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Homeland Security Secretary Catherine Blaine receives a frightening communication from a hacker identified only by the pseudonym "Janus": three recent natural disasters around the world were correctly predicted-in fact, they were manufactured, not natural at all. And, says the email, unless she does exactly as Janus instructs, more disasters are coming-and they will destroy the United States.
Unaware of the crisis in Washington, investigative journalist Jon Mallory stumbles on a list of seven prominent scientists who have been murdered in recent months. When the person who had given him the list goes missing herself, Jon realizes he has unwittingly become part of a deadly chain of events. He contacts his brother, ex-CIA agent Charles, looking for help. Meanwhile, Catherine Blaine has also come to Charles for help to track down the hacker Janus and learn what frightening science is threatening the world. Praise for Viral:
"Viral is a world-class thriller.... Lilliefors has created one of the most compelling novels of international espionage I've come across in a long time." ─Vince Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Fans of intelligently written page-turners will be rewarded." ─Publishers Weekly
"[Viral] is sure to appeal to fans of thrillers with Big Ideas and capital-V villains. A sequel is in the works, which is a good thing: readers will leave the book wanting to see more of Charles and Jon." ─Booklist
"This elegantly complex thriller is devastating in its premise and astonishing in its meticulous plotting." ─Florida Weekly
"A whirl of action with all of it leading to a suspenseful race to stop a crime, the magnitude of which is off the scale." ─Suspense Magazine
"Lilliefors' debut thriller doesn't slow down until the last page.... This one will keep you up at night." ─RT Book Reviews
"Lilliefors is an author to watch." ─Crimespace James Lilliefors is an award-winning journalist who has written for The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun and elsewhere. He was educated at the University of Iowa and the University of Virginia, where he was a Henry Hoyns Fiction Writing Fellow. He currently lives in Florida. CHAPTER ONE
When you agree to serve at the pleasure of the most powerful man in the United States, you enter into a contract of unspecified duration and largely unstated terms. You join an elite team with only fifteen members, chosen for your experience and expertise, although everything you do during your tenure will be seen as a reflection of the man you serve. Many strong-willed and highly talented leaders have become disillusioned by the degree of scrutiny, public criticism and compromise that go with the job.
The trade-off is that, for a short bridge of time, you have the opportunity to help shape your country's history. What you make of this opportunity depends on myriad factors, some of which you control, many of which control you.
Catherine Blaine understood all of this when she agreed to accept a Cabinet post in the administration of President Aaron Lincoln Hall. It was, to people who knew her, a surprising decision-even more surprising than President Hall offering her the job. Blaine was independent-minded and had been, at times, famously outspoken. Although she'd served nearly five years in Congress, she had a low tolerance for Washington's political machinery-its blind partisanship and storied inefficiency, in particular. On the other hand, she was a three-star general's daughter who believed in the principles of service and loyalty. She began the job with the measured enthusiasm that most Cabinet members carried to Washington-a belief that she could bring something new to the post, that she would seize her opportunity and make a difference.
The first seven months of Catherine Blaine's term as secretary of Homeland Security had been unexceptional, marked by m
Unaware of the crisis in Washington, investigative journalist Jon Mallory stumbles on a list of seven prominent scientists who have been murdered in recent months. When the person who had given him the list goes missing herself, Jon realizes he has unwittingly become part of a deadly chain of events. He contacts his brother, ex-CIA agent Charles, looking for help. Meanwhile, Catherine Blaine has also come to Charles for help to track down the hacker Janus and learn what frightening science is threatening the world. Praise for Viral:
"Viral is a world-class thriller.... Lilliefors has created one of the most compelling novels of international espionage I've come across in a long time." ─Vince Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Fans of intelligently written page-turners will be rewarded." ─Publishers Weekly
"[Viral] is sure to appeal to fans of thrillers with Big Ideas and capital-V villains. A sequel is in the works, which is a good thing: readers will leave the book wanting to see more of Charles and Jon." ─Booklist
"This elegantly complex thriller is devastating in its premise and astonishing in its meticulous plotting." ─Florida Weekly
"A whirl of action with all of it leading to a suspenseful race to stop a crime, the magnitude of which is off the scale." ─Suspense Magazine
"Lilliefors' debut thriller doesn't slow down until the last page.... This one will keep you up at night." ─RT Book Reviews
"Lilliefors is an author to watch." ─Crimespace James Lilliefors is an award-winning journalist who has written for The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe, The Baltimore Sun and elsewhere. He was educated at the University of Iowa and the University of Virginia, where he was a Henry Hoyns Fiction Writing Fellow. He currently lives in Florida. CHAPTER ONE
When you agree to serve at the pleasure of the most powerful man in the United States, you enter into a contract of unspecified duration and largely unstated terms. You join an elite team with only fifteen members, chosen for your experience and expertise, although everything you do during your tenure will be seen as a reflection of the man you serve. Many strong-willed and highly talented leaders have become disillusioned by the degree of scrutiny, public criticism and compromise that go with the job.
The trade-off is that, for a short bridge of time, you have the opportunity to help shape your country's history. What you make of this opportunity depends on myriad factors, some of which you control, many of which control you.
Catherine Blaine understood all of this when she agreed to accept a Cabinet post in the administration of President Aaron Lincoln Hall. It was, to people who knew her, a surprising decision-even more surprising than President Hall offering her the job. Blaine was independent-minded and had been, at times, famously outspoken. Although she'd served nearly five years in Congress, she had a low tolerance for Washington's political machinery-its blind partisanship and storied inefficiency, in particular. On the other hand, she was a three-star general's daughter who believed in the principles of service and loyalty. She began the job with the measured enthusiasm that most Cabinet members carried to Washington-a belief that she could bring something new to the post, that she would seize her opportunity and make a difference.
The first seven months of Catherine Blaine's term as secretary of Homeland Security had been unexceptional, marked by m