What a Wonderful World by Dennis Bailey

A plague of anomalies sets in motion a biological maelstrom on Earth, prompting three strangers to join forces and embark on a sometimes perilous journey to discover whether these things have their basis in science or originate from the realm of the supernatural. When ecologist Brandon Foxworth notices something strange happening around his rural home—the fireflies stop illuminating, the birds disappear, and the animals go silent—he teams up with Taylor Grant, a reporter for the Richmond Herald, to get to the bottom of the mystery. Together, they search for a scientific explanation, but after multiple tests, they still can't prove any physical causes to the wildlife's decay. The government blames global warming, but Grant and Foxworth suspect that's not the whole truth. Eventually, the two men connect with Bible scholar Marcy Cambridge, who shares some convincing scripture aligning with the recent events, but neither are sold on the spiritual side to the phenomenon. Still, the three team up to investigate, eventually landing them in the sights of a group that offers bribe money to skew their findings, then later threats of violence, putting their lives and the lives of their loved ones at risk. Bailey delivers a slow burn as this layered science fiction unravels more devastating changes on Earth: the sky and the ocean lose their blue pigmentation, plants die, and a drought threatens mass hysteria. As panic sets in worldwide, the three central characters must each rely on their areas of expertise to find answers. Will they uncover the truth before being silenced by the forces aligned against them?