An engineered virus that attacks the brain leaks from a research lab and spreads quickly, causing infected people to go into psychotic rage. Before almost anyone knows what is happening, a well-armed America is terrorized by a pandemic of violence.
Kanetha Wilson—friend of the first victim—is first to recognize that something is not as it seems. She inspires a small cadre of scientists and others into a breakneck, lonely, and lawless mission to identify and stop the murder plague. They must rebel against scientific and political establishments and public opinion hardened against taking pandemics seriously. More importantly, they must stay alive themselves, when crazed murderers maymight appear anywhere, and when madness might be only a breath away.
Set in Orlando, Florida—where tourists from all over can quickly spread contagion—The Murder Plague is a dystopian thriller transpiring not long after the COVID crisis. Scott Michael Powers, author of the UFO-hunt thriller The Roswell Swatch, delivers a fast-paced tale full of suspense, riveting action, high stakes concerns for science and society, and heart.
Read The Murder Plague and see what the next genetic engineering accident might cause, and what it might take to stop it.
I love a good dystopian. Always have. This is a pretty unique one; a bit of 28 Days Later with a very distinctly American flavour. I thought the idea was very clever, a virus that simply produces more and more rage until the victim snaps, but a couple of aspects of the writing could have been better, I thought. Spoilers below.
* Early on, one of the researchers finds a gene pattern that seems to control whether or not you go crazy when you catch the illness. Another thinks it can't be the gene on its own and starts looking for other reasons, but we never hear anything more about that - I thought it was heading for 'gene plus epilepsy' at one point, but no. I understand the search for the cure was more important, but then why bring it up at all?
* America responds to the murder plague by - allowing everyone to open carry at all times. Not by, y'know, trying to reduce the number of people carrying weapons, given that anyone might snap at any time with no forewarning and start murdering people. One police lt even notes at one point that things would be much easier without guns everywhere.
I liked the writing, though, and the pace was good; I would have read this in one setting if I hadn't had to go to work in between, and it never really lagged. There could easily be more books in this series, but if it finishes here, it's not so bad a place to end on; not a cliffhanger, exactly, more like a pause, there's still some threads but we can take a breather for now.
A good read all in all and one that I recommend to fans of plague narratives.
The Murder Plague publishes on the 29th of March, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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