We All Fall Down

Michael Kelly #4

by Michael Harvey

Chicago cop turned private investigator Michael Kelly is racing to save his city from a deadly new a biological weapon unleashed underground.When a lightbulb falls in a subway tunnel, it releases a pathogen that could kill millions. While the mayor postures, people begin to die, especially on the city’s grim West Side. Hospitals become morgues. L trains are converted into rolling hearses. Finally, the government acts, sealing off entire sections of the city—but are they keeping people out or in? Meanwhile, Michael Kelly’s hunt for the people who poisoned his city takes him into the tangled underworld of Chicago’s West Side gangs and the even more frightening world of black biology—an elite discipline emerging from the nation’s premier labs, where scientists play God and will stop at nothing to preserve their secrecy.It’s a brave new world . . . and the most audacious page-turner yet from an emerging modern master.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Audiobook

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2011

About the author

Michael is the best-selling author of seven crime novels, The Chicago Way, The Fifth Floor, The Third Rail, We All Fall Down, The Innocence Game, The Governor’s Wife and Brighton, scheduled for release in June of 2016. Film rights to Brighton, a stand-alone thriller set in Michael’s hometown of Boston, were recently optioned by Graham King, producer of The Departed and The Town.

Michael is also an investigative reporter, documentary producer and co-creator, producer and executive producer of A&E’s groundbreaking forensic series, Cold Case Files.

Michael’s investigative journalism and documentary work has won multiple news Emmys and CableACE awards, numerous national and international film festival awards, a CINE Golden Eagle, two Prime-Time Emmy nominations, as well as an Academy Award nomination. Michael was also selected by the Chicago Tribune as Chicagoan of the Year in Literature for 2011.

Michael holds a bachelors degree, magna cum laude with honors, in classical languages from Holy Cross College, a law degree with honors from Duke University and a masters degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Michael is currently an adjunct professor at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

Michael was born in Boston and lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

За мен, безспорно това е най-добрия роман от поредицата до сега!

Събитията продължават след края на "Свидетелят от влака", но криминалната интрига преминава във високооктанов трилър, за един от най-големите страхове на съвремието ни - използването на биологическо оръжие. Употребата му за користни цели, макар да не може да се контролира или да се предположи, как ще действа пуснато на воля, е просто ужасяващо и фантазията на читателя може да се развихри.

Харви се е справил превъзходно и да си призная, започнах да се кефя на кмета на Чикаго - голям играч е, па макар и завършен мерзавец!

Следват обрати, корупция и мърсотия на всякакви нива, както и обикновенните човешки грехове - алчност и завист, те правят тази книга неприятно реална.

P.S. И аз като Кели оценявам по достойнство хубавия бърбън - "Ноб Крийк" е чудесен избор.

[RandomAnthony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Harvey's We All Fall Down traffics in the “tough, gritty Chicago” sales pitch. If the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hadn't reviewed this novel positively and/or the book was set somewhere other than my hometown I doubt I would have requested a library copy. Still, We All Fall Down and I met at an ideal time and the book served me well. A doctor instructed me to sit on the couch all day Saturday because I'm apparently unable to self-diagnose dehydration. In turn I read this novel between about 1PM and 8PM without trying that hard. So, if I were to give a back-cover blurb for We All Fall Down, I'd say “perfect for bedrest and long flights when you don't want to think too much.”

