The Red Lotus

 The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian   400 pages

He writes! He scores!  Author Chris Bohjalian hits another one out of the park!

In his twenty-second novel, Bohjalian writes of deadly pathogens that seem to mirror today’s daily headlines. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that he had a crystal ball that told him about the Coronavirus. It takes too long to research, write and publish a book that is somewhat related to the pandemic that has its grip on the world.

Anyway, in this taut thriller, Bohjalian takes us to Vietnam. Alexis and her new boyfriend, Austin Harper, are on a bicycle tour of the country.  Austin takes off alone one day near the end of the tour, supposedly in search of where his uncle was killed and his dad injured in to pay his respects. Alexis, an emergency room in New York City, begins to panic after several hours have passed since he was to return.

Other than the touring company and the people who have been riding alongside Alexis and Austin, no one is that concerned….at first. As the hours creep by, Alexis gets more frantic and begins to search. The police are not helpful and the Consulate doesn’t seem to have time….neither do Austin’s parents, who don’t return Alexis’ calls.

While Alexis is searching, Bohjalian turns the narrator’s attention to Austin, giving readers some insight as to what is happening with him. 

While searching, Alexis finds Austin’s energy gel packs lying on the roadside. It seems these little, innocuous packets---the size of a fast-food ketchup packet---contain a deadly pathogen that makes the Coronavirus seem like a bout of hay fever.

I didn’t always get the science behind the pathogens, but thankfully, Bohjalian provides only what is necessary to the story.  Other who get it, will appreciate the second-layer of depth he delves into.  But that didn’t stop me from loving this novel.

And now the sad part returns---waiting on the next Bohjalian novel.  Normally I would give a book I liked this much six stars, but due to the science, “The Red Lotus” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.