Book Review: Code by Kathy and Brendan Reichs

Image (c) Young Arrow

Code (Virals #3) by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs
Release Date: March 7th 2013
Book Format: Library Book
Rating: Five Stars

The Virals are put to the ultimate test when they find a geocache containing an ornate puzzle box. Shelton decodes the cipher inside, only to find more tantalizing clues left by "The Gamemaster." A second, greater geocache is within reach—if the Virals are up to the challenge.

But the hunt takes a dark turn when Tory locates the other box—a fake bomb, along with a sinister proposal from The Gamemaster. Now, the real game has begun: another bomb is out there—a real one—and the clock is ticking.

I can hardly remember when I started getting into this series, although the first thing that pops in my head was seeing this copy in the book store. It was one of those 'this cover is really pretty' sort of deals and had I not noticed that this was part of a series I would've read this being completely confused. Ever since then, though, I've had my dad remind me many times about how 'this is like the show 'Bones'', etc. Needless to say, I've found myself interested in Mrs. Reichs other novels, but that's for another time.

We return back to our familiar characters- Tory, Hi, Ben and Shelton with their dog friend, Coop- a little bit after <i>Seizure</i>. They're still reaping the rewards and have actually 'blinged' out their hiding hole that no one knows about but them. Things seem to bet returning back to normal- as normal as it could be for Tory, at least, if you ignored the fact that Whitney was slowly invading into her home. That was, until, Shelton found a new hobby that involved finding new treasures as a game. One of the things he happened to find, however, it ends up being more than just a tiny treasure. This treasure has been from 'The Gamemaster' and, after they find the next treasure, they find that once they accept to go through the hunt that there is much more than they had anticipate... and they can't walk away. Not when their families are in trouble if they mess up.

Honestly, for the most part, I really loved this book. I loved going through Tory's point of view, as always, and with her not only dealing with 'The Gamemaster' but also watching her balancing everything: homework, school, dances... things that a young teenager, like her, should only have to worry about, honestly, and she handles them as well as she could in her situation. Every step, every clue, is plausible and even though there are times that I felt like she was just running towards the solution on 'instinct' (well, considering her being a 'Viral', I suppose it wouldn't be far fetched), it was a fun ride.

The end, though... the end! It was the twists at the end that really got me and now I'm left at the edge of my seat waiting for the next book (and there is a new one coming out... sometime next year! Oh, alright). This story was left on a cliffhanger of stuff to discover and new stuff to learn and I just wanted to keep on reading. Cliffhangers make me sad, but in a good way. Can I have the next book now, please???

Review originally posted and shared on December 20th, 2013