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Beck Casey #1
Final Epidemic
Causes: Unknown
At first, they thought it was a cold or maybe the flu. Then people started dropping where they stood.
Symptoms: Unthinkable
It could kill in hours. There was no known cure, no vaccine, and the only antidote could kill millions.
Diagnosis: Unstoppable.
New York, Chicago and Florida are quarantined. International travel is halted. A Japanese doomsday cult commits mass suicide, its final mission accomplished. Physician Carol Mayer was the first person to alert the Center for Disease Control, but now, as the epidemic grows, she has one last hope for finding a vaccine. His name is Beck Casey, a former CIA expert on biological warfare. And the best potential sources for stopping this plague are the worst enemies from his past. Final Epidemic has begun.
At first, they thought it was a cold or maybe the flu. Then people started dropping where they stood.
Symptoms: Unthinkable
It could kill in hours. There was no known cure, no vaccine, and the only antidote could kill millions.
Diagnosis: Unstoppable.
New York, Chicago and Florida are quarantined. International travel is halted. A Japanese doomsday cult commits mass suicide, its final mission accomplished. Physician Carol Mayer was the first person to alert the Center for Disease Control, but now, as the epidemic grows, she has one last hope for finding a vaccine. His name is Beck Casey, a former CIA expert on biological warfare. And the best potential sources for stopping this plague are the worst enemies from his past. Final Epidemic has begun.
351 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2002
49 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 13, 2012
Having written it, I'm scarcely an unbiased judge. That said, consider this book heartily recommended...
December 17, 2013
Finished reading this last night and really enjoyed it. Shed a few tears when one of the characters was killed off. That came as a surprise. Great group of characters and a fascinating plot. I could see something like that happening in the real world today. Looking forward to reading more about Beck Casey.
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January 12, 2014Exceptional
A vigorous and suspense filled novel based on one of this centuries most terrifying scenarios in terrorism and biological weapons. Wether you are a military/covert operations fan, a medical suspense/drama fan,or a conspiracy theorist this book has you covered. Intense until the end I truly enjoyed this work.
A vigorous and suspense filled novel based on one of this centuries most terrifying scenarios in terrorism and biological weapons. Wether you are a military/covert operations fan, a medical suspense/drama fan,or a conspiracy theorist this book has you covered. Intense until the end I truly enjoyed this work.
July 1, 2016
I'm thankful I paid only fifty cents for this book at the annual library book sale. Maybe I should create a shelf for that
August 15, 2024
Pretty good story but not a stay up and read all nighter
The storyline was good. Funny how this was written years before The COVID pandemic but mirrored it in many ways. Maybe coming out of The COVID made this book seem blase to me. I just wasn't into another man-made virus that was released upon the world where the military and government had to be brought together to make big, life and death decisions for the masses. I think if I had read this before The COVID, I might have felt differently about the book. As it was, I'd read a chapter every night, plodding my way through to the end of the story. The book was pretty well written, but just not my thing.
The storyline was good. Funny how this was written years before The COVID pandemic but mirrored it in many ways. Maybe coming out of The COVID made this book seem blase to me. I just wasn't into another man-made virus that was released upon the world where the military and government had to be brought together to make big, life and death decisions for the masses. I think if I had read this before The COVID, I might have felt differently about the book. As it was, I'd read a chapter every night, plodding my way through to the end of the story. The book was pretty well written, but just not my thing.
April 19, 2021
Three stars, average, says it all. The idea looked very interesting but did not come off that way. I had trouble getting into the plot. It seemed too many angles too loosely related. Some I am not sure were needed. The motivation of the main antagonist to use some of those angles was not explained well. Just did not seem to work. Did pick up at the end, but by then it was too late.
The characters though were mostly compelling, especially Beck, Mayor, Katie; I would be interested in them in a better organized plot.
The characters though were mostly compelling, especially Beck, Mayor, Katie; I would be interested in them in a better organized plot.
