Pandemic (The Extinction Files #1)by A.G. Riddle

Book Description:

Published: August 5, 2017

Format: Audio/Audible

Stars: 4

Around the world, a deadly outbreak spreads.

The CDC and WHO race to stop it, but they soon learn that this pandemic hides a dark secret. It may be the start of a scientific experiment that could alter the human race forever–and reveal a shocking truth about our future.

Experience the groundbreaking novel that will change everything you think you know about pandemics–and how to survive one.

“Reads like a superior collaboration between Dan Brown and Michael Crichton.”
—The Guardian

Now an Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

A hundred miles north of Alaska, a US Coast Guard vessel discovers a sunken submarine at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. It has no national identification and doesn’t match the records of any known vessel. Deep within, researchers find evidence of a scientific experiment that will rewrite our basic understanding of the human race.

In Atlanta, Dr. Peyton Shaw is awakened by the phone call she has dreaded for years. As the CDC’s leading epidemiologist, she’s among the first responders to outbreaks around the world. It’s a lonely and dangerous job, but it’s her life—and she’s good at it. This time, she may have met her match.

In Kenya, an Ebola-like pathogen has infected two Americans. One lies at death’s door. With the clock ticking, Peyton assembles her team and joins personnel from the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the WHO. What they find in the remote village is beyond their worst fears. As she traces the origin of the pathogen, Peyton begins to believe that there is more to this outbreak—that it may be merely the opening act in a conspiracy with far reaching consequences.

In Berlin, Desmond Hughes awakens in a hotel room with no memory of how he got there or who he is. On the floor, he finds a dead security guard from an international pharmaceutical company. His only clue leads him to Peyton Shaw—a woman who seems to know him, but refuses to tell him how. With the police searching the city for him, Desmond desperately tries to piece together what happened to him. To his shock and horror, he learns that he may be involved in causing the outbreak —and could hold the only key to stopping it.

As the pathogen spreads around the world, Peyton and Desmond race to unravel the conspiracy behind the pandemic—and uncover secrets some want to keep buried. With time running out, they face an unimaginable decision.

Review –

Pandemic is a fantastic book to listen to in audio. It’s so exciting and suspenseful. The narrator of any audiobook can make the story come alive. Edoardo Ballerini reads this one with his expected skill. Well known and very popular as a narrator, he takes you into the story from the start. You don’t think about the narration, it simply suits the story. Great voice for an easy listen, and his variation for the voices keeps each clear as you listen.

The story surprised me—in a good way. A great read/listen was expected, of course, but there is far more than a pandemic happening in the book. There is also a complex mystery surrounding Desmond, whose life is revealed in pieces as missing memories jolt back to him at unexpected moments.

He know he must learn the answers quickly, if he can survive long enough to find them.

His past and present intertwine with Peyton Shaw. Other players also have a past with him; Avery, rescuer or a plant? His partner Connor, old friend–or is he? The way the many paths connect in the past and the present is intriguing to watch.

It is a terrific novel. Book one, at least, is not so much apocalyptic as it is the mystery behind the spread of the new epidemic. There is far more behind this outbreak. The author has a wa  developing well defined characters and I appreciated how he revealed the past of the characters. First when Desmond tells of his loss of memory now, then in flashback, as he describes his difficult childhood to Peyton.

Fantastic read!

 

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf

Book Description:

Published: April 16, 2019

Format: Audio/OverDrive

Stars: 5

A gripping thriller about three young girlfriends, a dark obsession and a chilling crime that shakes up a quiet Iowa town, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence .

For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover–movies and Ouija and talking about boys. But when they decide to sneak out to go to the abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of town, little do they know that their innocent games will have dangerous consequences.

Later that night, Cora Landry is discovered on the tracks, bloody and clinging to life, her friends nowhere to be found. Soon their small rural town is thrust into a maelstrom. Who would want to hurt a young girl like Cora–and why? In an investigation that leaves no stone unturned, everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted–not even those closest to Cora.

Before She Was Found is a timely and gripping thriller about friendship and betrayal, about the power of social pressure and the price of needing to fit in. It is about the great lengths a parent will go to protect their child and keep them safe–even if that means burying the truth, no matter the cost.

Review –

After investigating a local urban legend, (which was assigned by a teacher )a twelve year old girl(in sixth grade) is brutally attacked in the author’s latest thriller.

