Deep beneath the glacial ice of Antartica is a lake like no one has ever seen before. Three kilometers beneath the cold, desolate surface is an enormous, icy cavern housing a body of water the size of Lake Michigan, a lake of the purest water on earth. It's never been touched by human pollution, and it could contain a host of microscopic life unseen by human eyes. A small team of scientists have worked extensively to tap it, and now they are poised to discover the lake's secrets.

5 weeks later, an outbreak of a deadly prion disease commonly known as Mad Cow Disease kills 3 people in France, and Noah Haldane is sent in to try to contain the epidemic. Unfortunately this is not a normal outbreak of BSE, a it is spreading to humans in a much higher percentage than it normally would and seems to be killing them at an alarming pace. Needless to say, this is not going to be a walk-in-the-park investigation for Mr. Haldane.

I liked Cold Plague, but it was a little slow at first and took a while to really hook me. I also had a hard time keeping some of the minor characters straight, for example the two farmers (and their wives) kept running together in my head. It's most likely a result of the French names, however, so that's probably my own fault.

Anyway, the book was satisfactory and I'll most likely read anything else in the series if Kalla has any interest in continuing it. I won't be waiting on the edge of my seat for it, but if I see it in a public library I'll probably pick it up. ( )