Viral

February 20, 2012
Two brothers try to stop a grand-scale plot to remake the Third World, in Lilliefors’s fast-paced debut thriller. Ex-CIA agent Charles Mallory, now a private intelligence contractor, has been working on a project that inexplicably links the influx of billions of dollars into remote areas of Africa for supposedly humanitarian projects with a deadly virus that’s quietly wiping out entire populations of impoverished villages in a single day. When Charles sends his investigative journalist brother, Jon, overseas to witness and report the atrocities, he inadvertently places Jon at the center of a looming disaster that, if successfully unleashed, could irrevocably change the global balance of power. While the impressively intricate plot and nonstop action all but overwhelm the main characters, fans of intelligently written page-turners will be rewarded. Lilliefors is also the author of the mystery Bananaville and two historical studies, America’s Boardwalks and Highway 50. Agent: Laura Gross, Laura Gross Literary Agency.

April 1, 2012
The outbreak of a mysterious disease in the Third World is the first assault in a deviously stealthy international plot. In Uganda, private-intelligence contractor and former CIA operative Charles Mallory receives a package with an apologetic note from his colleague Paul Bahdru. Unfortunately, inside the package is Bahdru's head. Meanwhile, across the globe in the (fictional) Republic of Sundiata, Dr. Sandra Oku tries to cope with a quickly spreading and deadly outbreak in the village of Kaarta. Back in Washington, Jon Mallory, who writes for The Weekly American, worries when his brother Charlie misses a scheduled call-in. The two have not seen each other for quite a while, though Charlie's tips from Africa have provided many valuable leads for stories. The latest one, about a potential pandemic, seemed to have Charlie particularly incensed. As Jon consults some of his brother's former CIA cronies for answers, Charlie goes to France, where he hopes to disappear. Shards of flashback hint at questionable doings in Charlie's past, particularly with a voluptuous woman named Anna Vostrak. In France, Charlie barely escapes being killed by an Arab named Ahmed Hassan, who goes by the name of Albert Hahn and who thinks that Charlie is called Frederick Collins. Secret identities and secret codes are at the heart of the plot that is revealed by Sandra's search for medical answers and Jon and Charlie's globetrotting efforts to uncover a cabal with an intricate plan for world domination. Though Lilliefors' debut thriller follows a familiar template, it maintains suspense with vivid, direct prose and a skillfully developed plot.

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March 1, 2012
In a small African village, a fast-moving and (apparently) always-fatal virus appears, as if out of nowhere. As it spreads with frightening speed, Charles Mallory, a former CIA agent now operating as a private contractor, uncovers tantalizing clues to a worldwide conspiracy that appears to be designed to change the fabric of society itself. Teaming up with his brother Jon, an investigative journalist, Mallory races against time to find and stop the people behind the virus. This is an ambitious thriller; its villains, no ordinary terrorists, are determined to create a new world (even if it means wiping out a large portion of its population). Solidly plotted and featuring a unique pair of protagonistsyou don't often find a team of brothers as action heroesthe book is sure to appeal to fans of thrillers with Big Ideas and capital-V villains. A sequel is in the works, which is a good thing: readers will leave the book wanting to see more of Charles and Jon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)