Airborne killer

Patrick Lynch’s new book, Carriers (Villard, $23, ISBN 0 679 44842 X) is in essence a tale of a mysterious Ebola-inspired, airborne virus, originating in Indonesia and out to take over the world. Carriers has all the expected elements – governmental covering-up, journalistic uncovering, gory deaths by virus, a feisty heroine fighting for her kids and so on. Although it’s a bit hard to keep track of the many characters early on, Carriers develops into a timely science lesson on viruses and genetics, well-paced enough to keep your interest.