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Sasha McCandless #4
Indispensable Party
All she wanted was some time to figure it all out.
In the name of science, an international team of researchers creates a deadly virus capable of killing untold millions. While the U.S. government quietly stockpiles a vaccine, a militaristic group of doomsday preppers begins to mobilize in response to the economic collapse they're convinced is coming.
Sasha McCandless has put danger and intrigue behind her to focus on her blessedly unexciting commercial litigation practice and couldn't be further removed from the escalating tension. That is, until her boyfriend, Leo Connelly, the new chief security officer for the vaccine manufacturer, discovers someone's been looting the cache.
Then the Doomsday virus is stolen and a researcher is murdered. Sasha and Leo have just three days to prevent the release of the ultimate biochemical weapon. Sasha's saved her share of innocent lives in the past.
But this time can she really save the world
In the name of science, an international team of researchers creates a deadly virus capable of killing untold millions. While the U.S. government quietly stockpiles a vaccine, a militaristic group of doomsday preppers begins to mobilize in response to the economic collapse they're convinced is coming.
Sasha McCandless has put danger and intrigue behind her to focus on her blessedly unexciting commercial litigation practice and couldn't be further removed from the escalating tension. That is, until her boyfriend, Leo Connelly, the new chief security officer for the vaccine manufacturer, discovers someone's been looting the cache.
Then the Doomsday virus is stolen and a researcher is murdered. Sasha and Leo have just three days to prevent the release of the ultimate biochemical weapon. Sasha's saved her share of innocent lives in the past.
But this time can she really save the world
450 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2013
274 people are currently reading
454 people want to read
About the author
Melissa F. Miller
89 books594 followersMelissa F. Miller is a multi-time USA Today bestselling author of mystery, thriller, suspense, and romance novels. Formerly a complex commercial litigator, Melissa graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in medieval literature and creative writing poetry and earned her JD, cum laude, from the Duquesne University School of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review.
After fifteen years, Melissa traded the practice of law for the art of storytelling, drawing on her legal background and love of research to craft fast-paced, twisty books for readers who believe light drives out darkness, love is brave, and kind is strong. She writes strong, resilient characters who tackle serious (and sometimes dark) issues and themes with heart.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Novelists, Inc. When she’s not writing, you can find her tending her garden, doing yoga, or drinking coffee. Melissa currently lives outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her family and their rescues—a cat and a beagle. The cat’s in charge.
After fifteen years, Melissa traded the practice of law for the art of storytelling, drawing on her legal background and love of research to craft fast-paced, twisty books for readers who believe light drives out darkness, love is brave, and kind is strong. She writes strong, resilient characters who tackle serious (and sometimes dark) issues and themes with heart.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Novelists, Inc. When she’s not writing, you can find her tending her garden, doing yoga, or drinking coffee. Melissa currently lives outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with her family and their rescues—a cat and a beagle. The cat’s in charge.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
November 22, 2022
Sasha McCandless and Leo Connelly become reluctantly involved with commercial espionage and a group of “preppers.”
March 12, 2022
Another exciting installment in this legal thriller series!
A couple of months after Sasha’s last case and Leo’s decampment to private enterprise at a pharmaceutical company, she is missing him and taking care of business. Then Leo calls with some news about a vaccine theft and the Doomsday virus — a horrible flu that has been lab created to be a biochemical weapon and is supposedly secure. Of course Sasha gets involved as outside counsel and the true nature of their predicament becomes clear: someone is about to unleash this terrible disease and they have to stop it. Add in some fringe psycho preppers and the alphabet soup of government agencies — their work is cut out for them.
I just love this series. It’s fast paced and easy to read and enjoy as each brings another interesting perspective of the practice of law as well as an exciting issue that needs to be addressed. The main characters are well-developed and, though have their flaws, are not hot messes but problem solvers. On to the next!
