The Gemini Virus

The squeamish may want to avoid the second entry in Mara%E2%80%99s disaster series (after 2010%E2%80%99s Wave), a foray into the deadly-virus subgenre that adds little new to the basic world-under-attack plot but will leave readers moving away from anyone who coughs or sneezes in public. Michael Beck, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control, and his assistant, Cara Porter, investigate seven gruesome deaths in Ramsey, N.J. %E2%80%9CThe victims were covered with large pustules from head to toe and exhibited symptoms of extreme delirium,%E2%80%9D Michael learns from his boss at the CDC. The body count grows geometrically as the disease spreads through the populace until most of the country is infected. A subplot involving terrorism helps build suspense, but the virus itself and the deadly possibility that it could appear in the real world is quite enough to keep you turning pages to see who will live, who will die, and how the invader will be vanquished. (Oct.)