Best new science thriller I've read: SPIRAL

[Amy]

I pretty much specialize in thrillers with scientific or medical themes, and of the fifty or so I've read in the last year or so, this debut novel by a real-life Cornell professor, about a Cornell professor, is the best for those of you who like a heavy Crichton-esque dose of science with your thrills. SPIRAL is about the WWII-era war crimes committed by Japan to develop a biological warfare program. As the saying goes, something survived. In the present-day, a Nobel-prizewinning scientist (and all-around super great old guy) pays the price in a delightfully imaginative, horrific way, and others are left to figure out why. Really cool science, great pacing, and sufficiently twisty plot. Loved it.