Aside from being a pretty good Texas Hold-Em Tournament player, Wil Mara writes an excellent disaster novel.
Wil and I met at Bally's poker room a few years ago and wound up splitting the pot that day with a few other players.
I found Wil to be an affable guy and I wound up buying a copy of his first disaster novel, Wave, about a tsunami that hits Long Beach Island. That was a great story and I found his writing style to be very readable and compelling.
Since then, I've been asking when the next "disaster" novel would be released. Well, that time is finally here and the book is called The Gemini Virus.
It all begins in Ramsey, NJ where normally healthy Bob Easton wakes from a deep sleep with a fever, and within 4 days, Bob is no longer among the living.
Mara is a fine story-teller with an eye for detail. Simple stuff, like when decribing Bob's wife, "Bernice, in the baby blue nightgown that Easton thought of as part of the Golden Girls collection."
Before his death, Bob manages to infect a number of others and the descriptions of the symptoms grow increasing gruesome. You'll definitely need a strong constitution, especially in the early chapters. There's even a scene where the virus is being passed around Bally's in A.C. (An aside to Wil: Suddenly, I'm in no hurry to go back).
What started the virus? Where did it come from? With thousands already dead and many more infected the prospect of the CDC and WHO finding a cure or controlling the outbreak are bleak. "It could take millions and developing a vaccine could take years."
More than a few cringe-worthy moments. A well researched, yet clean read that will keep you up at night and guessing right till the end.
Available from a wide variety of sources as a Hardcover, Digital Audio or e-book. Well worth a read or listen.
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