Dogs
“Man’s best friend”—but what if Rover suddenly attacks and kills the child who owns and loves him? What if the same happens to other kids—and adults—down the street and all across town? Kress’ taut thriller cuts to the core of the man-dog bond to unsettle, unnerve, and unravel readers’ trust. A canine virus sweeps through a rural town in which widowed Tessa, once an FBI agent, lives with her poodle. Repeatedly passed over for promotion because her husband was Arab, Tessa has turned her back on agency business; but now she’s a subject of interest in quarantined Tyler (a federal disaster area, no less), where some have surrendered their dogs to the local animal-control people while others have freed theirs to roam wildly, form packs, and kill. Just why is Tessa’s name turning up in telecommunications monitored by the feds? After Tessa goes undercover to find out, the suspense ratchets up in this perfect vacation read. --Whitney Scott