Harvey engages the plot 100 words into the text. He adopts a Pulp Fiction-esque overlapping-scenario-headed-toward-intersection strategy but if you analyze the elements too much you can see where Harvey took some logical leaps convenient to advancing the novel but far-fetched beyond even what a generous reader would consider reasonable. The main character (I've already forgotten his name) is the typical grizzled ex-cop with connections. The romance he develops with another character seems forced and unnecessary. But the audacity of organizing a novel around the idea that a bio-weapon requires the quarantine of the Chicago's west side carries the book on its shoulders and leads to some interesting details about how a chemical attack might play out. And like I said, I read this book in seven hours in-between meals, ice cream, and checking baseball scores. If you need a book for a stretch like that, and you're into that whole corrupt Chicago thing, We All Fall Down fits the bill. Within six months, when I see this book on the spinning airport rack with one of those scary capital letter fonts (I'm thinking red on black) and maybe a skyline cut into the paper so the cover is actually two pages, I will probably have forgotten everything about the novel except the Chicago setting and the bio-weapon thing. That's ok. I wasn't bored while sick on the couch, and that's worth something.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth adventure of Chicago PI Michael Kelly. The story opens up with Michael, and particularly his girlfriend, recovering from what transpired in the previous book, The Third Rail. Unfortunately the “ticking time-bomb” from a month earlier – and the previous book – explodes. The “time-bomb” in this case is a biological pathogen filled light-bulb in the Chicago subway system. And before the reader can say “James Bond”, civilian Michael Kelly is drafted by the Mayor and Homeland Security to save his city and the day.

This last bit – Kelly tackling bio-terrorism - is one of several instances where the reader needs to suspend disbelief and go with the flow to enjoy this book. For the good news is if you just hold on, We All Fall Down is a great roller-coaster ride of a read; a combination sci-fi Armageddon adventure/espionage thriller/whodunit told with a Chandler-esque cynicism. (Walking into a corner dive Kelly notes it “smells of Vaseline and earwax” - An olfactory sensation/observation not of the norm, nor one I am familiar with.) So if you’re looking for a fun, witty, action-packed “summer” read – We All Fall Down fits the bill.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bio weapons, drugs and dirty cops is the mode of operandi in this story. There is some really insightful and scary topics covered in this story. The writing style works good for this made for film style of story. I would have liked more character development in this story and some more charge of thrill. As I write this I have a temperature and just come off emptying out my dinner, flu symptoms I don't know but after reading this story I might need to get checked out. I never liked the closeness of the underground and before my dinner made a journey to the bookstore to buy this book. I hope that it is not my last days!
(my flu and underground is only fiction so don't panic)

"The Canary can identify thirty different pathogens within three minutes of their release, including anthrax, plague, small pox, tularemia, and E. coli."

" Nanotubes are specially constructed carbon molecules that make up the hardest and most flexible substance known to man. Can't be seen with the naked eye and have all sorts of interesting applications. In this case, the aerosol foam delivers a constellation of nanotubes that have been chemically bonded to molecules of simple carbohydrates-sugars."

" 'Stealth?'
' The pathogen lies dormant in the body until it's triggered by some external event. Like the herpes virus is triggered by stress."

"Piezoelectric nanofibers capable of storing kinetic energy generated by the human body. When woven into a shirt or pair of pants, they turned the garment into a portable battery pack, charging up a cell phone, radio, PDA-anything you might carry in your pocket."


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[John Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a disappointment as I've really enjoyed the previous books in the Michael Kelly series and while there is enough in this one to keep me waiting for number 5 but ...... there should be more than that. Opening chapters rely too much on you appreciating who the characters are and their roles from preceding book. The pace does pick up at the end for a dramatic conclusion but the inclusion of an ex-cop PI in the middle of a nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) attack just jars from the outset I guess and never adequately convinces. The parts that work best for me are the interplay between the mayor & Kelly and also between Kelly and Rodriquez and these work best with a local slant and when you start getting into NBC, Homeland Security & martial law you just wonder how easy it is for Kelly to walk around the quarantine zone. Maybe I was slow to spot the connections but maybe this would have worked best as an out and out conspiracy thriller rather than a whodunnit that morphs into a conspiracy. Won't exactly set the world alight with this one but Michael Harvey is a good writer and even a relatively poor entry from him is still probably better than a lot of the other junk out there.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Kelley, private investigator, gets caught up in a major biohazard event in Chicago. This book may be the only p.i. novel to deal with what might happen if someone released a deadly toxin in an urban setting. And Kelley is a perfect central character because he is pretty much fearless yet smart enough and connected enough to go where most investigators wouldn't go. "We All Fall Down" is the fourth book in a five-book series that is realistically rooted in Chicago. It is my favorite p.i. series.