A couple of months after Sasha’s last case and Leo’s decampment to private enterprise at a pharmaceutical company, she is missing him and taking care of business. Then Leo calls with some news about a vaccine theft and the Doomsday virus — a horrible flu that has been lab created to be a biochemical weapon and is supposedly secure. Of course Sasha gets involved as outside counsel and the true nature of their predicament becomes clear: someone is about to unleash this terrible disease and they have to stop it. Add in some fringe psycho preppers and the alphabet soup of government agencies — their work is cut out for them.
I just love this series. It’s fast paced and easy to read and enjoy as each brings another interesting perspective of the practice of law as well as an exciting issue that needs to be addressed. The main characters are well-developed and, though have their flaws, are not hot messes but problem solvers. On to the next!
April 6, 2013
This review also appears on Amazon UK and US under the user name 'Esofagus'
Just like any good established brand, the fourth Sasha McCandless novel is instantly recognisable as part of a series starting with Irreparable Harm and carrying on with the consistently named Inadvertent Disclosure and Irretrievably Broken. But it takes more than an intriguing, legal-sounding title to make a good legal thriller, and with this instalment in the series Sasha finds herself trying to prevent a disaster of near-apocalyptic scale: a pandemic of a deadly, man-made flu virus stolen from a pharmaceutical company. Yes, there is plenty of legal goodness to satisfy all of us amateur lawyers, but that is just one of the many elements that makes IP a real page turner, making it the most action-packed novel in the series so fa. Careers are in jeopardy, lives are at risks, and there are even some casualties: all in all, nothing that a good grasp of federal law and some self Krava Maga moves can't solve And, of course, a lot of coffee.
All four books in the Sasha series have a very current, topical feel to them - they are centred around events or situations that would make headlines news - from an airliner crashing in Book 1, to the very controversial and current issue of hydrofracking in book 2, to a more traditional but still gripping series of murder in Book 3. By Book 4, Miller has made this cocktail of law and disasters her trademark, successfully creating a wholly plausible plot around what happens when a killer virus falls into the hands of a group of survivalists, also known as `preppers'. As if to confirm the fact that Miller always writes about `hot-off-the-press' subjects, only a few days after finishing the book, as I flicked TV channels I found an entire TV series dedicated to preppers. Once again, in the same way as with Book 2, I feel that I've learnt something through Miller's fiction.
As someone who has been following this series from the start, I consider myself lucky, as the author never keeps us waiting too long. But what will happen when with those `I' titles? Will there be enough `I's to keep these books coming? Miller said she is committed to "I" titles--- until she runs out of legal doctrines, so let's hope that there are plenty of those in the law books to keep Sasha busy for a long time to come.
Just like any good established brand, the fourth Sasha McCandless novel is instantly recognisable as part of a series starting with Irreparable Harm and carrying on with the consistently named Inadvertent Disclosure and Irretrievably Broken. But it takes more than an intriguing, legal-sounding title to make a good legal thriller, and with this instalment in the series Sasha finds herself trying to prevent a disaster of near-apocalyptic scale: a pandemic of a deadly, man-made flu virus stolen from a pharmaceutical company. Yes, there is plenty of legal goodness to satisfy all of us amateur lawyers, but that is just one of the many elements that makes IP a real page turner, making it the most action-packed novel in the series so fa. Careers are in jeopardy, lives are at risks, and there are even some casualties: all in all, nothing that a good grasp of federal law and some self Krava Maga moves can't solve And, of course, a lot of coffee.
All four books in the Sasha series have a very current, topical feel to them - they are centred around events or situations that would make headlines news - from an airliner crashing in Book 1, to the very controversial and current issue of hydrofracking in book 2, to a more traditional but still gripping series of murder in Book 3. By Book 4, Miller has made this cocktail of law and disasters her trademark, successfully creating a wholly plausible plot around what happens when a killer virus falls into the hands of a group of survivalists, also known as `preppers'. As if to confirm the fact that Miller always writes about `hot-off-the-press' subjects, only a few days after finishing the book, as I flicked TV channels I found an entire TV series dedicated to preppers. Once again, in the same way as with Book 2, I feel that I've learnt something through Miller's fiction.