September 17, 2021
It was ok, maybe 2.5. Possibly due to the time period in which I read it- so many things about it seemed cute or unrealistic. For example:
So yeah... maybe a product of the time and my increased jadedness about the human species. But glad I read it.
So yeah... maybe a product of the time and my increased jadedness about the human species. But glad I read it.
August 26, 2021
Great book, highly recomandable!
Reading a book about a killer virus in this moment of a pandemic might seem like a weird choice, but it is a choice I don’t regret for a second.
This is a great book, with suspense building since the first page, a plot full of twists in a not so unknown anymore situation
Reading a book about a killer virus in this moment of a pandemic might seem like a weird choice, but it is a choice I don’t regret for a second.
This is a great book, with suspense building since the first page, a plot full of twists in a not so unknown anymore situation
October 26, 2017
I would have liked it more if there was more about the epidemic and less political posturing and interaction.
August 11, 2019
Best book I’ve read in a long time. The characters were so well written and many twists and turns. A must read.
June 26, 2020
Disturbingly provocative
My first Earl Merkel book. The plot was intriguing with unexpected situations. A well written story line with an unpredictable ending.
My first Earl Merkel book. The plot was intriguing with unexpected situations. A well written story line with an unpredictable ending.
November 7, 2022
Low 3 stars, not a keeper and won't be reading any more of this author
June 16, 2016
Another of my free Kindle books that I read on holiday with no idea about the plot. It turned out to be rather interesting and I figured it was part of a series - according to Goodreads this is the first book in that series which I admit surprises me. The author writes about previous events that I thought *must* be covered in an earlier book (though they are written in such a way that I didn't need the details which was good), having this be the first book kind of lessens it a bit for me... I wanted to read more about Beck's experiences so unless there is a prequel out there somewhere...
This book reminds me of the film WWZ (not yet read the book although I plan to) and I also had huge hints of The Newsroom season 2.
There were some things that niggled at me, not enough to lessen my enjoyment but enough that I made notes of them. First, unless I am wrong England is not an Island so how it was able to "draw into itself" surprises me... did we dig giant trenches between Wales and England and Scotland and England? Clearly the author meant to put Britain but still... an annoying error IMO this. Some of the dialogue could also have been lifted from an action film - "This is still the United States of America. This is New York City..." - I can totally hear someone say that in Die Hard or something. Finally, some of the characters behaved in stupid ass ways that they totally would not do. Example - I found that very hard to believe and to me it was drama for drama's sake.
Still these niggles aside, a very enjoyable and enthralling read.
This book reminds me of the film WWZ (not yet read the book although I plan to) and I also had huge hints of The Newsroom season 2.
There were some things that niggled at me, not enough to lessen my enjoyment but enough that I made notes of them. First, unless I am wrong England is not an Island so how it was able to "draw into itself" surprises me... did we dig giant trenches between Wales and England and Scotland and England? Clearly the author meant to put Britain but still... an annoying error IMO this. Some of the dialogue could also have been lifted from an action film - "This is still the United States of America. This is New York City..." - I can totally hear someone say that in Die Hard or something. Finally, some of the characters behaved in stupid ass ways that they totally would not do. Example - I found that very hard to believe and to me it was drama for drama's sake.
Still these niggles aside, a very enjoyable and enthralling read.
July 5, 2017
I originally read this book a decade ago. And now since I've re-read it, I've changed my review. In Earl Merkel's Final Epidemic, the first installment in the Beck Casey medical thriller series, this debut would catapult you into a terrific read to read this summer. It all started with a sick patient had arrived in a medical clinic in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. From there, people had gotten sick real fast like wildfire. When the CDC were called in, they believed it was a strain of the flu with a killer variety. Patients have been dying too. That's when Beck Casey, a historian joins the CDC to help look for a clue on where the virus started and originated them. With the help from the FBI, they discovered it had a link to Beck's past as a former CIA operative who was tortured in Russia, and a link to the Japanese cult Aum and to an America militia who wanted to wipe out the world. When the virus spread across to New York City and nationwide to Russia and Europe, they would try everything to eradicate the virus and sacrifice lives. When Beck searches for his missing daughter with his ex-wife Deborah, they become frantic and search for answers. Later, when there's a discovery of the Russian antidote, they stopped it in the tracks and cured the ill from dying with a mind-blowing ending.