Like nearly every almost teen, Cora struggles in middle school. She’s shy and sheltered and tries every day to navigate the stormy social seas of friendships and crushes, even within the small town of Pitch, Iowa.

When Violet and her family move to Pitch,  from New Mexico, she connects with Cora and helps her begin to come out of her shell, but this is complicated by the on-again, off-again presence of Queen of the Mean Girls, Jordyn. All three girls end up working together on a social studies project to explore the truth behind an urban legend; they choose to research the story of Joseph Wither, a boy supposedly responsible for the disappearances or deaths of several local high school students across the decades.

As they dig deeper into the mystery, Cora begins corresponding online with someone claiming to be Joseph, in a chatroom on a “not so safe” web site. She knows this could be dangerous, but when her classmates find out and mock her for believing in the legend, Cora decides to meet up with Joseph and prove them wrong.

The book opens with an assault and then slowly unravels the events leading up to that act of violence; also functioning as a mystery, it is not until the VERY end that the perpetrator is revealed. There are interesting layers of psychology at work here, but it can be exhausting inhabiting the world of these teenage girls, so concerned about appearances, so protective of their own secrets. 

There  are so many suspects and people of the town are visibly cautious of everyone they meet going about their daily routines. You almost have a notepad handy to keep track of all the twists and turns as the end approaches, and they will blow you away. THE ENDING!!! That’s all I’m going to say.

It is so timely, dealing with bff’s, jealousy, cliques, wanting to so badly to belong, bullying many more things that young girls of today come across on a daily basis.   

This is one book that you HAVE to read!.

Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline

Book Description:

Published: April 14, 2015

Dr. Eric Parrish is the Chief of the Psychiatric Unit at Havemeyer General Hospital outside of Philadelphia. Recently separated from his wife Alice, he is doing his best as a single Dad to his seven-year-old daughter Hannah. His work seems to be going better than his home life, however. His unit at the hospital has just been named number two in the country and Eric has a devoted staff of doctors and nurses who are as caring as Eric is. But when he takes on a new patient, Eric’s entire world begins to crumble. Seventeen-year-old Max has a terminally ill grandmother and is having trouble handling it. That, plus his OCD and violent thoughts about a girl he likes makes Max a high risk patient. Max can’t turn off the mental rituals he needs to perform every fifteen minutes that keep him calm. With the pressure mounting, Max just might reach the breaking point. When the girl is found murdered, Max is nowhere to be found. Worried about Max, Eric goes looking for him and puts himself in danger of being seen as a “person of interest” himself. Next, one of his own staff turns on him in a trumped up charge of sexual harassment. Is this chaos all random? Or is someone systematically trying to destroy Eric’s life?

New York Times best selling author Lisa Scottoline’s visceral thriller, Every Fifteen Minutes,brings you into the grip of a true sociopath and shows you how, in the quest to survive such ruthlessness, every minute counts.

Review –

Great story line and had me hooked from the beginning. I thought I knew who the sociopath was but I was wrong and I love it when that happens because that means the story was not as predictable as I had first thought. I had the audio version and the only thing that kept it from getting a five-star rating was the narrator. He was bland and  I thought  he needed more emotion in his speech.

Great read, be sure and give it a try.

 

On Call: An Original Short Story by Michael Palmer

Book Description:

Publication Date:October 16, 2012

An original ebook short story from Bestselling thriller author Michael Palmer featuring Dr. Lou Welcome in his first crime-solving role: a murder at his medical school for which he is a person of interest. Working with a classmate—and fellow suspect—Dr. Welcome soon discovers that the circumstances behind this tragedy aren’t exactly like they seem. This story includes the prologue and first chapter of the new Dr. Lou Welcome book POLITICAL SUICIDE, on sale January 8th, 2013. [Word Count: 9,303, Approximate Pages: 40]

Review –

Although I am new to the reading of Michael Palmer, I have come to like the character of Gabe Singleton and since he is included in this short story I had to read it.

Mr. Palmer did not let me down.  Though short the story held my interest and left me want ing more.

I will continue to read Michael Palmer and suggest that if you like books by Robin Cook, to give this one a try.

The First Patient by Michael Palmer

Book Description

Release date: February 19, 2008

From the blockbuster, New York Times bestselling author comes a high-concept, high-octane thriller at the crossroads of presidential politics and cutting-edge medicine. . . .

Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval Academy in Annapolis years ago. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of the United States. One day, while the United States is embroiled in a bitter presidential election campaign, Marine One lands on Gabe’s Wyoming ranch, and President Stoddard delivers a disturbing revelation and a startling request. His personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, and he desperately needs Gabe to take the man’s place. Despite serious misgivings, Gabe agrees to come to Washington. It is not until he is ensconced in the White House medical office that Gabe realizes there is strong evidence that the President is going insane. Facing a crisis of conscience—as President Stoddard’s physician, he has the power to invoke the Twenty-fifth Amendment to transfer presidential power to the Vice President—Gabe uncovers increasing evidence that his friend’s condition may not be due to natural causes.

Who? Why? And how? The President’s life is at stake. A small-town doctor suddenly finds himself in the most powerful position on earth, and the safety of the world is in jeopardy. Gabe Singleton must find the answers, and the clock is ticking. . . .

With Michael Palmer’s trademark medical details, and steeped in meticulous political insider knowledge

 

 

Review –

This was my first reading/listening of a Michael Palmer book and I think I have found another favorite author, although it may take a couple more books to make sure.

I loved the characters in this storyline, especially Gabe Singleton and the interaction between him and the other primary players. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat ( I listened to this in my car) and I hated to see it come to an end.

I don’t know if any other Michael Palmer books have Gabe Singleton as a charcter but if not there should be. He sold me.

 

Coma by Robin Cook

Product Description:

Original publication date: 1977

They called it “minor surgery,” but Nancy Greenly, Sean Berman, and a dozen others—all admitted to Boston Memorial Hospital for routine procedures were victims of the same inexplicable, hideous tragedy on the operating table. They never woke up. . . .

Review –

I read this book many many years ago but when I heard that it would be televised as a mini series I just HAD to read it again and it was even better the second time around.  The storyline is gripping and makes you hope you NEVER have to check into a hospital. 

The mini series was done well but you just can’t beat a good book.

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Harvest by Tess Gerritson

 

 

 

Product Description:

Boston’s Bayside Hospital is a long way from Dr. Abby DiMatteo’s humble roots, and she’s elated when their elite cardiac transplant team taps her as a potential recruit. But an anguished, life-and-death decision soon jeopardizes her entire career. She and chief resident Vivian Chao boldly direct a crash victim’s harvested heart to a dying seventeen-year-old boy-instead of the wealthy forty-six-year-old woman to whom the hospital had cross-matched it. The repercussions cost Dr. Chao her job, and leave Abby shaken.

Then a new heart suddenly appears, the woman’s transplant is completed, and Abby makes a terrible discovery. The donor records have been falsified-the new heart has not come through the proper channels. Defying Bayside Hospital’s demands for silence, Abby and Vivian plunge into an investigation that reveals a lethal unthinkable conspiracy. Every move Abby makes spawns a vicious backlash…and on a ship anchored in the waters of Boston Harbor, a final, grisly discovery lies waiting.

 

Review –

Another great medical thriller by Tess Gerritson that had me hooked from the very beginning and wouldn’t let me go until the end.  Makes me want to stay far far away from doctors and hospitals.  If you like books of this genre give this one a try and see what I mean.

 

 

Small Towns Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton

Product Description

Tucked into the mountains and valleys of northern New Mexico are the hidden towns, little enclaves of history and tradition–and secrets.It is to one of these towns, Valle Escondido, that Charlie and her office assistant Sally Bertrand go for a July 4 weekend getaway. But almost immediately after their arrival they receive upsetting news and suddenly Charlie has a new mystery to solve.

Meanwhile, Drake Langston, the handsome helicopter pilot that Charlie met in Hawaii (Vacations Can Be Murder) is still in her life. He’s coming to New Mexico for a visit, with the idea that he might convince her to move to Hawaii rather than continuing a long-distance relationship.

The plots intertwine and Charlie finds herself sifting through the clues to discover the hideous secrets harbored in Valle Escondido, while she wrestles with the decisions about her personal life as well.

 

 

Review –

 

After reading this, the fourth in the series of the Charlie Parker Mysteries, I want to go find the nearest Bed and Breakfast and check in for a few days and curl up the read the next installment.

Yellow Pages for Bed and Breakfasts here I come.

 

These stories just keep getting better and better!