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.

Plague by Julie Anderson Power is an explosive political thriller set in modern day London. When the body of a young woman is discovered in an ancient plague pit, her ties to the highest levels of power come to light and forces two unlikely allies - a disgraced civil servant and a policeman - to uncover the mystery behind the outbreak of a centuries-old pandemic.

This gripping novel reveals the explosive force of political corruption, wealth and love while still capturing the serenity of London. Power deftly weaves an intricate web of complex characters who challenge the notions of justice, honor and mortality. As the clock ticks, our two heroes risk it all in an attempt to bring a killer to justice and save the country from certain doom.

With plenty of suspense, heart-stopping moments, and sharp social commentary, Plague by Julie Anderson Power is a powerful and timely thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end.

This book had been on my Kindle for ages so thought I would read it. I hadn’t heard anything about the book or the author so wasn’t sure what to expect.

Cassandra Fortune is a civil servant and becomes involved with a police investigation after bodies are discovered underground, in what used to be “plague pits”. The media stokes public panic about a possible serial killer and an outbreak of the plague.

At first, I found the book quite readable but quickly became bored with the story. It really loses steam and I found I was skim reading to try and get it finished.

Cassandra is a very immature and unlikeable character. Her past is alluded to but there’s no backstory or character development. I found the other characters were very two dimensional and generally found the characterisation in this book to be poor.

Parts of the book were quite unrealistic I thought. Would a civil servant really be involved so heavily in an active murder investigation?

The element of the underground tunnels was quite interesting, but other than that the book really bored me. I had expected to be gripped but I wasn’t at all.

Unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend this book and wouldn’t be rushing to read more from this author.

This one will be a Did Not Finish. Implausibly, Cassandra, a Government Minister, is drafted into a muder enquiry (really, Government Ministers do not do murder enquiries). She used to work for GCHQ in some unspecified capacity despite having a penchant for self-promotion that would be totally alien in GCHQ. The details don't feel right., the characters don't feel right and it really wasn't possible for me to suspend disbelief.

Sorry :(

3.5 stars. This was a interesting read that blended fiction with real-world facts. The story follows Cassie, a civil servant worker investigating the discovery of multiple bodies in a “pit”.

The less you know going into this book the better!

Cassie is a relatable character and a refreshing take on a genre overloaded with detectives as the main character. Additionally, reading this during the Covid-era feels a little too close to home, which only adds to this story!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this read.

This book has a great premise and it's by no means a bad book.
Unfortunately, I did not like the characters at all and it felt like the author had taken some key ingredients for a who-done-it and wacked them together and boom! One book.
As such it felt unoriginal and I just found that I was not having fun while reading. As such, I got about halfway through and decided to DNF.

A murder mystery set in government circles with the first murder victim found near a plague pit. There is some discussion of the old sewer system under London which is about the only interesting thing.
The female lead, Cassandra, is a completely obnoxious person with an emotional maturity ranging between toddler with tantrums to hormonal teenager, i.e. completely self-centred. It is al "I, I, I, me, me, me". On top of this, all she can think of is that she wants power - just power for its own sake, not the power to do anything in particular. Sounds familiar at the moment right enough.
There is no back story to her, apart from the fact that she got fired from a job in GCHQ because she mucked up big style. There is no explanation as to what sort of job she might have been doing. She then lands a job in government, which suggests very well-connected family as I really can't think why she would have got this otherwise. Disqualifying oneself from the code-breaking part of the state is not exactly a recommendation for a job near government. (It actually sounds like the author picked GHCQ because she had heard of it, not because she knows what it is about.)
The story itself is not bad, but I kept getting distracted by wishing to shake some sense into the woman.
At the end the good guy gets murdered, she gets herself promoted, the villain gets away, and the sequel beckons (not me though).

This is a political thriller set around Westminster, rather than a story about death from the plague, but there are deaths which need to be investigated.
I'm not sure why Cass was asked to help the police to investigate these deaths and prevent more, but since she was, then the story worked and I enjoyed reading about the lost underground rivers under London.

This was an okay read. It didn’t blow me away, in terms of plot, pace, or characters. Nothing in particular stood out, and the mystery/suspense portion wasn’t all that mysterious or suspenseful.

When I saw that Plague was still on my TBR list when the UK Lockdown hit I must admit I was a little apprehensive about reading it. Although one of my favourite books is Stephen King’s The Stand, I read to escape, and anything Plague related seemed to hit a little closer to home than I would have liked. I shouldn’t have worried though, Plague is actually not a disease apocalyptic thriller but more a crime thriller with a loose connection due to a few of the murders taking place in plague pits.

Although I also usually love crime thrillers, this one fell a bit flat for me. One of my main problems was the main character of Cassie. Cassie is a government minister who is tasked to help the detectives on a recent murder case and ensure that the reputation of the government is not harmed in doing so. I found her character a little one dimensional; she used to have a job in government that she enjoyed more but this isn’t really explored and I didn’t feel like I knew what it was or why she had to leave it in enough detail, despite the fact it is mentioned a lot, particularly at the beginning. I also didn’t really understand Cassie’s role at the present and why she would be drafted in to help a murder enquiry with absolutely no prior experience or qualifications. I understand a minister would perhaps take daily briefings with the police to check what had been found but her doing the physical work such as wading through the sewers felt very unrealistic.

Cassie’s character also felt very naive and she made some truly bad decisions which could surely be seen as such from a mile away. She ends up sleeping with someone she knew to be a suspect and then the actual romance plotline felt so cringy, with the dialogue stilted and cliché.

The crime itself was quite interesting but there wasn’t really enough red herrings or suspects. The reader can guess who all the main players are the moment they are introduced to them and two of them actually get named very early on which takes all the fun out of guessing ‘whodunnit’.

Overall Plague fell flat for me with an unrealistic and annoying main character and a very predictable plot. Thank you to NetGalley and Claret Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plague - Julie Anderson

This seemed an apt title in the current times. Although the title is more aimed at a cultural plague rather than one of a virus.

I really like this book. It’s not a long book (about 300 pages), it was quick paced story too, so for that reason it seemed to fly by.

Cassie is an ex investigator for GCHQ, having left under a cloud, she is now working as a government advisor. She is thrown a new opportunity to get her career back on track, being placed on a police investigation by a MP. A couple of bodies of foreign nationals have turned up which could loosely be connected to the government.

Cassie is a character who is likeable and relatable. She forms a bond with Andrew, the detective in charge of the investigation. Although not immediate, it doesn’t take long for a friendship and maybe something more to form. This may have been one part that felt a little off kilter at the speed things happened.

This is a dark, but somewhat realistic political thriller / who done it storyline. With the political figures feeing extremely true to how you would perceive them to behave. As I mentioned the pace is pretty quick and keeps you moving along. This wasn’t at all predictable and throws a pretty large shock into the mix nearing the end.

This I believe is the first book in a trilogy, which, for me I am pleased about. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this free advance copy. I give this book 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)

Started off interestingly enough, but didn't really think that the main character was developed enough. Also didn't really like the constant self analysing views of the main character.

Bit of a weak ending , albeit with a surprise twist and not surprised that it looks like we're in for a follow on book, but I won't be reading it.

You might think that a book by the name of Plague by Julie Anderson is about disease. In these days of pandemic and worry, the title can be misleading. Not to worry, this is a break from today’s worldwide bad news. In London, two hundred feet below street level, a group of experts are inspecting an ancient burial chamber. They accidentally stumble upon a body in an old plague pit, used centuries ago to dispose of diseased bodies. However, the body is recently deceased and it appears that the young man has been brutally murdered. A civil servant is in the group and the deputy prime minister gives her an assignment to report results of the investigation in order to avoid scandal in high places. More bodies are subsequently found and she joins forces with a police investigator to gain knowledge about the crimes. Powerful people are suspected and the duo are anxious to prevent the murders of more young people. Plague by Julie Anderson is a book that has everything to keep the reader satisfied and interested: mystery, history, suspense and even a little romance. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Claret Press and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had imagined I was going to read a very different book, so unfortunately I was a little disappointed when I realised that the ‘plague’ of the title is the plague of power, greed and political advancement rather than anything to do with contagion.

I was looking forward to getting to know the strong, female protagonist, but again I was a little disappointed. She seems more interested in her love life than the crimes she is investigating.

Having said this, the writing is good enough and there is a lot to be said for the book. With a slightly more kickass main character I would really have enjoyed it. I’m a sucker for a stand-out, strong female lead.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read the advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me by surprise and was interesting due to the subjects that it touched on like power and wealth,

The setting is interesting and hearing about subterranean London made it stand out.

Interesting page turner ,

An intriguing mystery in modern day London. As bodies start to show up in ancient plague pits, disgraced civil servant Cassie investigates in this slow-moving but intelligent book. Recommended reading, worth the slow start.

When several bodies are discovered on the sites of ancient plague pits, the public, boosted by the media, begin to panic that the plague is back. But civil servant Cassandra Fortune and Scotland Yard DI Andrew Rowlands believe that there’s something more sinister involved. Can they track down the criminals and prevent further deaths?

Plague is a good story, with an interesting link to Parliament and the corruption of senior politicians. I wasn’t expecting the ending, and am still not totally sure I liked it, although I can see that future Cassie stories will work better because of it. In spite of, or possibly because of, this ending issue, Plague is a pacy story which keeps you guessing as to who is involved and how. Cassie is a strong character, who manages to deal with dead bodies, corruption and torture without too much bother.

An enjoyable book.

In current day London, bodies have been found in centuries old plague pits. The victims have obviously been tortured and used for other purposes. Is there a serial killer in town? Or a group of sadistic killers? There is a link to Parliament and the Palace of Westminster which is how Cassie Fortune ends up involved with the investigation. Cassie is at a rut in her career working at Westminster and hopes that working the case will help redeem her in the higher ups' eyes. She's teamed up with Andrew, a police detective and the two follow trails that lead them into the depths of London's sewers and long buried rivers.

This was definitely an adventure. Cassie is relatable and I like her interactions with Andrew. I loved the setting of London and the involvement of what lies beneath the city. The author based much of the info about the sewers, buried rivers etc. on actual fact, so I actually got to learn some cool new facts about London.

This is the first book in a trilogy, so I am curious to check out the others.

<b>What to listen to while reading...</b>
Hiding Tonight by Alex Turner
Knives Out by Radiohead
No Light, No Light by Florence + the Machine
Way down We Go by KALEO
Glory and Gore by Lorde
Lost River by Murder by Death
Blue Moon by Chromatics

A political thriller set in and around and under the palaces of Westminster. Disgraced civil servant Anna is seconded to help the police after the gruesome discovery of a body during an excavation. Intended as a three part series of novels, I found the title lent nothing to the story and the main protagonist too emotional and lightly drawn to be believable. However, I enjoyed the setting of the novel in particular the description of the lost rivers and I would enjoy reading the next novel in the sequence.

Timely novel to read in our crazy times. Author paints an evocative picture of a world caught up in the perils of plague.