As someone who has been following this series from the start, I consider myself lucky, as the author never keeps us waiting too long. But what will happen when with those `I' titles? Will there be enough `I's to keep these books coming? Miller said she is committed to "I" titles--- until she runs out of legal doctrines, so let's hope that there are plenty of those in the law books to keep Sasha busy for a long time to come.
April 6, 2020
A good book with uncanny timing to have stumbled upon this series. Home during pandemic "social distancing" and ever increasing executive orders, a novel about a pandemic flu virus....
I wouldn't have picked this out now. Read the 1st 3 book "boxed" [e-book] set, and was ready for book 4. Only after buying the next 3 book set did I see the summary of book 4...It has been an interesting read, more so due to the real context our world is in today. Thankfully it does not appear to have been a terrorist attack that created this [although spontaneous mutation is possibly scarier]. A hauntingly good read.
I wouldn't have picked this out now. Read the 1st 3 book "boxed" [e-book] set, and was ready for book 4. Only after buying the next 3 book set did I see the summary of book 4...It has been an interesting read, more so due to the real context our world is in today. Thankfully it does not appear to have been a terrorist attack that created this [although spontaneous mutation is possibly scarier]. A hauntingly good read.
February 18, 2013
I loved this one the most so far... particularly because it the threat of a pandemic particularly appeals to me (at least in the fictional realm). Another quick fun legal thriller!
October 11, 2020
Amazing premonition of reality.
January 2, 2020
{ For our followers (!): our non-particularly-liberal rating system:
1 = disappointed, disliked, poor return on reading-time investment;
2 = mediocre, but some redeeming value;
3 = average/typical but quite acceptable – often “as expected”;
4 = above average, quite pleasing;
5 = excellent, outstanding.
Of my last 732 books, my ratings distribution has been: 1 = 1%; 2 = 14%; 3 = 54%; 4 = 27%; 5 = 4%; which means we’re enjoying 85% of the books we read! And if we start it, we finish it!
Interestingly, in 2019 we rated 4 books 5-star:
Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10) by Lisa Gardner
Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French
A Better Man (Chf. Insp. Armand Gamache #15) by Louise Penny
Sins of the Fathers (J.P. Beaumont #24) by J.A. Jance }
We seem to be in the minority with our feelings about Miller’s fourth entry (of 12 currently) in her attorney Sasha McCandless series – finding this tale about a doomsday virus, a cure for it, and a vaccine against it, somewhat implausible and surprisingly tepid. Part of the problem was the focus on Sasha’s beau Leo, whose major role in the plot left Sasha with little better than a bit part – and a contrived one at that.
Part of what was interesting was the description of a doomsday group called “preppers”, who had an almost cult-like compound prepared for government collapse or other major planet disaster. That said, we still felt rather cool about the story, which ended on a somewhat pollyanish note to boot. {2.5}
1 = disappointed, disliked, poor return on reading-time investment;
2 = mediocre, but some redeeming value;
3 = average/typical but quite acceptable – often “as expected”;
4 = above average, quite pleasing;
5 = excellent, outstanding.
Of my last 732 books, my ratings distribution has been: 1 = 1%; 2 = 14%; 3 = 54%; 4 = 27%; 5 = 4%; which means we’re enjoying 85% of the books we read! And if we start it, we finish it!
Interestingly, in 2019 we rated 4 books 5-star:
Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10) by Lisa Gardner
Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French
A Better Man (Chf. Insp. Armand Gamache #15) by Louise Penny
Sins of the Fathers (J.P. Beaumont #24) by J.A. Jance }
We seem to be in the minority with our feelings about Miller’s fourth entry (of 12 currently) in her attorney Sasha McCandless series – finding this tale about a doomsday virus, a cure for it, and a vaccine against it, somewhat implausible and surprisingly tepid. Part of the problem was the focus on Sasha’s beau Leo, whose major role in the plot left Sasha with little better than a bit part – and a contrived one at that.
