Following a distress call from the state police, Dr. Edward Neil and his team from the Centers for Disease Control enter the small town of Hartworth, Montana. Immediately they encounter a man in a pickup truck holding a quarantine post. His body decimated by a disease like they have never seen. The entire town, population a little under a thousand … dead. Men, women and children. The unknown germ hit so fast, the town did not stand a chance of survival. But it didn’t hit so fast that they couldn’t shut down and protect others from what they had.It is a race against the clock. Not only must Edward Neil discover what wiped out the small town in just a couple days, he needs to determine if it crossed boundaries. The germ is strong, contagious, deadly and fast. If it escaped Hartworth, humanity could very well face an extinction level event.Author Jacqueline Druga, recently appeared on the History Channel as an authority on terrorism and germ warfare. She discussed the topic of this book on Brad Meltzer, 2012: The End is Now.
It was created during the Cold War by Russia and then forgotten about by most people. But now the virus is out and the world will never be the same. Well written story that is scary because you can easily imagine it happening, the characters are interesting and I cheered and cried for the fate that befell them. I really liked this book.
Oh, this was a good book. I listened to the audiobook version read by Andrew Wehrlen who has a distinct reading style that I enjoyed.
Druga employed a double timeline between the present as the CDC is attempting to discover how the town was killed and about 2 weeks in the past describing the events leading to the current conditions in the town. Eventually, the two timelines merge and it is clear that humanity is in deep trouble.
Druga really developed the different characters including a dead-beat dad rock star, a brilliant man who is labeled the town idiot because of his stuttering, and a prepper-obsessed woman dedicated to her daughter and grandson who would do anything to keep them safe. I got attached to these people as they developed through the story.
This book was more graphic than her typical book, particularly in describing the symptoms of the disease.
The ending, in my mind, was satisfying and a bit more realistic in terms of what one would expect from an extinction-level event and its impact on the world. I can't help but enjoy her books. Since I listened to the audiobook, I was spared the typical typographical errors Druga is known for.
This is a very interesting tell of a virus that was released by accident this was a virus created in Russia but when the iron curtain fell the scientists who created warfare biological virus were released. One scientist came to America to live and be a country doctor in Montana. Only the sheriff, his family and the doctor knew that doctor had brought a virus that he had created in Russia. Thinking he could keep it safe and away from anyone who might use by terrorist but he is mistaken his son finds the viles and broke one by accident. From that accident two towns are wiped out and people are dropping dead and gettingb sicker so the sheriff quarantines the town thinking it will contain the virus but it does not. The main storyline is the day by day of the spread of the virus through the US and then to the rest of world. Also you take a trip on how this virus effects town, governments, people and at the end it shows from the ashes of civilization there is always a new and maybe a better world.
This was a very interesting book about a very scary engineered virus. There were some editing issues (ex.-decreased family members instead of deceased and 'Andy facially ridiculed'). I had a little trouble with the doctor who had carried the virus with him from Russia. Obviously his goal was to prevent bad guys from getting a hold of it and he had some vaccine for himself and a few people who he needed to help him secretly store the substance. It didn't seem too realistic that he would vaccinate the sheriff's nephew instead of his own son. While may not have been possible for him to make more vaccine, perhaps he could have kept notes on it to aid researchers in the future. Emma was a bit overly crazy for my taste, but I like Stew and especially Andy a lot and found him to be a very good character. The ending might have been a little rushed but overall I enjoyed this book very much.
A disturbing portrayal of something that is all too realistic. If you are doubtful about how realistic this might be, then just do a search in the internet for 'Ebolapox' and you will find loads of commentary (some from reasonably respectable sources).
Up until about half way the author had me fooled, as I thought was going to get an well-edited read. But the second half did not disappoint with numerous instances of slopping editing. Nevertheless, if you are reading this author you will be used to that, it does not impact the reading materially and is arguably worth bearing with given the imagination and quality of the story.