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 5 out of 5]

Няма какво да не им харесаш на романите от серията за частния детектив Майкъл Кели - динамични криминални сюжети, развиващи се на фона на политически и властови машинации, с вплетени и малко по-щекотливи теми... Четвъртият роман почна оттам, където свърши Свидетелят от влака, а в центъра на интригата бе смъртоносен биологичен агент, изпуснат в Чикагското метро. Смятам, досещате се, че устатият ирландец не се спря, докато не откри кой стои в основата на зловещия терористичен акт...

[Marsha Valance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maverick Chicago PI Michael Kelly is an insider who has worked with & against the city's power brokers. In his latest case, those unlikely credentials make him the perfect man for a job no sane person would want--security for bioscientists trying to contain the release of a deadly WMD on the Blue Line. As the body count grows, and Chicago's West Side becomes a fenced-in death camp, Kelly copes with greedy mayoral minions, Homeland Security goons, various gangbangers & Mob capos, trying to nail who's responsible for the attack. Vivid setting but not credible plotting.

[Mary Welk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Harvey is a Chicago author of political suspense novels. Several years ago I read his book The Fifth Floor, a chiller involving shenanigans dreamed up in the fifth floor office of the mayor of Chicago that led to murder and mayhem on the streets of the city. This year I bought We All Fall Down, a 2012 release by Harvey. This latest in his Michael Kelly, P.I. series deals with bio-terrorism and black biology. I loved The Fifth Floor, so I couldn't wait to start reading this new book. I have to tell you, I was not disappointed.

Kelly is an ex-cop turned P.I. with links to both the Chicago Police Department and the mayor's office. He's not surprised when he gets called in by Homeland Security on a case that could potentially affect the entire city, to say nothing of the career of Mayor Wilson. Someone has released a deadly pathogen in a subway tunnel, and so far three are dead and dozens more are deathly ill in multiple downtown hospitals. While two scientists from a Department of Defense lab work to identify the pathogen, Kelly teams up with CPD Detective Vince Rodriguez and reporter Rita Alverez to discover who is behind the attack.

Information supplied by Alvarez leads Kelly to a grocery store owned by Korean immigrant Jae Lee, then to Ray Ray Sampson, leader of a West Side gang called the Four Corner Stars, and ultimately to a band of rogue cops who are supplying both Lee and the "Fours" with illegal drugs confiscated by the CPD. The action ratchets up a notch when the feds impose a quarantine on the most affected section of the city. With bodies piling up in hospital morgues in every increasing numbers, Kelly knows there's precious little time left to find the person behind the attack. It's time to pull out all the stops, even if it means putting his own life on the line in the quarantine zone.

Well written and well edited, this nail biter of a yarn kept me reading into the wee hours of the night and beyond. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the book -- characters, plot, setting, pacing, you name it. This is how suspense should be written, tightly worded and with that roller coaster pace that never lets you relax for more than a few minutes at a time. I highly recommend this book for lovers of thrills, chills, and realistic plots built on the news of the day. It's way too good a story to miss.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

We All Fall Down, as in Michael Harvey's previous Michael Kelly novels, is set in Chicago and has as many twists in the plot as Lake Shore Drive. I grew up in Indiana near Chicago and enjoy reading books that take place there. Unlike novels that are set in New York, San Francisco or London, when Harvey references the Ike, Grant Park or the United Center, I have a feel for the place. Harvey also expresses the general feel of Chicago that residents and others familiar with Chicago will relate to. Harvey's Chicago has the same crime, corruption, politics and problems that the real Chicago has.

Harvey's Kelly novels are hard to pigeon hole as to the mystery genre sub-set. I would characterize them as partly hard-boiled detective and partly noir. Kelly is dogged in his pursuit of the malefactor and is not unwilling to administer his version of justice without the bother of a jury trial. And that justice can be permanent and terminal. At times, the general mood of the novels can have a noir undercurrent of bleakness compounded with the stench of corruption. Fortunately, Harvey does not trowel it on but lightly dabs it on as a woman would perfume. The refreshing part of the Kelly series is that although he gets involved with the various unpleasant aspects of Chicago, he is still able to lead a moderately normal life.

