Book Tour – Germ

Today I am honored (and relieved!) to have guest blogger Jean from Rantings and Ravings of an Insane Writer. She’s actually READ the book, or at least most of it, so that’s a good start:

I discovered Robert Liparulo right here on this blog when Valerie featured Comes A Horseman, Robert’s first novel. As I recall, Valerie was a little creeped out by it, but it sounded perfect to me. I bought the book and was not disappointed. As a result, when I saw Robert’s latest release, Germ: If You Breathe It Will Find You, in Books-A-Million when it first came out, I didn’t hesitate to grab a copy and add it to my stack of purchases. Then it joined my TBR (To Be Read) pile – which seems to grow exponentially. I’d get a little tickle in the back of my mind, “Why don’t you read Liparulo’s new book” but I hadn’t pulled it from the pile. Then Valerie dropped me a note Monday night asking if I was interested in guest posting this week, since she knew I’d read the book already.

Oops. I wanted to do the guest post. I wanted to read the book. I dropped a quick note back saying, “I’ve started reading. I think I can get you something if I have just a little time.” She told me I had until Friday. I confess, it’s 8pm Thursday night where I am, and I haven’t finished the book yet. I am at page 359. There are 490 pages in this novel, and I’m entranced. Pacing is solid, but as a reader, you have the sense of non-stop action. The phrase “everybody dies” comes to mind often. With the subtitle of “If You Breathe It Will Find You,” should this be a surprising thought? But, seriously, everybody doesn’t die. At least I don’t think so . . . I do have 131 pages to go . . . they could all die. Here’s a clue: When I was checking how many pages were in the book, I caught a glimpse of the last line – it’s in italics, so I believe someone’s alive enough to think. Maybe.

You can read the canned descriptions of this book on Amazon – they accurately capture the essence of the book. I’m not sure if the comment about needing a tighter page count is necessary. Some readers may find that to be the case, but, so far, the ebb and flow – and there’s much more flow – seems about right to me. There’s a hinted at romance, so I think the romantic interests may survive until the end of the book. Although, where I’m reading now, one of them is in the clutches of evil, so there is room for doubt.

Designer viruses tuned to your DNA? And somebody may pick you randomly or specifically target you. The thought of this becoming reality makes identity theft seem like child’s play. I hope the reality of this is further off than I fear, but read the story yourself and ponder on the articles that have been in the headlines recently. The intersection of those thoughts and this book are the makings of true horror. Do you dare . . . breathe? Do you have a choice?