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passacaglia's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
A "twist ending" is not a twist when it comes out of left field like a brick to my windshield while driving on i-30. When I read a thriler I want to be able to pick up clues as to what the outcome might be - when it was floated in dialogue that rabies could have become airborne, I was excited since this is genuinely a really interesting premise for a novel. Imagine my surprise when near the book's end, I was told that this interesting premise actually wasn't the case, the whole local outbreak was single-handedly orchestrated by some Ned Flanders type who now suddenly has a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of situation going on? Without the clues a competent reader should piece together throughout the story, this is not a twist ending but simply bad characterization.
In addition, the book makes constant references to the "small town" of Chattanooga, a city with a population of over 180k. I live in a rural southern state and our literal biggest city is just above this so-called small town in population. On top of these comments pulling me out of the story constantly, the reasons as to why a police officer was being prosecuted by the DA for a justified use of a service weapon arguing that it was the fault of a twitter mob are ill-explained at best. Even in the most liberal states it's rare when the police police themselves - nevermind in this "small town" located in the American South.
Honestly the real inhuman act of this novel was how little research seemingly went into its development - it's as if someone went on wikipedia and looked up "rabies," "Tennessee," and "M. Night Shamylan" and thought they could make a book out of it.
cleverpun's review
5.0
This book follows Letty, a field scientist soon-to-be exiled to a tenured professorship. Desperate for a last taste of hands-on science, she gets caught up in the investigation of a freak rabies outbreak. So many rabies cases in so small a time frame is unthinkable, and Letty stumbles on some dangerous animals in her search for the cause.
This book is a great example of how rich detailing and verisimilitude can help tell a story. There's lots of little details here that help the world feel real. Normally, I find the mention of a specific car model or drink to be cumbersome. But the author does it in a very succinct, elegant way.
There's also a grounding in real-life science. Rabies is presented realistically, but the fictional elements come in how much of it there is. It's a welcome change from fictional diseases and overblown pseudoscience of many medical thrillers.
The story is paced well: without spoilers, the gradual reveal of information, and the use of a few red herrings, had me guessing right until the end about the nature of the mystery. The final chapters of the book are very intense.
If i have anything negative to say, it's that some scenes in this book are hard to read. Not because they are badly written: because they are so well-written that it made me physically squeamish, genuinely fearful for the characters.
The only criticism I have of a *medical thriller*, is that I was worried for the characters, and had a visceral reaction to the gross scenes. Only a well-written story can elicit such a response, from a reader as jaded as I!
(Disclaimer: I received a free PDF copy of this book from the author.)
This book is a great example of how rich detailing and verisimilitude can help tell a story. There's lots of little details here that help the world feel real. Normally, I find the mention of a specific car model or drink to be cumbersome. But the author does it in a very succinct, elegant way.
There's also a grounding in real-life science. Rabies is presented realistically, but the fictional elements come in how much of it there is. It's a welcome change from fictional diseases and overblown pseudoscience of many medical thrillers.
The story is paced well: without spoilers, the gradual reveal of information, and the use of a few red herrings, had me guessing right until the end about the nature of the mystery. The final chapters of the book are very intense.
If i have anything negative to say, it's that some scenes in this book are hard to read. Not because they are badly written: because they are so well-written that it made me physically squeamish, genuinely fearful for the characters.
The only criticism I have of a *medical thriller*, is that I was worried for the characters, and had a visceral reaction to the gross scenes. Only a well-written story can elicit such a response, from a reader as jaded as I!
(Disclaimer: I received a free PDF copy of this book from the author.)
stitching_ghost's review
3.0
Not bad but not super memorable. While the idea behind this novel was interesting I thought it dragged and repeated itself quite a bit, especially when it came to the characters' inner lives which all felt rather one tone.
secre's review
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When an outbreak of rabies arises in Chattanooga, Tennessee, disease ecologist Letty knows that this is an opportunity that she cannot pass up. She hopes to put her skills and training to use and locate the source animals behind the outbreak. Only it's not going to be that simple. Political pressure to keep the outbreak on the downlow, plus what appears to be a stalker following her around town is enough to slow or even derail Letty's progress.