Part of what was interesting was the description of a doomsday group called “preppers”, who had an almost cult-like compound prepared for government collapse or other major planet disaster. That said, we still felt rather cool about the story, which ended on a somewhat pollyanish note to boot. {2.5}
July 14, 2021
I've been racing through the Sasha McCandless series even though they are by no means short. It's because they are written to be read that way, short and snappy chapters, not a lot of descriptive scenes and pretty much minimal dialogue.
For some odd reason the Pittsburgh Crèche (a large-scale outdoor Nativity Tableau) is a central venue in the book - it looks pretty much run of the mill to me and we have plenty of them in Ireland. Then again if a diehard Prepper extremist is going to unleash the virus from hell, where better than the Pittsburgh Crèche when there are plenty of children gathered around.
As in the other books in the series there is a strong element of forced plotting - it's almost as if the universe revolves around Sasha and Leo - if the action doesn't centre around them they are pretty much guaranteed to be heading straight for it.
The books are too light to be truly memorable but Sasha is a likeable character and the story arc is very readable.
For some odd reason the Pittsburgh Crèche (a large-scale outdoor Nativity Tableau) is a central venue in the book - it looks pretty much run of the mill to me and we have plenty of them in Ireland. Then again if a diehard Prepper extremist is going to unleash the virus from hell, where better than the Pittsburgh Crèche when there are plenty of children gathered around.
As in the other books in the series there is a strong element of forced plotting - it's almost as if the universe revolves around Sasha and Leo - if the action doesn't centre around them they are pretty much guaranteed to be heading straight for it.
The books are too light to be truly memorable but Sasha is a likeable character and the story arc is very readable.
June 25, 2020
This installment deals with a dangerous "killer virus" that has the potential to send a nation into quarantine and bring down the economy. (Imagine that, sarcastic laugh). It was written some years before the current pandemic, Because Sasha practices corporate law, during her search for the criminals who have stolen the virus from Big Pharma we learn about strategies to hoard the antidote for financial gain. I also love that the prepper survivalist camp where much of the action takes place is located in rural northwestern Pennsylvania I know as home.
September 9, 2020
Sasha does it again. This commercial attorney makes another foray into criminal law, although through reporting a theft that caused a federal contract violation and helping with enforcement actions by federal agents. The actual case she is involved with is focused on anti-competitive behavior among pharmaceutical businesses. The indispensable party thwarts her attempt at getting a temporary restraining order. Excellent story with good characters who develop and change in this story and others from the same author.
October 13, 2017
A Mind-Stretcher
People who enjoy science fiction as well as thrillers will probably enjoy this book as much as I did. It centers around two things: a dystopian community of "preppers" and a deadly virus. There's not much more I can write about this without giving the story away. I will say that one of my favorite characters in a previous novel died in this one. I felt this was unnecessary.
People who enjoy science fiction as well as thrillers will probably enjoy this book as much as I did. It centers around two things: a dystopian community of "preppers" and a deadly virus. There's not much more I can write about this without giving the story away. I will say that one of my favorite characters in a previous novel died in this one. I felt this was unnecessary.
December 7, 2019
I don’t like it when authors kill off characters, especially nice ones.
Why did that person have to die??? I’m so mad and sad.
I’m disappointed in Sasha that she didn’t try and find her friend sooner. She was just ringing that person’s phones and leaving messages and then she was too late.....what a clusterfuck.
I’m thinking that’s it’s dangerous to know Sasha, people to know her are getting killed regularly.
This book was a page turner and I’m hooked on this series.
Why did that person have to die??? I’m so mad and sad.
