Child Zero

 

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Child Zero

Author: Chris Holm

Publisher: Mullholland Books

Release Date: 5.10.22

Publisher’s Summary 

From molecular biologist turned Anthony Award-winning author of THE KILLING KIND comes a fact-based thriller in the vein of Michael Crichton about our species’ next great existential threat.

It began four years ago with a worldwide uptick of bacterial infections: meningitis in Frankfurt, cholera in Johannesburg, tuberculosis in New Delhi. Although the outbreaks spread aggressively and proved impervious to our drugs of last resort, public health officials initially dismissed them as unrelated.

They were wrong. Antibiotic resistance soon roiled across the globe. Diseases long thought beaten came surging back. The death toll skyrocketed. Then New York City was ravaged by the most heinous act of bioterror the world had ever seen, perpetrated by a new brand of extremist bent on pushing humanity to extinction.

Detective Jacob Gibson, who lost his wife in the 8/17 attack, is home caring for his sick daughter when his partner summons him to a sprawling shantytown in Central Park, the apparent site of a mass murder. Jake is startled to discover that, despite a life of abject squalor, the victims died in perfect health—and his only hope of finding answers is an eleven-year-old boy on the run from some very dangerous men. 

My Review

I'm really into medical/scientific thrillers right now. Child Zero hit the target for me with a near-future world where humans have become resistant to antibiotics and a bioterrorist attack has further decimated the population, leading to new government offices (The Department of Biological Security) and paramilitary groups (the People’s Army, the New Confederacy.) Almost all communication is monitored and the Fourth Amendment is revoked, however, there are illegal hacklabs where you can gain anonymous, encrypted internet access. A guarded quarantine zone is attacked and its inhabitants all have been murdered--except one boy. As you can guess, this is the Child Zero of the title. I really liked all the different storylines and characters in this book but it really felt like it should be the beginning of a series rather than a standalone novel.