The Curse of the Crystal Kuatzin

Fifteen-year-old amateur scientist Jason Hirley just received his inheritance: a family curse threatening to wipe out humanity. As heirlooms go, this one sucks.

Jason's ancestor, naturalist James Hirley, stole a crystal bird from an Amazonian edifice mound. His crime was punished with a terrible prophecy: the world will reel under a devastating illness unless his descendants return the crystal to its rightful place.

One hundred and fifty years later, the prophecy comes to pass. Spread by exotic bird smuggling, Arara fever is on the verge of reaching pandemic levels. Those infected die gruesome, painful deaths.

Jason and his family have a chance to find a cure for Arara, presuming they can find the edifice mound lost deep in the Amazon jungle.

Standing in Jason's way is self-centered Cockney thief Roly, who possesses James Hirley's only surviving map. Roly's not interested in saving the world, only in money, as are the pharmaceutical company thugs who see an Arara cure as a goldmine.

Other than these obstacles, all that lies between Jason and breaking the curse are several hundred miles of dense Amazonian jungle. Yeah, ending "The Curse of the Crystal Kuatzin" should be a snap. . . .