Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Wow, what a fantastic book! It's incredibly scary to think that while this is a work of fiction, it's not a great stretch of the imagination to think that it could happen in real life. Full of tension as the plot escalates and I loved the inclusion of the diary from the 1300s. This is my first introduction to the author but I'll definitely look out for more. Highly recommended!

A brilliant medical mystery following a horrific breakout of an ancient plague.
This was action-packed and fast-paced.

Brilliant read.

Working for the WHO, NATO, and in the army, Alana isn't new to travelling around the world. And with her new role looking into the spread of bioterrorism, she's certainly not going to slow down any time soon. When an old boyfriend calls her to Genoa, she's astounded to find it's because of a suspected new case of the case - and not one of the modernised versions that have been seen in the last couple of years. This is full on, one hundred per cent The Black Death from medieval times. The one that wiped out devastating amounts of people across Europe. But how is it back?

I was intrigued about this book from the moment I read it was about the Black Death. I don't know much about the disease - other than the disastrous effects it had, and even then all I know is from nursery rhymes like 'Ring a ring of roses' (where this book gets it's title from), reading The Roses of Eyam in year 8 English Literature (my character had one line and then died with bread in their mouth - that's all I remember).  Not that you have to know much about it to follow this book.

This book was pacy and gripping, and definitely sciencey - but not overly. If you have no grasp of biology or epidemics, don't fret. Kalla explains everything you need to know in a totally unpatronising, easy to follow way. I just found out he's an ER doctor, and you can tell by his in depth knowledge of the facts behind this fiction.

Switching between the POV of Alana, our on the floor eyes to the epidemic spreading as she tries to locate it's source, and through diary entries of a 15th Century doctor in Genoa as he buries his wife who has fallen victim and documents the fall of the town around him, Kalla does well to keep you on the edge of your seat and keep the tension up. We All Fall Down looks into the possibilities of bioterrorism, genetic mutations, and the way the world might look if a disease with the power of the black plague came back around today, with travel advances versus new medicine. 

Overall, a really good read and I'll be looking at what else Kalla has written.

4 stars

A new author for me and OMG WHAT A BOOK!!!!!!
A medical thriller, a historical drama and as scary as hell. I was literally hooked from the first page and read this book in one sitting. I could not put this book down. This read got my heart racing and tapping my kindle faster and faster. A fast paced and gripping read and the subject matter The Black Plague. It is set in two time periods, the fourteenth century and the present. This is a writer who knows his stuff, a fabulous plot, a very clever whodunnit and yes a fantastic and A MUST READ I LOVED IT. An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC in return for an honest review.

3 reasons why I loved this novel:

• It was fast paced, action packed and easy to read.
• The chapters were short, punchy and informative.
• Hard to put down.

I have never read anything by Daniel Kalla before, but I can safely say I will be hunting down the other titles in his collection. A brilliant read, with thought provoking consequences. I highly recommend to all fans of medical thrillers!

Kalla writes his story from two perspectives; present day and the past. A widespread plague has hit Genoa and is causing a panic amongst the hospitals and locals alike. However, this is not just any old variety of the plague, Kalla is bringing back the “Black Death” which destroyed half of medieval Europe in the 14th Century. This widespread bubonic and the pneumonic plague that is terrifyingly real is simultaneously run alongside one big question; whodunnit!

Kalla uses his medical knowledge to enhance the epidemic that he is portraying in this storyline to great effect. There is plenty of information that gives substance to what is going on, without being overly complicated or overwhelming. It’s clear that Kalla is passionate about his medical profession but is equally driven by creating thought provoking worlds for his literature fans. This latest release from Kalla, which doesn’t publish until October 2019 is a wonderful addition to the medical thriller genre. If you enjoy the likes of Tess Gerristen then Daniel Kalla is for you.

I love a fast paced thriller and if it is a medical thriller then it is the perfect icing on the cake. I know, wrong metaphor for a book which pneumonic plague as it's backdrop.

The story started with the first patient Vittoria who fell ill and died in a few hours. Thus has Dr Alana rushing to the patient zero. She along with her old crush Nico were soon running to get to the people whom Vittoria came in contact with.

Then came the horrific story of Vittoria involved in the demolition of an old monastery where the monks were killed by Black Death, another dreadful virus.

This was an exciting story which had me running along with Alana to get to the source of virus and prevent epidemic. She was strong and gutsy, brilliant in her work. There was romance but the book concentrated on the medical aspect.

Daniel Kalla has done a fabulous job, writing was smooth, fast paced. A lot of medical terms, but being in the sane profession, I had no problems following the story. It was an unputdownable but scary page turner for me.

We All Fall Down by Daniel Kalla

Pneumonic plague has returned to Europe. The first case, Vittoria Fornero, fell ill fast. The terrible symptoms leaving her dead in a matter of hours. Dr Alana Vaughn, an infectious diseases expert with NATO, is urgently called to Genoa by Nico, Vittoria’s doctor, and an old flame. Alana, Nico and Byron (Alana’s counterpart with the World Health Organisation) must hunt down everyone this woman came into contact with and that means turning her workplace upside down. Vittoria had been project manager at a big building site in the heart of Genoa. She was responsible for the demolition of a monastery many centuries old, a monastery whose monks, centuries before, experienced the Black Death, which killed almost half the population of Europe. With further cases of plague being reported by the hour, Alana and her team have a race on their hands to stop history repeating itself.

I loved the premise of We All Fall Down! I’m a big fan of disaster books, with their hint of something apocalyptic in the future while looking back at something devastating that happened in the past. It immediately grabbed me. Most of the novel is told from the perspective of Alana Vaughn, a doctor troubled by her experiences fighting Ebola in Africa. She can’t bear to witness similar scenes and will do all in her power to save these lives. She’s a worthy heroine and she caught my interest. She has a history with Nico, the hospital doctor in Genoa, and that adds something extra but it’s low key and never challenges the novel’s main focus – the plague.

Threading through the novel, though, is another story. Rafael Pasqua is a barber surgeon in Genoa in 1348. He has lost his wife to the pestilence and now chronicles the plague’s cruel path through the city and beyond as well as his own efforts to care for those who are sick. I loved this layering of history and patterns are revealed, not all of which are to do with the disease.

I’m pleased to say that much of We All Fall Down is science-based. We’re given little glimpses of personal stories but the emphasis, especially in the first half, is on the science of the disease and the methodology to prevent it spreading. During the second half of the novel, the hunt to discover the source and to prevent its spread becomes dominant, taking us into more familiar thriller territory but, nevertheless, this was also very entertaining, if a little more far-fetched. The novel as a whole, though, is not sensationalist. In fact its mood (and content) is at odds with the book’s description on Amazon. It doesn’t present panic. Its emphasis is on the medical challenge and is all the better for it.

I found We All Fall Down very hard to put down. Daniel Kalla writes well and the tension and sense of urgency is maintained throughout. The premise was great and the thriller fully delivers. Excellent!

A fast paced thriller, dramatic and gripping, a real page turner that keeps you reading and on the edge of your seat.
Great characterisation, well written and not beyond the realms of possibility. Highly recommend this one.

#WeAllFallDown #NetGalley Quite a different subject from the usual thrillers/crime dramas that I read and was a welcome change. The book is fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat wondering if Alana, Nico, Byron and company were going to be able to get to the bottom of who unleashed the plague and when or if they could get it under control. I am not usually a fan of two timelines, but this one really seemed to work with the plot and helped move the book along. I realise this is work of fiction, but it has me looking at people who cough in a whole new light!! An excellent read.

We All Fall Down is absolutely wonderful, shocking and dramatic all at once and that's why I loved it! I couldn't put it down and will be recommending to my readers!
5/5

The book was well written with believable and interesting characters even though I couldn't honestly connect with the main characters of the book. The disease and it's causes and effects were described well but I was not a fan of the constant timeline jumps as it ended up confusing me. But I really liked the medical aspect of the book and how the scientists and doctors react to a dormant disease suddenly becoming active all over again and with them struggling to cope with the lack of vaccines available and also the consideration of the disease used as a bio-weapon was really interesting. Overall an interesting book which I would recommend to anyone who likes a good medical thriller. A big thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK Fiction for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange of my honest review.