The thing that wiped out the dinosaurs is about to make its comeback.It’s a trillion times smaller than a killer asteroid.And it’s fallen into the hands of a madman.After surviving a horrific outbreak of the Black Nile virus, epidemiologist Leigh Austen’s done her best to bury memories along with the bodies.But when a call for help from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrives at her lab, … Organization (WHO) arrives at her lab, she’s got to face her nightmares all over again. Something’s wiping entire villages clean of humans and wildlife in a war-torn former Soviet Republic. Leigh’s skills are desperately needed to identify and stop the pathogen’s spread before it explodes into a global pandemic.
Austen’s team of scientists and armed security set off into the epicenter of the hot zone: over a mile straight down the throat of the Karakul, the deepest open-pit mine in Asia. From there, they’ll contend with treacherous military officers, caverns filled with scalding-hot poisonous gas, and an organism so deadly it annihilated the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. What Leigh and her people discover will shake them to their very core.
If they survive.
Author’s Note: The Devil’s Noose: A Pandemic Medical Thriller is a self-contained work and does not end on a cliffhanger. It contains a limited amount of strong language, gore, and some graphic violence. Ratings-wise, it would either be a hard PG-13 or soft R. Please decide to purchase accordingly.
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From the opening, the pacing is fast and furious. I enjoyed the medical mystery aspect and the exploration of a deadly virus/germ. The bad guys were apparent so as the reader, you know the danger is hanging over the lead scientists the entire time. It was a fun thriller. I’d have liked to see more of the bad guys go down (and maybe a few earlier in the book) because I’m a vengeful sort and once I know a bad guy I revel in seeing them buried. There’s one guy in particular that I think should have been kicked to the curb. Greedy idiot. It was clever the way the author worked in his survival and the why of it. I’d definitely have liked to have seen a few more wins/survival of the good guys. The setting was unique too so that was a definite add. If you like thrillers, I recommend this book. There was a short dog fight scene that I completely skipped over. I don’t read that sort of thing even in passing even if it’s to make a point.
Angel manages the nearly impossible…creating memorable characters in the midst of an intriguing mystery, action, humor and heart.
Dr. Leigh Austen is asked to go a part of the old Soviet Union to find out what virus or microorganism is killing people. She gets a cryptic message from a trusted friend before she along with several other people head to this isolated old mine that looks like you are heading into hell. There are so many twists and turns, it is hard to know who are the good guys or are the bad guys. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading more by this author.
If you like suspense, action, betrayal and potential world-ending virus bug, then you will love this book by Michael Angel, as it has it all and then some. Doctor Leigh Austen and her bodyguard team of Nicholas, October, and Redhawk are led on a gruesome adventure to try and identify and then contain the deadly virus, while characters like Chelovik and Helen attempt to use it to control their part of the world. Thus the two sides battle it out, both scientifically and physically. The action is intense and deadly and some of the descriptions of the dead are rather gruesome. I would look forward to reading another adventure by this author. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books.
“But I need this little demon for only two reasons: to purify man and bring the outsiders to their knees. Speak to me no more of anything else!”
Epidemiological Investigative Service officer Leigh Austen is called upon to head a group that goes to a huge open pit mine in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan. Miners, local residents and animals in the area alike are being felled by a fast-acting disease or toxin.
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been called in by the local government to figure out what the killing agent is.
Leigh is joined by other doctors plus a private security force led rugged Nicholas Navarro.
This is the first full book in the Plague Walker Pandemic series following the short story prequel THE PLAGUE WALKER. I enjoyed the story, the interesting location, the characters both good guys and bad.
I am now off to read the second book in the series THE REAPER’S SCYTHE.