In We All Fall Down, Chicago is beset with biological terrorism and Kelly is coerced into providing security and assistance to the company tasked with countering the biological attack. Before long things go from bad to worse on the terrorism front for Kelly. Throw in some gang-banger drug dealers, dirty cops and some good old Chicago-style corruption and you have the recipe for a fun read. This novel is populated with the usual cast of characters that have both simplified and troubled Kelly's previous exploits and they once again do both. With We All Fall Down the reader should be prepared for as many twists and turns as the riders of "The Bobs" roller coaster at Riverview Park once did.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Blue Line train in Chicago is going faster than it should. The vibrations from the train's passage rattles the rails and causes a light bulb to loosen and fall. Soon, people begin to get sick and die.

P.I. Michael Kelly is called in and asked to help with security as it's determined that there could be a threat of a biological weapon in the Chicago railway system.

The Dept. of Homeland Security is on hand and when the number of deaths mount, they decide to quarantine part of the city. This gives some criminals the opportunity to rid themselves of their rivals. Looting and burning of buildings begin.

It is easy for the reader to immerse themselves into this fearful setting. The action is realistically portrayed and not having time to think of alternatives, the story flows dramatically.

Dr. Ellen Brazile leads the charge in attempting to identify the pathogen and develop a vaccine while Mike searches for the person who set this biological killer in motion.

The story is enjoyable and shows that the author knows how to put together a tense, well-plotted novel.

[Andre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of the four novels Michael Harvey has written about Michael Kelly, PI, We All Fall Down was the least enjoyable. It’s still fairly enjoyable, though. It’s just not very good. But that’s OK; “good” isn’t really what you’re looking for when you read a Michael Kelly story. These novels are about the gritty, tough Chicago of stereotypes: tough cops, criminal cops, corrupt politicians, drugs, guns, and sex.

We All Fall Down picks up an open piece of the plot of the previous book, The Third Rail. The seeds were there for a very interesting story of madmen and bioterrorism. Instead, we got a far-fetched tale of science fiction that was neither suspenseful nor intriguing. That was neither what I wanted nor what we had been conditioned to expect from Harvey.

Again, it’s not bad, but it’s not at all what I wanted. I’ll continue to read the series, but I was highly disappointed in this installment.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ignore the book jacket blurb that references Michael Connelly, this series resembles a more noir Paretsky more than anything and not just because of the Chicago angle.

The setting was intense, the plot interesting, the noir-patterns intact...I just didn't enjoy it as much as the previous entries in the series.

I think--considering the plot and prose was on par with the earlier books--that it's me this time. I've grown weary of the one-dimensional depictions of African-Americans as gang thugs. In a genre that relies on cliches, sure, stereotypes will repeat and run rampant, but the stock black gang member is such an outrageous yet mundane caricature, I want to see it disappear. Replace it with actual characters instead of exploited plot devices.

What was I saying? It ain't me after all, but lazy writers!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Michael Harvey read - short chapters, fast-moving plot. A lightbulb that could be filled with anthrax falls in the subway, and the city and feds move quickly to contain any possible threat. Yet people with mysterious symptoms start showing up in the hospitals and dying. The death tolls mount, the scientists try to uncover the threat and discover a vaccine ... yet everything is not quite as it seems. Harvey does a good job of explaining the bioterrorism aspects of this book in a way that's easy to understand, and, as always, he has a tight handle on the culture of Chicago and its seamier underside.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame. I am reminded as to why I don't like most mysteries/thrillers. I thought this one would be good because of the Chicago setting but no. Loose the local brand-name dropping and neighborhood names and this could be Anycity, USA. I remember thinking to myself, okay now it's finally getting to the meat of the story when I realized there was only 1 disc left of the audiobook. Lots of build up to nothing but a fizzle. Also really didn't help that the narrator spoke oddly, like Captain Kirk with stunted sentences and misplaced dramatic pauses but also something else, maybe a poor Clint Eastwood impression? I don't know. The whole book felt like it was just trying too hard.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Harvey just keeps ratcheting up the tension in each successive novel about Michael Kelly and the underbelly of the city of Chicago. Bio-terrorism is at the core of this story, fulfilling the promise made in The Third Rail. The suspense is first rate and grittiness level is so fresh. Perhaps the recent TV show "The Chicago Code" will bring more readers to this. The show and this novel come from a similar ethos.

