cover image The Juliet Effect

The Juliet Effect

Jesse Slattery. St. Martin's Press, $22.95 (414pp) ISBN 978-0-312-01053-9

A mysterious flu-like disease is spreading through the sleepy town of Lyle, N.H. The virus, the brainchild of Peter Brandes, a scientist at the genetics research firm Futures Labs, invariably proves fataland Brandes is its first victim. Uisce Beatha, a shadowy branch of the governmentso secretive that even Slattery hasn't figured out what its function issends Brandes's brother Alex, a research biologist and undercover agent, to try to unravel the clues left behind in Peter's notebooks. Cynthia Ellis, an epidemiologist and Alex's lover from a few years back, arrives to lend a hand as well as an element of romance, and danger (Cynthia contracts the disease) is added as the scientists scramble to find a cure. First novelist and journalist Slattery (a pseudonym) skillfully handles a well-thought-out, intricate plot with just enough surprises to keep the reader going to the finish. (April)