October 22, 2014
By now you probably know the premise...take a zealous religious cult, a deadly weaponized virus, a former CIA specialist on terrorism, his ex-wife, their teenaged daughter, a Russian spy, a female FBI agent, a Russian assassin, terrible deliberate outbreaks of the disease, stir well and you've got the "Final Epidemic."
If you're not exactly sure how this plays out, the first part is much like "World War Z" but without the zombies...in other words a scenario that is actually able to happen. How would major world powers react if a highly virulent, highly fatal virus was released on them? The latter part of the book seems less about the outbreak and more about spy v spy. That's OK, but personally I'd like to have heard more about the virus.
All in all the book was a solid 4 stars, maybe even 5 until near the end when, call me a prude, the author or the editor felt compelled to include (IMO) a completely gratuitous and perhaps even pornographic scene...why do they do this? Sigh. Combine that with and ending that again IMO is wrapped up a little too quickly and a little too neatly to suit the main theme of the book.
The 4-5 star possibility dropped for me to a 2-3 star offering. I'm going to round up and go with 3 stars, I did like it for the most part. I didn't really like it or love it, I just liked it.
If you're not exactly sure how this plays out, the first part is much like "World War Z" but without the zombies...in other words a scenario that is actually able to happen. How would major world powers react if a highly virulent, highly fatal virus was released on them? The latter part of the book seems less about the outbreak and more about spy v spy. That's OK, but personally I'd like to have heard more about the virus.
All in all the book was a solid 4 stars, maybe even 5 until near the end when, call me a prude, the author or the editor felt compelled to include (IMO) a completely gratuitous and perhaps even pornographic scene...why do they do this? Sigh. Combine that with and ending that again IMO is wrapped up a little too quickly and a little too neatly to suit the main theme of the book.
The 4-5 star possibility dropped for me to a 2-3 star offering. I'm going to round up and go with 3 stars, I did like it for the most part. I didn't really like it or love it, I just liked it.
February 7, 2014
Government conspiracy, spies, militia, fighting exes, and bureaucrats going apey.. what a combination! As I grew up in Montana this book had an added fascination to me as bits of the story take place in settings I'm familiar with. I tend to think the author probably wrote this book a few decades ago and updated it to be more current with today. It reads very easily.. but, somewhere in the middle of the book the pace picked up a bit too fast.. and it felt like parts were missing or deleted from the book. I really did enjoy reading it.. and would love to see how the novel would read.. before it was edited. Like others.. I was stunned by the quick death of one of the major characters.. with not much of a mention other than.. there one second and POOF.. dead.
It's still a book I'd recommend if one likes to read about pandemics. I do wish the author had expanded the digging up of the flu victims from 1918.. I'm actually still waiting to read a novel where an author digs in to that story! :)
It's still a book I'd recommend if one likes to read about pandemics. I do wish the author had expanded the digging up of the flu victims from 1918.. I'm actually still waiting to read a novel where an author digs in to that story! :)
August 3, 2016
An interesting book -- available for free via Amazon at the time I downloaded it. Some editing needed to be done. The word "an" should be used in front of a vowel -- not in front of "an SAM...".
Sorry -- but I could not give the book 4 stars with major errors in dealing with military flying a Hercules aircraft. Pilots fly in the LEFT SEAT. So in Chapter 50 when Mayo jumps at the chance to fly left-hand seat, Mayo is the newbie. Sivigny is the pilot so Mayo in his big chance to CO-PILOT would jump at the chance to fly the RIGHT seat.