The medical thriller elements of this are well done. Brooke French has a sound knowledge of rabies backing up her novel, to the point that it surprised me that she was previously a lawyer and not in the medical field. I do like me a good medical thriller, particularly when the science is sound and it is here. Yet it isn't too heavy handed with the science, meaning that a layperson can easily pick it up and follow what's going on. There are a number of possible reservoir animals; with Letty being convinced the local bats are to blame, the police force have been investigating a fire in an animal testing centre where many of the animals were let loose. It's therefore not predictable and will keep you guessing all the way to the finale.
That said, I wasn't too keen on the actual finale. It certainly is a possibility, but annoyed me as it changed the premise of the book from the fascinating thriller based on disease ecology and into something more like a murder mystery novel. I'd have preferred the solution to be less twisty and more in keeping with the usual spread and transmission of the disease. It starts as one thing and finishes as another and that is somewhat off-putting. In a similar vein, there is a lot of back-story about the tragic death of Letty's sister and how the animal world is behaving in unpredictable and deadly ways causing human casualties and fatalities. It didn't quite fit with the main story and felt jarring and pulled me out of the story.
Even with that though, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in a well written, well researched and intelligent medical thriller. The characters were largely well depicted, the light romance angle on the side didn't detract from the main plot and I appreciated how realistically rabies and the hunt for the reservoir animal were depicted. I'll be keeping an eye out for this author in the future, particularly if her future novels are in the same brand of medical thriller.
The medical thriller elements of this are well done. Brooke French has a sound knowledge of rabies backing up her novel, to the point that it surprised me that she was previously a lawyer and not in the medical field. I do like me a good medical thriller, particularly when the science is sound and it is here. Yet it isn't too heavy handed with the science, meaning that a layperson can easily pick it up and follow what's going on. There are a number of possible reservoir animals; with Letty being convinced the local bats are to blame, the police force have been investigating a fire in an animal testing centre where many of the animals were let loose. It's therefore not predictable and will keep you guessing all the way to the finale.
That said, I wasn't too keen on the actual finale. It certainly is a possibility, but annoyed me as it changed the premise of the book from the fascinating thriller based on disease ecology and into something more like a murder mystery novel. I'd have preferred the solution to be less twisty and more in keeping with the usual spread and transmission of the disease. It starts as one thing and finishes as another and that is somewhat off-putting. In a similar vein, there is a lot of back-story about the tragic death of Letty's sister and how the animal world is behaving in unpredictable and deadly ways causing human casualties and fatalities. It didn't quite fit with the main story and felt jarring and pulled me out of the story.
Even with that though, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in a well written, well researched and intelligent medical thriller. The characters were largely well depicted, the light romance angle on the side didn't detract from the main plot and I appreciated how realistically rabies and the hunt for the reservoir animal were depicted. I'll be keeping an eye out for this author in the future, particularly if her future novels are in the same brand of medical thriller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death and Medical content
Minor: Domestic abuse
luciussestius's review
5.0
I’ve seen arguments over what the word “competent” means in a book review and let me make it clear that in my world it is a compliment. In this book, the plotting, pace and sense of disaster are all more than competent, they work together to result in a read-in-one-go thriller with a hugely attractive hero and an intriguing thread of environmental questioning running through it. The signs are that it is the first in a series and I am very glad of it!
Lettuce Duquesne has friends, and a job she loves, but she also has the tragedy of her sister’s death hanging over her. She is an intelligent and likeable main character, and cleverly, the author lets you see her through other people’s eyes as you are making up your mind about her. And other people like her.
When a case of rabies transmission arises in Chattanooga, Letty sees the potential for a disaster and though she is unable to persuade everyone of the seriousness of the situation, she handles their skepticism as a scientist should, by collecting and testing the data. She teams up with Andrew, a cop on enforced leave, and Pete a local vet, to track down what could be the worst outbreak of rabies in the USA for decades.
French handles the science extremely well, managing that crucial balance between scientific jargon and readability. She doesn’t hype the fear of the disease any more than the plot demands, so we don’t get overblown panic and doom, but we do feel the tension as Letty discovers more about what is happening in Chattanooga. I found this approach made the book credible and a page-turner. Oh and I didn’t see the end coming until way past I should! French treats her readers fairly in the “working out of the puzzle” part of the book.
Characters are human, realistic and fallible, and I particularly liked the Andrew/Mary dynamic where every serious cop conversation took place against the background of shuttling the kids around or making banana pudding.
A book for anyone who likes a good mystery, intelligently told.
Lettuce Duquesne has friends, and a job she loves, but she also has the tragedy of her sister’s death hanging over her. She is an intelligent and likeable main character, and cleverly, the author lets you see her through other people’s eyes as you are making up your mind about her. And other people like her.
When a case of rabies transmission arises in Chattanooga, Letty sees the potential for a disaster and though she is unable to persuade everyone of the seriousness of the situation, she handles their skepticism as a scientist should, by collecting and testing the data. She teams up with Andrew, a cop on enforced leave, and Pete a local vet, to track down what could be the worst outbreak of rabies in the USA for decades.
French handles the science extremely well, managing that crucial balance between scientific jargon and readability. She doesn’t hype the fear of the disease any more than the plot demands, so we don’t get overblown panic and doom, but we do feel the tension as Letty discovers more about what is happening in Chattanooga. I found this approach made the book credible and a page-turner. Oh and I didn’t see the end coming until way past I should! French treats her readers fairly in the “working out of the puzzle” part of the book.
Characters are human, realistic and fallible, and I particularly liked the Andrew/Mary dynamic where every serious cop conversation took place against the background of shuttling the kids around or making banana pudding.
A book for anyone who likes a good mystery, intelligently told.
sheilasamuelson's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Rating: 5 Stars
Review:
Thank you to Travelling Pages and Brooke Lewis French for sending me this FREE ARC COPY for them as part of The Blog Tour this weekend!!
This was my first time reading a book by Brooke so i wasnt sure what to expect especially when i'd never read a Thriller about Human Rabies before but surprisingly i enjoyed it very much and ended up loving it by the end.
The Characters were so interesting to read about. Letty is by far my favorite character cause i could really relate to how she was feeling after losing a loved one since i lost My Dad 11 months ago and since this book got into my feelings with the part of Letty's story, is mainly why i rated it 5 Stars!!
The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in Chattanooga, Tennessee especially when the scenery was described.
Im glad this book didnt get very graphic cause that would of been a big turn off for me since i hate when books get too graphic so for me this book offered a good amount of Graphic description for my taste.
I do wish this was part of a series cause i'd love to see where Letty and the rest of the characters are now and what their next case would be.
Overall a PHENOMENAL Thriller about Human Rabies taking over a Southern Town Set in 2018!! Can't wait to read more by Brooke in the future!!
Review:
Thank you to Travelling Pages and Brooke Lewis French for sending me this FREE ARC COPY for them as part of The Blog Tour this weekend!!
This was my first time reading a book by Brooke so i wasnt sure what to expect especially when i'd never read a Thriller about Human Rabies before but surprisingly i enjoyed it very much and ended up loving it by the end.
The Characters were so interesting to read about. Letty is by far my favorite character cause i could really relate to how she was feeling after losing a loved one since i lost My Dad 11 months ago and since this book got into my feelings with the part of Letty's story, is mainly why i rated it 5 Stars!!
The Setting was beautifully described which made me feel like i was actually in Chattanooga, Tennessee especially when the scenery was described.
Im glad this book didnt get very graphic cause that would of been a big turn off for me since i hate when books get too graphic so for me this book offered a good amount of Graphic description for my taste.
I do wish this was part of a series cause i'd love to see where Letty and the rest of the characters are now and what their next case would be.
Overall a PHENOMENAL Thriller about Human Rabies taking over a Southern Town Set in 2018!! Can't wait to read more by Brooke in the future!!
cajengirl's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
This debut novel was a great fast-paced read that mostly kept me guessing until the end. When two people in Chattanooga, TN are found to have rabies, a young scientist, Letty, comes into town uninvited to try to help figure out what is going on. The Mayor seems to want to pretend it's not an issue, the state health department just thinks she's crazy, but she is convinced more people are going to die. The tension was well paced and the primary characters developed well enough to get you invested in them. There were a couple of side storylines that I didn't feel added much value at all to the story, but they didn't overpower the read. Overall, really recommend it if you are looking for a fast and exciting read.
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