Well, this is a different book for me to read/review! I do not mean different to be an euphemism for 'not too good', it is a very good book.
When I started to read it I wondered if 'Simon Mayo' was also being used as a duplicate pseudonym for Stephen King and this was book number #145. I expected the book to develop into gangs of ear-clicking vampires running amok this time in the UK and not Maine. Fortunately not the case.
Following on from this I thought the book intended to be a Covid rerun but this time concentrating on how it started (laboratory intentional?) and with no lockdowns!
The majority of the book I really, really enjoyed and fully expected to rate it 5 stars or more. But,,,, the big difficulty with a unique storyline like Tick Tock is how on earth do you come up with an ending that matches the majority of the book. This is where I think it fails. We get a bit of a 'Hollywood style' ending thrown in the mix together with a spy thriller not dissimilar to Robert Goddard books.
Mine was a review copy and the final page consisted of an abrupt ending (someone comes into the room - no clues here!) concatenated with acknowledgements and research. I must look for the book when it is out in August.
To be honest I cannot think of an ending to match the storyline but definitely well worth a read.

What would you do if you if your ears started making clicking noises which everyone else could hear? What if it seemed to be speeding up and spreading?

For a novel that is about a new pandemic hitting the UK, I was surprised by how well this worked for me. Though the narrative bears a lot in common with the early months of covid, which is in the recent past for the characters, the book still feels fresh. We've heard so much about outbreaks and we've all experienced it, yet Mayo still manages to ramp up the tension as the signs of an international crisis begin to show.

However, though Mayo's writing is engaging and intriguing and clearly based on a lot of research, one does wonder whether he could have said more. It is slightly odd that everyone acknowledges covid-19, yet the story plays out as if nobody has experienced this kind of thing before. My feeling is that this could have been an interesting focus in considering how we can so easily forget what it was like and revert back to normal, leaving us naively unprepared for the next thing to come along, yet that idea is never really developed. It's just a fairly straightforward story about normal-ish people on the precipice of disaster.

The plot wraps up too neatly and relies a little too much on coincidence to tie its strands together. A lot of its momentum is lost towards the middle as one of the character's heads out of London. Her decision doesn't really make sense in light of the rising action, yet it turns out to be a very fortuitous one.

All in all, I enjoyed this and came away from it feeling that I'd been educated about certain infections and their effects.

Omg as if a global pandemic isn't enough this one would drive most people crazy!! Objective tinnitus caused by what they are unsure at first as tinnitus is not infective!! But it's spreading rapidly. The book is told from perspective of Lily, Kit and Rose, will they find the answers and a cure before it's too late.
Fast paced and action packed

As usual in my reviews I will not rehash the plot - you should read this for yourself though!

Having read Simon Mayo's previous novels, I was delighted to be invited to read this one. I was not disappointed! Really enjoyed this novel - very different in structure to most in this genre, with a great element of tension throughout.

The characters of Kit, Rose and Lilly were very well written and believable, especially loved the relationship between Kit and Rose. The plot was well thought out (one of my suspicions about a character was borne out!), and is the kind of thing I could imagine happening in real life, which for me added to the whole read.

Recommended if you like your thrillers to have real tension and great characters. I think that fans of the likes of Michael Crichton would also enjoy this novel.

Already looking forward to Mr Mayo's next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

Thank you to the publisher for the invite to read Tick Tock by Simon Mayo.

Wow, wow, wow - this is a cracker of a read which I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. Having read Knife Edge I had high hopes with this book and was not disappointed. The author has, in my opinion, excelled and wrote a real page turner of a book here. The main characters Kit, Lily and Rose are very believable and tenacious and I liked and warmed to them straightaway. I loved everything about this book - the writing, the plot line, the separate story threads, the ease in which the book moved from past to present and how everything all came together as the book raced to a thrilling and nail biting ending. For me, it was one of those reads I found very hard to put down and I kept returning to it whenever I had any free time. And when I wasn’t reading this book I was thinking about the story, the characters and wondering how everything would work out. I loved the twists that kept me entertained and I think the author can really connect with his readers through his characters and writing. I absolutely loved this book, can’t fault it at all and at the moment this is one of my top reads for this year. I’d recommend this if you like books with a mystery/thriller element, give it a go, you won’t be disappointed.

This is the second book by Simon Mayo that I have read, and again it's a belter.
I read it over two evenings, both times staying up far later than normal as didn't want to put it down.
Great story, I liked the characters, just a really enjoyable read.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It had a great story and characters and I loved the way it all pulled together in the end, I will be recommending this book.