Book Review & Blog Tour: Containment by Nick Thacker

Happy Friday everyone! I am excited to be one today’s tour stops for the blog tour of Containment by Nick Thacker, which is hosted by the amazing team over at Bookouture!

Containment

Author: Nick Thacker

Publication Date: 10 September 2020

Genre: Adult Fiction – Sci-Fi Thriller

Pages: 306

Publisher: Bookouture

When there’s nothing left to lose, there’s no limit to what you’ll risk.

Jake Parker’s world collapsed with the violent death of his wife during a police-led raid. In the awful aftermath, he hung up his detective’s badge for good. Now ex-military, ex-police, he has embraced a simple civilian life. But when a deadly new disease begins to threaten American lives, Jake is dragged out of his self-imposed retirement.

When a young family at a remote detention center die from a mysterious illness, Jake is contacted by a government official to launch a covert investigation. An unknown disease has entered the system, causing agonizing death and visible signs of blood pooling beneath the skin, and it seems to be spreading. If Jake can’t get on the ground quickly to eliminate the threat before it becomes an epidemic, countless more innocent lives could be at risk.

With the help of medical professor Eliza Mendoza, Jake heads to the border, but what they uncover there is evidence that this devastating disease is man-made, and part of a calculated plot aimed right at the heart of government. With powerful forces ranged against him, Jake must use all his ingenuity to bring down the ruthless organization behind the attack. Failure is not an option.

A pulse-pounding action thriller from a USA Today bestselling author. Fans of David Baldacci, I Am Pilgrim and Jack Ryan will be gripped.

There’s honestly nothing like reading a book about a deadly parasite during the COVID pandemic of 2020.

A young family from England take a wrong turn in Canada, which accidentally lands them on US territory. When both parents end up dying in the detention center of some unknown infection shortly after arrival. Derek Briggs, the director of ICE, needs to sort this out quickly so he hires ex-military and ex-Boston PD detective Jake Parker to find the source of infection and stop it before it becomes an epidemic. With his former partner Beau Shaw and scientific expert Dr. Eliza Mendoza in tow, these three are racing the clock to stop the spread before the body count starts racking up.

I definitely went into this story because of the epidemic side of things. As a scientist, I can’t get enough of plot lines that dive into epidemics/pandemics/outbreaks. That being said, while the deadly parasite is integral to this storyline, this story also heavily focuses on the police procedural side of things while delving into topics such as politics, immigration, systemic racism, and white privilege. I think the author addresses these issues with grace, but I definitely found myself feeling on edge for some of these since they really hit home for me.

As far as character development goes, we get a lot of insight into Jake, Beau, and Eliza. I really enjoyed Jake and Beau’s partnership as well as the mutual respect they have for one another. I definitely admired Eliza as a female Ph.D scientist who is willing to get her hands dirty in order to use science to solve problems. I will say that I wasn’t so keen on the romantic exploration between Jake and Eliza. I would have much preferred a purely platonic relationship.

Overall, I think this is an interesting story, and I think it will really resonate with a lot of readers.

Sidenote: I know this is super pedantic, but it’s bothering me since it’s in the title. A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease across the world. An epidemic is the outbreak of a disease that is localized to a particular area. This book takes place in the US. This story is about an epidemic NOT a pandemic.

Thank you to Bookouture for the blog tour invite and for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Get your copy of Containment below:

Nick Thacker is the USA Today Bestselling Author of action-adventure thrillers and mysteries, including the Harvey Bennett Thrillers series. Often mentioned as a cross between Clive Cussler and James Rollins, his stories are written in a fast-paced, punchy style.

He lives on a volcano in Hawaii with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.

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