[J.B. Siewers · Rating 4 out of 5]

fast paced, eye opener on the black biological front, but not to technical. Holes in the story almost ruin the gig, but "don't look to hard and ye shall find pleasure" J Siewers 2018

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice effort (book 4 0f 5) by Michael Harvey - in the series on Michael Kelly private investigator. This tale was a strong effort but actually got a bit confusing right at the end - there are so many things going on and Harvey has brought in the Feds along with the local authorities that it is sometimes hard to keep everything straight. Neat tale in any event.

Once again a page turner, and once again a one day read. As in the other books in the series, the author ties in many scenes to commonplace/contemporary Chicago locations. The whole story for that matter is constructed around events that happen in the Chicago Transit Authority subway...and the event is something that actually could happen.

I like the series and I like the main character (PI Michael Kelly), and I will finish the 5 books. We'll see if he can sustain the energy. Three stars, buts still worth the read. (less)

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit that I've not read any of the others in this series and entering at book four I definitely felt that there were some intricacies that I knew I was missing, however it didn't really impact the overall story line. The pace is good and this thriller is a fun book to read. Reminiscent of Dennis Lehane style, though not as sophisticated or tight, the repartee between characters is enjoyable. Parts of this were a tad grisly but that added to the grit of the story. Fun beach read, probably a fun series.

[Don Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3). It is always nice to spend some time with Michael Kelly. It is a shame that Michael Harvey has moved on from this franchise. In this installment, Kelly is once again, the most connected bad ass, intuitive and resourceful PI on the planet. And the plot line has an incredible sense of urgency, forcing Kelly to wander outside of all the normal lines. Lots of action, excitement and fun. Good stuff.

[Araych · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Kelly #4, Recommend reading series in order. This story begins immediately after the end of the previous book in the series which can be disconcerting unless you just finished reading that one. The plot revolves around a biological weapon attack in Chicago. I was never able to believe in the plot of this thriller or a lot of the actions of the characters. My opinion is this is the weakest of the series so far. 2 stars.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

a continuation of 'The Third Rail' with a better plot... i just love Harvey's style... rough and tumble, no-holds barred, punch in the face pacing... complex plots that make sense but don't try too hard or stretch believability... a timely thesis on how the best laid plans are never good enough... history is written by the winners, who aren't so easily defined...

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bioterrorism. Good thing that Michael Kelly had a lot of folks watching his back. The most frightening part of the book was in the author's afterword: our country doesn't have a plan in place for a bioterrorism attack?

[Jim Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

As two stars says, it was ok. I think I'll read something other than Michael Harvey next. This book was good but the plot was far-fetched. Maybe my feelings come with reading to much of the same author.

[Becky Levin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Practically incomprehensible and full of racist stereotypes. And while I’ve inflated ratings for previous books in the series a little bit for good Chicago geography, this one gets knocked down for repeatedly referring to Cook County Hospital as “Cook.” Huh?

[JEFFREY D. HARRIS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a Chicago-based mystery thriller and I came across this author and his series. I really enjoyed this page turner about a bioweapon released on Chicago’s west side. This was an entertaining read, exactly what I was looking for.

[Marcus]

Always a guilty pleasure to read a tough-guy mystery set in Chicago. It follows the Phillip Marlowe mold in a 21st century world with locales and icons that I recognize. I'm always daring to visit some of the seedier spots where the action happens.

[Donald Peschken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of different characters and plots going on in this book but I the end they were all tied together in a neat package. Well written book which had me thinking of the covid pandemic.
Well done Michael Harvey.

[Ncsherman · Rating 1 out of 5]

After my first Michael Harvey book.
, I thought I would really like to read more of his work. This book goes
Before the one I read. THIS book was brutal, had gangs,drugs,
Brutality, and corruption. I did NOT like it at all and could not finish
Reading it.

[Cyvil B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read with a broad cast of characters. twist throughout the story.