Child Zero

Vicious infections are sweeping the world, resisting antibiotics as they lay waste to great swathes of the population. That's the intro, and readers may be expecting a medical thriller in the manner of Robin Cook: frantic medics in lab coats racing to find a cure and save the world. No. Author Holm uses this setup to launch a cop novel, with most of the elements of the genre: troubled hero (male), sardonic partner (female), nasty villains, and plenty of gunplay. How well it works will depend on how well readers can adjust their initial expectations. New York a few years from now is a blighted cityscape. Detective Jake Gibson is called to a crime scene and discovers everyone in the neighborhood is, miraculously, infection free. The reason seems to be 12-year-old Mat, who "cures people with his bare hands." Bad people seek to find him. The narrative is enriched by striking prose: a parquet floor gleams" like wildflower honey." And zingy humor, as when Mat confesses his limitations. He's fine curing most infections, but "hit or miss on stomach bugs."

Could a future pandemic be exponentially worse that Covid-19? Holm (Red Right Hand) answers yes in this alarmingly plausible thriller. Public health officials dismiss a dramatic global increase in bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics, initially unaware the phenomenon results from the release of an ancient virus from the permafrost due to global warming. The virus infects bacteria across the globe in weeks and leaves medicine helpless as the new combinations render antibiotics not only obsolete but dangerous because continued use of them risks creating an even deadlier viral variant. The collapse of the "antibiotic era" means the resurgence of dormant diseases, as well as the end of surgical implants and organ transplants, since the risk of postoperative infections is too great. The crisis leads to the creation of an ultra-powerful American agency, the Department of Biological Security, which mandates citizens to report anyone suspected of having a high fever. Against this Orwellian background, NYPD Det. Jacob Gibson, a widower, must both care for his ill daughter and probe a massacre in Central Park that may have implications for the global health crisis. Holm perfectly balances plot, characterizations, and science. Fans of Lawrence Wright's The End of October won't want to miss this one. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Co. (May)

Global warming causes Siberian permafrost to melt, releasing previously unknown diseases that are immune to antibiotics and causing worldwide outbreaks. Then a member of the radical group Soldiers of Gaia commits what comes to be known as the 8/17 Attack when a highly infectious, deadly contagion is released in Manhattan, causing the death of millions. After this setup, listeners expecting a Robin Cook-style medical thriller will be surprised to find they are then treated to a somewhat generic cop drama involving a detective named Jake who becomes aware of a boy named Mat who has an ability to heal people just by being around them. Everyone wants Mat, including the corrupt government and the Soldiers of Gaia. Jake and his friends must protect and hide the boy from those who wish to use him as a pawn. Robert Petkoff narrates at a brisk, urgent pace and is equally good at portraying male and female characters of all ages. Chapters are short and Petkoff keeps things moving. VERDICT Despite the slight letdown of the exciting beginning evolving into a procedural style story, the latest from Holm (Red Right Hand) will be popular with fans of the Bourne adventures.--B. Allison Gray