We All Fall Down

A familiar story line weighs down this medical thriller from Kalla (Pandemic). Alana Vaughn, a veteran of outbreak containment missions around the world for the World Health Organization, is now the director of biological surveillance for NATO. A text from her former lover, Dr. Nico Oliva, brings her to Genoa, Italy, where Nico asks for her help with an unusual case: a construction worker, Vittoria Fornero, has been diagnosed with the pneumonic plague, which has not been seen in Italy since medieval times. The patient was working on a controversial apartment tower project being built on the site of an ancient monastery. The plague begins to spread, helped in part by a health care worker being casual about her potential exposure to the disease. Predictably, Alana’s boss is unhappy about her involvement in the investigation, during which Alana meets yet another hunky doctor. Fears mount that bioterrorism is responsible for the deaths. Making Alana into a gun-toting action hero doesn’t enhance the novel’s capacity to suspend disbelief. Hopefully Kalla, who has done good work in the past, will return to form next time. Agent: Henry Morrison, Henry Morrison Literary. (Mar.)