I’m disappointed in Sasha that she didn’t try and find her friend sooner. She was just ringing that person’s phones and leaving messages and then she was too late.....what a clusterfuck.
I’m thinking that’s it’s dangerous to know Sasha, people to know her are getting killed regularly.
This book was a page turner and I’m hooked on this series.
January 17, 2021
The author
I am definitely hooked on Melissa Miller’s books. I had purchased one on my Kindle years ago and had never read it because I have so many other authors that I routinely read. But one day I decided to read, “Irreparable Harm”, which was the book I had for years, and loved it! Now I am purchasing all the Sasha McCandless books since I enjoy the character. Thank-you, Melissa, for the hours I spend enjoying the books! They are great!
I am definitely hooked on Melissa Miller’s books. I had purchased one on my Kindle years ago and had never read it because I have so many other authors that I routinely read. But one day I decided to read, “Irreparable Harm”, which was the book I had for years, and loved it! Now I am purchasing all the Sasha McCandless books since I enjoy the character. Thank-you, Melissa, for the hours I spend enjoying the books! They are great!
October 21, 2023
Prescient?
The plot of episode four in the saga of Sasha McCandless could have been taken from recent history -- amped up, of course.
As with the previous books, the recurring characters are three dimensional and sympathetic. I thought that several of the key secondary characters needed to be more rounded out, but that's a minor complaint. I'm looking forward to book five and the novella situated between the books.
The plot of episode four in the saga of Sasha McCandless could have been taken from recent history -- amped up, of course.
As with the previous books, the recurring characters are three dimensional and sympathetic. I thought that several of the key secondary characters needed to be more rounded out, but that's a minor complaint. I'm looking forward to book five and the novella situated between the books.
December 6, 2024
Reading this series is like binging your favorite Netflix show - not too taxing but really entertaining, especially if you like all things Pittsburgh. Melissa Miller does a great job putting protagonist Sasha in the center of a new challenge in each book. This time, she and partner Leo are trying to stop the release of a Doomsday flu vaccine (written before 2020!).
October 5, 2017
I read this as a selection of a boxed set "Mortal Crimes 1". The Sasha McCandless series is always a worthwhile read. I rated this one 4.5 stars.
June 16, 2018
Gripping thriller Very likable main characters.
February 18, 2020
Indispensable Party
I have been captivated by Melissa's story telling. I enjoy seeing how things unravel only I am sorry about Gavin.
I have been captivated by Melissa's story telling. I enjoy seeing how things unravel only I am sorry about Gavin.
June 14, 2020
Great read
Totally page turning with an ending I wasn't expecting and won't give away well worth the price of the book
Totally page turning with an ending I wasn't expecting and won't give away well worth the price of the book
September 20, 2020
Another great book set in the Pittsburgh area and also Washington DC.
December 31, 2020
Sasha and Leo working together to stop a made made flu virus, that was stolen from the pharmaceutical lab and now in the hands of preepers. A lot of technical terms, and who was behind it. As for the two of them, it was. time together and the holidays with her big family
August 25, 2021
Fast paced suspense. Intriguing storyline.
July 31, 2023
Always enjoyable.
August 2, 2023
Sasha’s relationship with Connelly is tittering as is the World as we know it. Doomsday virus! Need I say more. POW! Another high octane, powerful and exciting read by Mellisa F Miller.
Want to read
December 24, 2023Purchased in epub format from Barnes and Noble for my Nook.
January 22, 2024
Romanceopoly 2024: Library - free choice
March 18, 2022
Melissa has a way to keep several situations going in her books and keeping her readers hooked. Her books are exciting and keeps the readers mind thinking and wondering who is behind all the action. This is an awesome series.
July 29, 2015
Should be Sasha & Joe Legal Thriller books.
This was an excellent read. However, I wish the antagonist/killer was not a prepper. I'm not a prepper, but I hope most people don't think of them as deranged. I just consider them well prepared for a survivable event. Being a survivalist now with Obama's latest geopolitical nightmare that lifted sanctions in Iran and gave Iranians nuclear capabilities sounds fairly intelligent.
