It's this latter occurrence which catches the attention of a CIA employee. When he assembles a small investigative group, it's determined that there has been an outbreak of the deadly Spanish influenza, which killed 20-30 million people worldwide in 1918. Fearful that the North Koreans may be developing the microbe to use as a biological weapon, the group realizes that it's absolutely imperative that a vaccine be developed to protect against an epidemic. The difficulty is that a sample of the virus that causes the influenza is necessary to develop a vaccine. The flu virus mutates quickly so present-day strains are no longer similar and effective for creating a vaccine.

An NIH project that had been denied funding is suddenly approved. Two NIH scientists have proposed exhuming the bodies of miners buried in permafrost in 1918 in Spitsbergen, an island in the Arctic Circle owned by Norway, to retrieve lung tissue samples which may contain the influenza virus. (In actuality, very similar projects involving the frozen bodies of miners in Norway and Eskimoes in Alaska have been undertaken.) Heading this project are Dr. Benton Kicklighter and Dr. Anne Adair.

Frank Daly, a reporter, is supposed to accompany the team of scientists. A fierce arctic storm, however, forces the scientific team to depart early and strands Daly in Archangel, Russia, so that he meets up with the team later in Hammerfest, Norway.

When their ship docks in Hammerfest, Daly is informed that the dock is closed to everyone; he sees Kicklighter and Annie being escorted from the ship and driven away. He recognizes one of the men with the scientists as an FBI liaison to the CIA. All he is able to learn is that the team had only found a big white horse. No one involved with the project is willing to tell him anything.

Does Daly give up? Silly question.

This is a plot-driven thriller, an old-fashioned whodunit with contemporary dire perils and up-to-date investigative techniques. With the exception of Frank Daly, there is little effort given to character development. The emphasis is on whether the world is teetering on the edge of catastrophe and whether the intrepid hero can uncover the secret and thereby save the world. Too much character development would only slow the pace of the story. Who has time to bother with character development when disaster threatens?

There is some scientific/medical information inserted at intervals throughout the story – not so much that it's intrusive but sufficiently detailed that a reader is able to understand the potential seriousness of the situation.

There's also an occasional humorous episode. It's partly through these incidents, such as Daly's experience with Russian hotels and his love/hate relationship with his car, that the reader comes to know and like him.

I was caught up in the story from the very beginning. It passed the put-down-pick-up test with flying colors. I actually regretted having started it on a weeknight; I was so engrossed in the story that I resented having to put it aside to go to work!

The Genesis Code was the author's first book. As much as I enjoyed that one, I thought this was more absorbing. Case is definitely an author to watch.

--Lesley Dunlap