The remaining scientists are panic stricken. The microcosm in which they live is so small that they believe they have all been exposed to the same agent. Compounding the horror of the situation is the fact that because of the weather, none of the inhabitants of Trudeau will be able to leave the facility for another five months.

No one presently at the facility has the knowledge to conduct the research to determine what killed the scientists. However, there is the possibility to airlift in an epidemiologist if a volunteer can be located and sent immediately. Jessie Handley, a woman who works at the Infectious Diseases Center in California, may just be that person. A significant scientific challenge will get Jessie’s attention every time. Despite the knowledge that her obsession with her job has cost her her marriage and will undoubtedly provoke a response from her ex-husband that she is not taking her job as a mother and custodial guardian of their 10-year-old son, Jessie agrees to take the proffered assignment at Trudeau.

Enduring a harrowing trip to the research station, Jessie arrives safely with her supplies eager to find and isolate the source of this virulent killer. Unknown to Jessie and the other scientists at Trudeau, a Russian scientist who had been rotating out of Trudeau just as the incident took place, was also stricken by the viral agent. As was the case with the three dead in the Arctic, the disease swiftly and efficiently killed all of the people on the submarine that was transporting the returning scientist to Russia.

The fate of the Russian inevitably becomes known as Jessie probes more deeply into the matter. Her colleagues in California are providing help and believe they are uncovering a scandal and international espionage that has been going on in Russia since before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russians are closemouthed about the espionage, the scandal and the demise of their compatriots on the submarine.

As the days go by with no concrete progress, Jessie becomes more and more worried about the continued good health of the people remaining at Trudeau. Such a small community forced to live in such close contact because of the climate, is inevitably a recipe for flaring tempers and anxiety. Jessie’s one solid supporter is Jack Nimit, an Inuit who has lived close to the Arctic Circle all his life. He is physically, emotionally and intellectually attractive to Jessie despite the fact that she is more than a few years his senior. It is Jack that provides her with the stability she needs to keep on with her task even as things continue to go wrong.

The Trudeau Vector is a lengthy novel that develops slowly over the first one hundred pages. It is necessary for the author to give the reader enough background information on a variety of subjects, which clearly determines the pace, but he may lose a few readers who sense a science fiction novel or a thriller when they really wanted a mystery. It would behoove mystery readers to stick with the story because all the pieces soon come together to provide a very satisfying tale. It is the combination of elements of science fiction, mystery intrigue and even a love story that enhances this novel and gives it so much more depth than a novel that concentrates on one of these aspects alone.

The characters are beautifully drawn, with all of their spots and warts visible for the reader’s inspection. That they are not perfect or omniscient makes them all the more appealing. Jessie obviously has conflicting emotions trying to reconcile her devotion to her career and her family. Jack is similarly compromised trying to care for the land he loves and the people that have tried to help him realize his goals.

Without going into great detail, Mr. Jurjevics has managed to create a very plausible scenario of what could happen in such a fragile environment. In addition he shows how truly difficult it must be to live in such an extreme climate that is not conducive to human habitation. He indicates how ingenious men have been in trying to imitate the success of other animals in such a world while suffering in the loss of some ingredients such as sunlight which are of obvious benefit to man’s well being. The Trudeau Vector is an extremely well written and researched book which will keep most readers up well past their bedtime.

--Andy Plonka