Another hit for Ms. Drugs. A very unique plot, that started out one way nut morphed into a completely different story than expected. Great characters that kept me rooting for them as I went from page to page. A must read if you are a fan of Ms. Druga's work; a should read if you love end of the world stories!
Amazon.com needs to take this book off of Kindle publishing.
I obviously do not like this book. Hate is quite a strong word to use, but in this case I believe it is quite appropriate. I hate this book. Also, I only found one proofreading error and at page 246 or 89% there is an error decreased should be the word deceased.
Audible:I loved it!Excellent story of an old man made virus getting out into the world.Imagine being quarantined to your homes so you don't get this deadly virus.Well,it wasn't hard to imagine as I sit here in quarantine! Andrew Wehrlen was the perfect narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
Very well written with an interesting though somewhat distressing storyline. I also like that this is not a trilogy, the entire story is in one book so no waiting for the next part of the story. The characters are well developed & interesting.
Wasn't sure about this book at first as I have now read a few written by Jacqueline and thought surely they can't all be good. Once again I couldn't put this down
Caught my attention from the first page and never let it go. Enjoyed it so much that when I finished I quickly toddled off to pick up another book by the author.
I really enjoyed this story line, it held my interest up to the end. As a matter of fact I couldn't stop reading it until I got to the end. Highly recommend.
This story could happen tomorrow. It was heartbreaking and yet had just enough funny remarks to keep it from being morbid. I really enjoy Drugas books.
I guessed the ending to this book but was still pleasantly surprised when it happened. I love this author and how her books suck you right into the story.
This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and I love her!!! I haven’t found a book that has held my attention like hers have in many years...she has a way of sucking you into the story without overwhelming you with a bunch of boring backstory...I CANNOT wait to read more of her stories !!!
I shouldn't have started reading this book before I went to bed. All the things stated in the intro are true because I read about them in, "The Hot Zone". The Russians literally created tons of biological weapons and when the Soviet Union disbanded, there were a lot of scientists without jobs. I am almost 100% sure there are biological weapons out there that were sold or hidden away by former Soviet scientists. If so, the scenario of this book could happen any day (and there's that whole Ebola thing going on right now).
I liked how the book went back and forth in time to tell what had happened and what was currently going on. The descriptions of how sick the people were was appropriately ghastly. The book showed how difficult it would be to contain and stop a virus (such as Ebola) once released (Ebola isn't airborne--yet) and the political and economic reasons for not closing down air travel, which are stupid when compared to billions of people dying.
If anything, this book showed how important it is to be prepared for an emergency situation.
Wow. I really liked this book. It held my attention and I carried my Kindle everywhere until I finished it. Very interesting and very possible story line. So interesting how the federal govt in the story acted much like I would expect our own to act in the event of a crisis such as this. Watching the bottom line and protecting only those they deem important. Read this book if you are looking for a thriller that holds your attention.
I read this book in 2013? 2014? A while back. I feel like I am binge reading all of Ms. Druga's books. Thankful I didn't read it during our little pandemic last year. I enjoy all of this author's books. They are all so different and unique. This one is no different. Entertaining. Scary. Life... only one wears a tin foil hat and marches to the beat of her own drum.
This book gives you plenty to think about. It's so realistic that when you finish reading it you want to start planning your shelter and survival strategy. This is so feasible to happen at any time, be afraid.
ok I'm stuck on this author.she had me mad and I cried and then at the end glad. I stayed up all night just to see what will that don't happen much for me. but I'm glad I did.
I LOVED reading this book, it's so good! This author has such a way with weaving a story. I've yet to read any of her work and not absolutely get absorbed in the story. She has many books and they're ALL GOOD! Her work? Highly recommended!!!
This book was so f-ing good...and just a little terrifying. Jacquelin Druga is responsible for more than a couple nightmares. On the plus side though, I'm learning quite a lot about what I'll need to survive the Apocalypse!