The deadly event in this book deals with a nearly unsurvivable manmade flu virus. Two pharmaceutical companies want the government contract. So far, only one company that has developed a vaccine has a contract for just enough to give to Washington power brokers and military personnel. Hmm. Sounds right and frightening. The other pharma has developed a antiviral medication to treat people who get sick and increase their odds of survival. Someone has stolen the virus from the Pasteur Institute, and someone has also stolen several hundred doses of the vaccine. I recommend this well written thriller.
This was an excellent read. However, I wish the antagonist/killer was not a prepper. I'm not a prepper, but I hope most people don't think of them as deranged. I just consider them well prepared for a survivable event. Being a survivalist now with Obama's latest geopolitical nightmare that lifted sanctions in Iran and gave Iranians nuclear capabilities sounds fairly intelligent.
The deadly event in this book deals with a nearly unsurvivable manmade flu virus. Two pharmaceutical companies want the government contract. So far, only one company that has developed a vaccine has a contract for just enough to give to Washington power brokers and military personnel. Hmm. Sounds right and frightening. The other pharma has developed a antiviral medication to treat people who get sick and increase their odds of survival. Someone has stolen the virus from the Pasteur Institute, and someone has also stolen several hundred doses of the vaccine. I recommend this well written thriller.
January 15, 2014
I've been reading through all the Sasha McCandless books in order and this is the first one that seemed like just another book in the series. It was still enjoyable and still a fun, quick read that kept me entertained, but it didn't really break any new ground.
Sasha and her fiancee (?) Leo are working on their long-distance relationship when they get sucked into yet another crazy situation. Someone has stolen the doomsday virus from Leo's pharmaceutical company and they might release it into the public and create a deadly pandemic.
Honestly, as someone who reads Tom Clancy and a lot of other more "serious" authors (I hate to use that word but can't think of a better one), I almost felt like the end of the world scenario wasn't treated catastrophically enough. But it fit well with the framework of the other Sasha McCandless books.
I think I'll give Sasha a break before I dive into book #5, but I'll definitely be reading it.
Sasha and her fiancee (?) Leo are working on their long-distance relationship when they get sucked into yet another crazy situation. Someone has stolen the doomsday virus from Leo's pharmaceutical company and they might release it into the public and create a deadly pandemic.
Honestly, as someone who reads Tom Clancy and a lot of other more "serious" authors (I hate to use that word but can't think of a better one), I almost felt like the end of the world scenario wasn't treated catastrophically enough. But it fit well with the framework of the other Sasha McCandless books.
I think I'll give Sasha a break before I dive into book #5, but I'll definitely be reading it.
July 29, 2013
Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller No. 4. Good series. Characters are believable. The plot is thick and unfolds nicely.
First paragraphs
CHAPTER 1 Celia Gerig’s hands shook. She removed the keys from the ignition and took a long, slow breath. She watched the snow fall and stick to the windshield of the dirty Civic. Once her heart rate slowed, she returned the keys and tried to start the car again. The first time, the engine had whined, coughed, and then gone dead. This time, nothing happened.
Miller, Melissa F. (2013-01-27). Indispensable Party (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller No. 4) (Kindle Locations 125-129). Brown Street Books. Kindle Edition.
First paragraphs
CHAPTER 1 Celia Gerig’s hands shook. She removed the keys from the ignition and took a long, slow breath. She watched the snow fall and stick to the windshield of the dirty Civic. Once her heart rate slowed, she returned the keys and tried to start the car again. The first time, the engine had whined, coughed, and then gone dead. This time, nothing happened.
Miller, Melissa F. (2013-01-27). Indispensable Party (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller No. 4) (Kindle Locations 125-129). Brown Street Books. Kindle Edition.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews