What do you think?
Rate this book
Virals #3.5
Swipe
Tory Brennan and her great aunt Tempe join forces to investigate a crime at Comic-Con in this exclusive direct-to-digital short story from Kathy Reichs, author of Bones of the Lost and Virals. A valuable Terminator replica disappears from the nerd nirvana of Comic-Con. Tory Brennan and her great aunt Tempe are on the scene, and join forces to investigate. Surely the Terminator can't have just vanished into thin air? When a ransom note appears, threatening the destruction of the model, Comic-Con staff start to accuse each other. The clues are soon mounting up - but can Tempe and the Virals find the thief before it's too late?
87 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 16, 2013
122 people are currently reading
3965 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Reichs
150 books17.3k followersKathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1998): Deja Dead
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1998): Deja Dead
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
January 31, 2014
*updated version*
Of course this one had to be good! It has been so long since I have heard the jokes of Hi or Sheldon and man have I missed it! I mean I started reading it and felt like
This one is about the gang investigating the disappearance of the T-800(a terminator) at comic con! Yes, the real comic con for all you fellow geeks out there. The four of them have to use the smallest clues and newly found evidence to discover where the culprit hid the terminator. Not to mention that there are people everywhere and anyone could be a culprit.
Of course one of the greatest things within the book was being able to hear old reference jokes from Hiram who is in his natural environment, comic con which was not a surprise let me tell you. It just gives me the greatest joy to hear Hi say remarks about the Jedi code or how the culprit would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for us meddling kids.
So I really wanted to see Tori and Ben take off and honestly there was only one moment that really showed Ben's attraction for Tory and let me tell you it was surprisingly pretty funny. I was really hoping for more of it since she found out about Ben's attraction in the last book, but ahh I guess Kathy just wanted me to be subject to torture! I mean this is me because now I have to wait until March..*Sigh*
Overall this was obviously another great virals book. Highly recommended.
Of course this one had to be good! It has been so long since I have heard the jokes of Hi or Sheldon and man have I missed it! I mean I started reading it and felt like
This one is about the gang investigating the disappearance of the T-800(a terminator) at comic con! Yes, the real comic con for all you fellow geeks out there. The four of them have to use the smallest clues and newly found evidence to discover where the culprit hid the terminator. Not to mention that there are people everywhere and anyone could be a culprit.
Of course one of the greatest things within the book was being able to hear old reference jokes from Hiram who is in his natural environment, comic con which was not a surprise let me tell you. It just gives me the greatest joy to hear Hi say remarks about the Jedi code or how the culprit would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for us meddling kids.
So I really wanted to see Tori and Ben take off and honestly there was only one moment that really showed Ben's attraction for Tory and let me tell you it was surprisingly pretty funny. I was really hoping for more of it since she found out about Ben's attraction in the last book, but ahh I guess Kathy just wanted me to be subject to torture! I mean this is me because now I have to wait until March..*Sigh*
Overall this was obviously another great virals book. Highly recommended.
February 5, 2014
The four friends were wandering through the maze of characters at Comic-Con while waiting to meet up with Tory’s aunt, forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan. Tory and Ben were not (really) in costume, but Hi and Shelton were right into it. Their mouths were open, their awe was complete – Tory was over it already, but tried not to show it…
After organising with Tempe to meet after her book signing for lunch, Tory led her friends toward another display; but the screams of agony spun her head around – racing over in the direction of the noise, they found broken glass and chaos everywhere. The T800 was gone! The replica was huge, extremely heavy – where could it possibly have gone? HOW could it have vanished, with the amount of security around the area?
With Tempe joining Tory and the boys, they began to look for clues. But there was very little to find, and no time to find it either. With the number of people around, the area needed to be cleaned up for safety reasons. But Tory, Ben, Hi and Shelton decided they were going to find the thief – somehow. Following the meagre clues they had, dodging security – could the Virals find the brazen thief before the day was over?
A thoroughly enjoyable Virals short story, I found the pace fast, the mystery intriguing, and the results satisfying. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
After organising with Tempe to meet after her book signing for lunch, Tory led her friends toward another display; but the screams of agony spun her head around – racing over in the direction of the noise, they found broken glass and chaos everywhere. The T800 was gone! The replica was huge, extremely heavy – where could it possibly have gone? HOW could it have vanished, with the amount of security around the area?
With Tempe joining Tory and the boys, they began to look for clues. But there was very little to find, and no time to find it either. With the number of people around, the area needed to be cleaned up for safety reasons. But Tory, Ben, Hi and Shelton decided they were going to find the thief – somehow. Following the meagre clues they had, dodging security – could the Virals find the brazen thief before the day was over?
A thoroughly enjoyable Virals short story, I found the pace fast, the mystery intriguing, and the results satisfying. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
April 15, 2019
I have just finished Swipe and tomorrow hopefully ima start Exposure, and I'm really excited! My favvee part of this book was definitely when Hi was in that battle at the convention. WAS THE FUNNIEST THING I READ IN AGES! I mean I was shaking when Tori saw through Hi's EYES. I was sitting there and I was like. WHO. WHAT. WHEN. WHERE. WHY?????? But being me.... I'm overreacting
So, next time I will see you is when I have completed Exposure.
I really enjoyed this book and was really impressed with the storyline and I'm super excited to read Exposure next!
Thank you Kathy Reichs, for making Virals, Seizure, Shock, Shift, Code and now Swipe a great bookventure that I could become apart of
Sincerely
Nate
So, next time I will see you is when I have completed Exposure.
I really enjoyed this book and was really impressed with the storyline and I'm super excited to read Exposure next!
Thank you Kathy Reichs, for making Virals, Seizure, Shock, Shift, Code and now Swipe a great bookventure that I could become apart of
Sincerely
Nate
January 27, 2018
A very fun little escapade around Comic-Con. I mean, who could pass up the chance to solve the mystery of the missing Terminator prop, sneak backstage, LARP with swords and halberds, and then catch the perp via an epic chase. Even if it did mean missing the Bones panel ;)
My only disappointment was that it didn't really gel with the ending of the last book. Continuity-wise, I'd probably place this before Code, since so much went down at the end of it - not least of which was some major trust issues concerning Ben. So, while probably not 3.5, Swipe was still a really, really fun story packed with references, jokes, action, mystery, and general awesomeness.
My only disappointment was that it didn't really gel with the ending of the last book. Continuity-wise, I'd probably place this before Code, since so much went down at the end of it - not least of which was some major trust issues concerning Ben. So, while probably not 3.5, Swipe was still a really, really fun story packed with references, jokes, action, mystery, and general awesomeness.
February 2, 2020
Tory and her Viral friends accompany Dr. Temperance Brennan to Comic Con for a weekend of fun. But when a very expensive Terminator statue get stolen/ kidnapped Tory and her gang help Dr. Brennan investigating the crime scene. In the madness that is Comic Con, they have find the culprit before he can escape.
Another short story, with a very noticable detective vibe. There was a little discrepancy in the situation between Ben and Tory, as they're not speaking at the start of book 4 because of the events in book 3. Besides that is was very enjoyable.
Another short story, with a very noticable detective vibe. There was a little discrepancy in the situation between Ben and Tory, as they're not speaking at the start of book 4 because of the events in book 3. Besides that is was very enjoyable.
March 19, 2023
eponymous sentence:
p15: "Whatever got swiped was the focal point of that huge glass house."
This is a nice intermission after the events in Code but after reading a sneak preview of Exposure it would appear that Exposure is going to be a direct sequel. I don't know how Swipe would fit in.
p15: "Whatever got swiped was the focal point of that huge glass house."
This is a nice intermission after the events in Code but after reading a sneak preview of Exposure it would appear that Exposure is going to be a direct sequel. I don't know how Swipe would fit in.
August 1, 2016
Perhaps I'm finally growing out of this series but I really could not stand Tory in this.
I hate the idea of how being a nerd is a bad thing, and oh I love this show and I love that other thing but oh no how could you dreaam of accusing me of being a nerd?!!
Is this supposed to be targeted towards 'cool girls' who want to see that 'smart girls can be popular too' or something?? Because previously in this series Tory was clearly portrayed as the outcast nerd girl and it doesn't feel right for her to be genuinely against quote on quote geeking out about nerdy things, nor does her little comments about being distracted by Ben make any sense to me.
The story as a whole felt a little too unrealistic and like I KNOW that's the case with this sort of thing but this wasn't a because-we-have-powers-we-discovered-something-normal-police-missed, it was just plain wow-we-are-so-much-smarter-than-the-adults and everything together just made it not really a fun experience
I hate the idea of how being a nerd is a bad thing, and oh I love this show and I love that other thing but oh no how could you dreaam of accusing me of being a nerd?!!
Is this supposed to be targeted towards 'cool girls' who want to see that 'smart girls can be popular too' or something?? Because previously in this series Tory was clearly portrayed as the outcast nerd girl and it doesn't feel right for her to be genuinely against quote on quote geeking out about nerdy things, nor does her little comments about being distracted by Ben make any sense to me.
The story as a whole felt a little too unrealistic and like I KNOW that's the case with this sort of thing but this wasn't a because-we-have-powers-we-discovered-something-normal-police-missed, it was just plain wow-we-are-so-much-smarter-than-the-adults and everything together just made it not really a fun experience
April 11, 2015
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars
It's such a brilliant idea to have a little mystery cameo at Comic-Con, and while it might not have been the most thrilling or sophisticated I've read from Reichs, I have to say I did still really enjoy it. Definitely a fun little read, if slightly strange for the Virals world - but it is Comic-Con after all.
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars
It's such a brilliant idea to have a little mystery cameo at Comic-Con, and while it might not have been the most thrilling or sophisticated I've read from Reichs, I have to say I did still really enjoy it. Definitely a fun little read, if slightly strange for the Virals world - but it is Comic-Con after all.
July 1, 2020
Cute story about the Virals at a ComiCon event. However, it seems out of place as Virals 3.5 - Book Four (Exposure) makes no reference to their summer. In fact, in that book, Tory says she barely spoke to Ben all summer, yet they are on vacation in San Diego together? Still, a fun little side story with fun characters and an appearance by Tempe Brennan.
June 9, 2018
Loved this book, but I'm not sure that this book fits in the timeline as 3.5, since Tory's getting along fine with Ben in this book, but I don't know if it's before Code or after Exposure! Loved the mystery! Really great read!
April 11, 2023
This is a short story.
Comic-com. A stolen T-800 Terminator. I figured out where it was right away. Good story. Although the police and Temp were unable to figure anything out without Tory and her misfits. Unrealistic there.
I have never been to a Comic-Con but would like to go someday. Not to dress up but to see what others are wearing. Seen YouTube videos and it looks interesting.
Comic-com. A stolen T-800 Terminator. I figured out where it was right away. Good story. Although the police and Temp were unable to figure anything out without Tory and her misfits. Unrealistic there.
I have never been to a Comic-Con but would like to go someday. Not to dress up but to see what others are wearing. Seen YouTube videos and it looks interesting.
May 4, 2017
Greatest. Ready for another of Kathy's stories. I have always enjoyed reading her books. I wish I had all of them including all the stories of Dr. Brennan. I would always recommend her books to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries.
Greatest! Ready for another of Kathy's stories. I have always enjoyed reading the stories about Dr. Brennan. I have many in paperback.
Greatest! Ready for another of Kathy's stories. I have always enjoyed reading the stories about Dr. Brennan. I have many in paperback.
July 15, 2019
The wolf pack goes to Comic Con with aunt Tempe.
I think this could easily have been more amusing, but it’s ok for a short story, I guess. Looking forward to getting stuck into a full-length novel again, though. It’s time for Terminal.
I think this could easily have been more amusing, but it’s ok for a short story, I guess. Looking forward to getting stuck into a full-length novel again, though. It’s time for Terminal.
February 8, 2024
Hilarious short story. It really reminded me of Big Bang Theory because of the comic-con. But I would read this even without the mystery however the mystery is as good as usual, unexpected ending and interesting process as always.
February 25, 2025
This story felt vaguely familiar and I guessed a few of its plot points leaving me to wonder if I have read this novella before... But it has some entertaining moments and for a short story really isn't too bad though rather simple and had some inconsistencies to the wider series. 2.5⭐
September 28, 2017
Loved it as usual. Tori just keeps on truckin. Go girl!
January 30, 2018
Invincible
The kids are getting better with their skills. Stories are really enjoyable. Looking forward to the trial. I have no doubt the kids will put the killer in gaol for good
The kids are getting better with their skills. Stories are really enjoyable. Looking forward to the trial. I have no doubt the kids will put the killer in gaol for good
February 9, 2018
Fun! Really enjoyed this short story!
July 18, 2018
I love it 💛
August 12, 2018
This made me want to go to comi-con
August 21, 2018
Great YA series. I recommend the audiobooks too.
December 12, 2018
Cute story
Action packed. Enjoyed having Tempe appear in a viral story too bad she wasn't in more than what she appeared in this series as she supports the gang well
Action packed. Enjoyed having Tempe appear in a viral story too bad she wasn't in more than what she appeared in this series as she supports the gang well
June 12, 2019
Short, easy read
This book was a nice little trip to the comic Con world. I really enjoyed it. I hope the kids have more interactions with Aunt Tempe.
This book was a nice little trip to the comic Con world. I really enjoyed it. I hope the kids have more interactions with Aunt Tempe.
August 14, 2019
A quick, fast paced read. This time taking place at Comic-Con and featuring Dr. Temperance Brennan.
June 28, 2020
A modern who 'dunnit! If you like a good mystery this is the book for you.
January 31, 2021
5*
Good little short and good to see Tempe back. Even if just for a but. I miss her. But its good to see Tory following closely in her footsteps as well.
Good little short and good to see Tempe back. Even if just for a but. I miss her. But its good to see Tory following closely in her footsteps as well.
April 19, 2021
Good story.
What I don't get, in book 4 exposure Tory is till mad at Ben and they are not talking. But is Swipe book 3.5 there ain't any angry notions against each other 🤷
What I don't get, in book 4 exposure Tory is till mad at Ben and they are not talking. But is Swipe book 3.5 there ain't any angry notions against each other 🤷
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2021
Now that I understand this series a bit, it wasn't bad. Aimed at young Teens, I'm guessing
October 24, 2021
A short mystery where the main characters do a little traveling and meet up with Dr. Temperance Brennan at a conference and help solve a mystery.
Fun, quick, fast paced.
Fun, quick, fast paced.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews