and all of Kathy's books
I
love Kathy Reichs’ books, both the Tempe Brennan adult crime series and
the Virals spin-off series, so I knew this book would not disappoint.
It was nice that Kathy Reichs’ son Brendan was also a writer for the
book. It will be interesting to see if he will do more. I would be
interested to read anything he writes if he writes something on his own.
This book gives us the third instalment in the life of
the school girl Tory Brennan and her friends Ben, Hiram and Shelton and
Tory’s wolf-dog Coop. But this is no ordinary group of teenagers – they
have been infected with a canine virus which has transformed their DNA,
giving them additional wolf-like abilities. Their last adventure ended
with the discovery of pirate treasure, but in this book the group of
friends are on a treasure hunt of a different kind.
Slightly
darker than the previous books, Tory’s ‘pack’ must follow the clues
left by a psychopath killer “The Gamemaster” and play “The Game” he has
put in place in order to stop a bomb going off in their home town of
Charleston. I loved the fast pace of the book as the drama unfolded. We
also get to see new places in Charleston and Morris Island not
introduced before. But what I loved most about Code was seeing the
development of the friendships between the group. Tory is sometimes
split between new friend Jason, who is not a Viral, and her main set of
friends. This changes the dynamics of the Virals group, particularly Ben
and this all adds to the drama of the story. As the group’s friendships
grow and change, so does Tory’s ability to harness her canine powers,
bringing the ‘pack’ closer together and making them all stronger.
I
also loved that I was fooled by the twist! (Well more than one!) Just
when I thought I knew who “The Gamemaster” was, it turned out to be someone else! The twist at
the end was fab too! The cliff-hanger ending also makes me hope for a
fourth Virals books. Fingers crossed...
You can find out more on Kathy's website.
Suggested read
Do check out the other books in the series which include book 2 Seizure
and book 1 Virals
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