cover image Exposed

Exposed

Alex Kava, , read by Tanya Eby Sirois. . Brilliance Audio, $34.95 ( , unabridged, seven CDs, 8 hrs., $34.95 ISBN p) ISBN 978-1-4233-4445-2

With reminders of tainted Tylenol, the Beltway snipers, anthrax-laced envelopes and the hooded Unabomber, Kava creates an atmosphere of queasy suspense that reaches the ultimate in discomfort with a nasty madman unleashing the superdeadly Ebola Zaire virus (the so-called “slate cleaner”) on a blissful populace, including FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell. Tanya Eby Sirois takes all the terror in stride, narrating the thriller in a measured, levelheaded manner rather than trying to embellish the already chill-inducing prose with dramatic flourishes. It’s a good narration choice, suiting the no-nonsense mood of series heroine O’Dell whom Kava places in isolated jeopardy from the jump by infecting her with the virus. And it also fits the determined approach employed by O’Dell’s uninfected partner, R.J. Tully, as he performs the novel’s heavy work of sifting through the clues, grilling suspects and searching for the mystery maniac. A Mira hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 25). (Oct.)