The Gemini Virus
Irwin Allen’s disaster films from the 1970s meet Stephen King’s The Stand in Mara’s new thriller. A superbug that starts with coldlike symptoms ends up escalating. It appears to be localized within a small town, but soon others outside the region become infected. Michael Beck of the Centers for Disease Control tries to find a cure and soon discovers that his own friend and assistant on the case is developing a runny nose. The story follows a family with their kids as they run from their home to an isolated cabin to wait for the panic and death to end. The narrative holds the reader at a distance, resulting in a story with little emotional core. The thought of a virus with such lethal power is a scary notion and will keep some readers turning pages, but, in the end, this is nowhere near as frightening as it could have been. --Jeff Ayers