And just a few paragraphs below that Mayo gives a fuel report to a crew member as "two-four-oh-oh-niner". I checked with someone who was part of a C-130 crew for literally YEARS. He said that this makes no sense. The report would be more like "fuel at 2400 pounds".
These three errors are simple to catch & the latter two only need research.
As for the story itself, the other reviewers have covered it well. A pretty good story.
Sorry -- but I could not give the book 4 stars with major errors in dealing with military flying a Hercules aircraft. Pilots fly in the LEFT SEAT. So in Chapter 50 when Mayo jumps at the chance to fly left-hand seat, Mayo is the newbie. Sivigny is the pilot so Mayo in his big chance to CO-PILOT would jump at the chance to fly the RIGHT seat.
And just a few paragraphs below that Mayo gives a fuel report to a crew member as "two-four-oh-oh-niner". I checked with someone who was part of a C-130 crew for literally YEARS. He said that this makes no sense. The report would be more like "fuel at 2400 pounds".
These three errors are simple to catch & the latter two only need research.
As for the story itself, the other reviewers have covered it well. A pretty good story.
April 20, 2010
I found this book to be an interesting read, I would recommend it to people who are interested in biological weapons and medical suspense books. Throughout the book it had me wondering what the ending would be, who was on what side, and so on. It kept me thinking the whole time I was reading, which is the kind of book I like. When I was looking for a new book to keep me entertained, I'm glad I picked this one because it certainly did the job.
December 2, 2014
With all the stories in the news lately about Ebola, I've been thinking that I need to pull 'Final Epidemic' out and read it again!
Earl Merkel has a unique way with words, and his protagonist Beck Casey is the kind of guy you'd want the government sending to handle such a problem. Beck's also a 'real' guy with the same set of personal problems we all face. 'Fire of the Prophet' continues the Beck Casey series, so keep that in mind...
Earl Merkel has a unique way with words, and his protagonist Beck Casey is the kind of guy you'd want the government sending to handle such a problem. Beck's also a 'real' guy with the same set of personal problems we all face. 'Fire of the Prophet' continues the Beck Casey series, so keep that in mind...
October 26, 2014
I was really looking forward to this as , as far as I can remember, it's my first disaster/epidemic type book, but I've tried so hard to like it and get into it; it's just not happening. I can normally read a book in just a few days but I've been going at this one for weeks now and I'm still only halfway through. I have never, ever, given up on a book without finishing it before, but I give in
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December 26, 2013The Spanish Influenza, reborn
Good pacing, solid command of prose. Some predictability and stereotyping,especially of the Russian characters. Chilling reality, though, that deliberate epidemic is possible and it's effects disturbing.
Good pacing, solid command of prose. Some predictability and stereotyping,especially of the Russian characters. Chilling reality, though, that deliberate epidemic is possible and it's effects disturbing.
September 1, 2016
3 1/2 stars. Books about bio-terrorism fascinate me. They are interesting (and scary) because they are plausible. This book had a couple of elements that separated it from the run-of-the-mill books in this category. AND I got the book for free on Kindle, so it was definitely a win-win.
August 5, 2008
Typical medical thriller....moves along quickly.
June 21, 2009
I think this might have been Merkel's first book and I enjoyed it a lot. Good suspense and good characterization.
August 24, 2009
I picked this book up in a reading room. Not a spectacular book, but I'm determined to finish reading. I do have to say that the one thing I don't like about epidemic books is they're all the same.
November 7, 2011
I love this sub-genre. Probably because the thought of getting sick in such a gruesome way is quite frightening. I read this book ages ago, but I have positive memories of it.
August 29, 2012
So I love disaster and coming plague novels. This was mind-candy but a good read.
July 14, 2010
Interesting that the book was written in 2002 and the epidemic is H1N1...
May 31, 2014
I loved the presidential briefing and the memo to journalists.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews