I loved the authors previous book on a knife edge, this one sadly didn’t compare.
I did get into it in the beginning, middle I felt like I was getting a bit bored. The ending was ok, couple of twisty bits.

Enjoyed Simon Mayo’s previous book and enjoyed this ! I like the characterisation and the tone of the prose.

It’s an interesting read that will bring me back to the author in future. Thank you for allowing me to review

Thank you Random House and Netgalley I should have read this sooner, but suffering from covid and a chest infection and the books about a virus I felt it was appropriate to read now!
This was well written and moved at a good pace. I did work out some of things part way through but this was an enjoyed read. This is my second novel by Simon Mayo and I really enjoy his writing style
Definitely recommend and do read the first book too.

Having read Simon Mayo's previous novel Knife Edge and loving it I was excited to see a new book from the author. Set post covid but bringing the reader a new and terrifying illness this book was a thrilling read.

I like the main characters and the complicated relationships throughout the book. Having hints at the beginning of the book of some of the things going on and seeing how they played out throughout the book was an enjoyable way to read.

I would recommend both this book and the author's first.

An excellent thriller, based on the impact of a virus spreading across the UK and the world. It was suspenseful, tense and moved at a cracking pace. I did workout a couple of the key points but that in no way impacted my enjoyment

This is my second novel by Simon Mayo and I really enjoy his writing style

4* and recommended

There have been increasing incidents of a mysterious, contagious illness being experienced by young people, at first in the UK, but then all over the world. They hear a ticking noise in their ears, and other people can hear it too.

It's diagnosed as 'objective tinnitus' and at first it appears an irritation, but then it seems the implications of the condition are much more serious, and tragic. As it spreads, so does the fear and panic.

What has caused this illness and how is it transmitted? Why do young people seem particularly affected?

The story develops through a core group of characters in a London school. Parents and students seek to keep their peers, and the wider community, safe while also investigating the causes. 

I would never have thought I'd want to read something about a pandemic so soon after our lived reality, but this is brilliantly done. The palpable anxiety I was encouraged to feel for the characters was well handled in a beautifully pitched, fast paced narrative. And being a novel rather than life, there is a resolution. I really enjoyed it!

Read my interview with Simon Mayo about 'Tick Tock' here: https://www.catherinelarner.com/published-article/1154

Having read Knife-Edge by the same author, I was looking forward to reading this, although harbouring a little trepidation, in case it wasn’t as good. I needn’t have worried! This book is a fast -paced, racy story , which grabs the reader from the start and compels you to read on, quickly!

It is a great thriller, about a pandemic, which coming so closely after Covid, I thought I might not enjoy. Conversely it actually made it all the more relatable, the panic of keeping a distance from people, the helplessness, a race against time, urgent and action packed.

The main characters, a feisty, brave teenager, Rose; Kit, her father, a widower and an English teacher at her school; and Lilly, his partner and an eminent scientist, are all brilliantly rounded characters.

The structure of the book, jumping in time to show the reader how the plot develops, with specific times throughout the days, all contribute to this race to find a solution, time running out! Totally addictive reading!

The plot is a skilfully well structured conspiracy theory, I did not predict all of the twists and developments. I think the best thing about it is that it is so realistically possible, that I found myself on edge. I became totally unsociable as I just wanted to read on in this compulsive thriller. Simon Mayo writes brilliant and edgy books!

Covid changed all of our lives, so reading about life after covid was quite entertaining, and does raise the question, is covid really over? What will still hit mankind. Recommended for anyone who likes reading something else.

I have read by this author before and enjoyed but was disappointed this time. After a promising start went downhill from half way when he changed writing style and the plot became weak towards the end. What could have been a real treat was ultimately disappointing. I found it hard to stay engaged. Promised so much but didn't do it for me I'm afraid.

This is a must read pandemic thriller with lots of action. A pandemic illness and it's spreading. A mysterious thriller that I can say I really enjoyed.

This is another riveting read from Simon Mayo. The book focuses on Kit, who is a widow and a teacher, his daughter Rose and Lilly, who is his girlfriend and who works in medical research including viruses. Rose is on the school bus when she notices a clicking noise that appears to be coming from her friend’s ear. It is dismissed as tinnitus but when more students in the school appear to have the same thing it looks like there is a new pandemic on the way as cases begin to appear all over the world. The clicking gradually gets worse leading to deafness and even death if a vaccine cannot be found. Lilly learns that her estranged father worked at Porton Down and could have been involved. As the story develops the three become more personally involved and the tension builds. A really engrossing read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Transworld for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

After reading Simon Mayo’s excellent earlier thriller ‘Knife Edge’ I was really looking forward to sampling another work from Mr Mayo. It would be fair to say, however, that - for this reader at least - ‘Tick Tick’ did not meet the high standard set by the earlier book. To be fair, the same artful writing was present and a reasonable cast of key players in the developing story was assembled. Like ‘Knife Edge’ the storyline is bang up to date, featuring in this case an emerging deadly disease that had more than a few echoes of the Covid pandemic. The plot, however, was difficult to see as plausible, particularly when the reader will have seen the national reaction to an emerging deadly infection. Too much detail would inevitably be a plot spoiler; suffice to say that there was perhaps a surfeit of clichés involving amongst others a government conspiracy; Porton Down shenanigans; and a fourteen year old playing an altogether too significant a part in seeking out the answers to a complex plot. The denouement also threw in an overwhelming number of new actors.

None of this is to say this is a poor novel. It’s more a case of the real life problem of following an excellent first work. So for this reader it’s probably a three star effort.

I couldn't get on with this book, I've read some books with a similar premise that just did it a little better.
Nothing in particular 'wrong' with this book, it just wasn't for me sadly.

Pandemic thriller - people start to click from their ears and as the panic spreads the Porton Down research centre seems to be a factor as a scientist finds out her father was not all he seemed. Good page-turner thriller.

This was a most enjoyable read. The story is told from the point of view of each of the main characters who are all involved in trying to figure out what is going on as the events unfold and impact upon them. The characters are all believable and relatable and the events of the book do not require a suspension of belief in these current times. Quite the page turner and I would absolutely recommend this read to anyone who enjoys the thriller genre.

Despite having just lived through two years of the Covid pandemic, I actually enjoyed this book which is set post pandemic but is about a threat of a new pandemic. I engaged with the characters immediately and found the book really easy to read. The tension ratchets up throughout the book but my only complaint is that towards the end the actions of the main protagonists were a little unrealistic. This is a read in one day kind of book as it’s hard to put down - just one more chapter leads to another and another.

A post-covid scenario but close enough for people to be unnerved by another previously unknown, contagious disease. Fast-moving thriller with a thankfully, small cast of characters. This gives the whole story a more personal feel. Taking a common complaint, tinnitus and adding a bit of a twist. Thanks to Netgalley.

Who is Simon Mayo...........He started working in Hospital radio and later became a Dj on BBC radio 1 and later on BBC radio 2.and Now a Brilliant thriller writer His latest book Tick Tock is his second book I have read by him and it was another brilliant book and I really enjoyed it. The only complaint I have is never start to read his books before you go to bed!!! If you do be aware you will be hooked and will not want to put this latest book down. I ended up reading it to the early hours of the morning and into the next day - it was that good!

Tick Tock! It just starts quietly, A tick tick ticking you can hear in your ear. Tinnitus, you may think. you have.....It will pass. It always does!!!!! But this tick tock it doesn't! It gets worse - and then you pass it on. Before you know it, it has spread everywhere and across the whole globe, It just starts off in small outbreaks at first, and contains itself in small groups of people, young and old, it doesn't matter! Then, suddenly it's a plague - and ten days later it's killing people. The hospitals are overflowing and there is no cure.

There is a paranoid panic which sets friend against all friend, neighbour then against neighbour etc.

Where does the world go from here?

Are we all going to die from this?

WoW!!! This is so good! I loved it! I highly recommend it.

Simon Mayo's first thriller, Knife Edge.which is another brilliant book.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I have read by Simon Mayo and once again one I have enjoyed reading. The plot involving a very contagious new virus is very topical in these post covid days. The title comes from the clicking sound which can be heard from the ears of those infected and is causing panic in the population. The central characters are a schoolteacher and his daughter who attends the school he teaches at. Some of the first infections are noticed at the school and the plot follows the investigations carried out by them his partner who is a medical scientist. As the story develops they become more and more personally involved and there are many twists and turns right to the end.

A gripping and downright frightening thriller. London school teacher Kit notices a number of his pupils have developed an audible click from their ears. He vows to undercover what dark secrets lay behind this new mysterious illness, when it becomes clear that no one is safe. First-rate and highly recommended, a rip-roaring read.