Epidemic cover art

Epidemic

Kendall, Book 3

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

About this listen

Tom Kendall, a down-to-earth private detective, is asked to investigate the death of a young newspaper reporter. The evidence shows quite clearly that it was an accident: a simple, dreadful accident. That is the finding of the coroner and the local police. Furthermore, there were two witnesses. They saw the whole thing. But was it an accident, or was it something more sinister? Against a backdrop of a viral epidemic slowly spreading from Central America, a simple case soon places Kendall up against one of the largest drug companies in the country.

Although a standalone novel, it is also the third in a series featuring Tom Kendall, private detective.

©2013 John Holt (P)2018 John Holt Crime Fiction Modern Detectives Mystery Fiction Crime Suspense Detective
All stars
Most relevant
Firstly let me say I really do enjoy John's previous books and this is the first of Kendall that I have listened to, I listened out of order but that is just how audible choose it.

The narrator is amazing - so easy to listen to, I will investigate more by him as well.

Although the title is epidemic, and is suitable but would have been easier to pick when it was written, now might put people off. DON'T. It is more about the investigation and how the murder is solved, the epidemic is just a side issue.
If I had one criticism, it is just about the access to the CEO. I struggled with that and how Kendall could just walk in for meetings etc. But I get that it was a plot device.

I was given a free copy of this audible by the author for a fair and impartial review which I have done so.

Don't be put off by the title - great crime listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I couldn't get on with this one. even though I I love John's work sorry my dear xx

sorry

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The plot, a virus let loose by a greedy pharmaceutical company, is certainly one for our times, although the process of drug R&D, as depicted here, is somewhat compressed to suit the narrative. The central character, a reporter, spends much time drumming his fingers on tables and mumbling as on moving the plot along. Not enough thinking is allowed for the reader to do as information and clues are repeated time and again. A potentially interesting crime story let down by not enough editing and respect for the readers intelligence.

A Good Story In Need of an Editor

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was totally into the storyline once the first murder happened to cover up the origin of the epidemic. I loved the relationship between Kendall and Mollie. It reminded me of the old Perry Mason episodes. Kendall h reminded me of the old Columbo episodes.

Book 3

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Tom Kendall is a laid back private eye who'd rather be eating than sleuthing. Fortunately, his secretary, Mollie, is determined to keep him healthy not only by controlling, to a deree, his food intake and making him exercise but also by ensuring he actually take on cases. So when Kendall is approached by the mother and brother of journalist, Richard Dawson, who had recently died from a brutal head injury, it is Mollie who is adamant he look into the pronounced accidental death believed by them to be a murder.Set against the background of a new strain of inf!uenza, the Rican virus, which is spiralling the worl, Kendall reluctantly begins his investigations and uncovers coincidences - he never liked coincidences - which lead him to believe that mother and brother just might have been right after all. Just as Mollie had insisted.

Told mostly from Tom's perspective, the reader rides inside the detective's head as he maintains an inner monologue , questioning himself and the actions of others, 'Wouldn't she?' and, 'Didn't they?' which make him feel very human. His husband and wife interaction with his sensible secretary also make them both come alive as, Columbo-like, Tom asks his questions. Interleaved with the detective work are news headlines detailing the pathway of the ever expanding new 'flu virus, quoting numbers and countries in a straight forward way.

Both of the two main protagonists - sharp as a button, Maggie and her lazy but, once roused, determined P.I.boss, are wonderfully characterized and the reader is not excluded from any of the conversations between Tom and his interviewees. Narrator, Mark Sando, has the perfect lagubrious easy reading style to further capture Tom's personality; pleasantly voiced and with good intonation, he is a pleasure to hear.

I very much enjoyed this book, both story line and, especially, the protagonists. My only somewhat cynical reservation was the niggling voice as the back of my head which kept doubting that countries and the World Health Organization would ever react so efficiently against a flu like infectious illness which not only travels slowly through the public but also kills only a small proportion of those who contract it. Newspapers of course, will headline anything.

Epidemic is a slow burn, methodical detective story with more interest in people than action. Simply delicious. And recommended.

A few loose ends to tie up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews