Phiney Wistman is a nurse working at the children’s oncology ward. She receives a phone call from her step-grandmother, Dora, who informs her that her beloved grandad, Wilfred, has committed suicide by jumping off a bridge.

Phiney can’t believe that her grandad would have done such a thing. After having polio as a child, he could walk with great difficulty, and jumping off a bridge would require climbing over a rail – something hard to achieve when you’re elderly with a physical impairment.

Phiney, accompanied by Dora and Mat, a journalist, start to investigate and they stumble upon a sixty-year-old secret concerning seven people and a pharmaceutical lab. Then, the people involved in the secret begin dying, one by one…

What a story! This book is inspired by Coventry polio epidemic and the Cutter Incident that occurred in the USA in 1955. I have never heard of the latter and I immediately looked it up.

I found Phiney quite a conflicting character at times, especially when it came to germs – she was very health conscious and yet she worked in a busy hospital surrounded by sick people. She had a somewhat strained relationship with her step-grandmother, Dora, but I felt that as the book progressed, the relationship between the two women improved a great deal.

Thank you to Verve Books for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

Six decades. Seven people. One unspeakable secret.

A Quiet Contagion is Wilf’s story, a story set around Coventry told in 2 concurrent parts; a story from 1957 and a story from now.

We begin with Wilf’s passing, which turns out to be a little more than an accident, and Wilf’s daughter Phiney is determined to understand what led to her grandfathers demise. She has company from her grandfather’s widow Dora, best friend Meg and journalist Mat along the way.

The book is centered around the polio epidemic, vaccines and controversy - a little reminiscent of our recent Covid 19 pandemic. There are twists and turns, secrets and shocks. I really enjoyed this book, more than I anticipated I might at the start given the subject matter and the fact I had no prior knowledge of the author. Definitely a recommended read.

I admit to knowing a little about the polio outbreaks and how awful it was in the 50s but this story really brought it home how terrible and frightening it must have been. At first I didn’t engage with Phinney as she’s not my kind of woman, but she gradually grew on me - as did a couple of other characters. The pace was well set and the action was well described. The denouement was more about the reader’s moral compass - which I have to say, worked for me. A good book for a book club, group discussion.

This story is based around the polio epidemic of the 1950s and an unspeakable mystery relating to one of the laboratories producing the polio vaccine. The timeline switches from the present day and the mystery surrounding the suicide of one of the former workers at the laboratory and the cover-up of a terrible mistake, which may or may not have been done for the right reasons. A great book club read as it raises some interesting ethical issues but at the same time it’s a compelling story with relatable characters, though at times a bit slow to get going.

With thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it fell short. The concept seems great - a secret from the past threatens the lives of those in the future. But I just didn't find this book gripping at all. I wasn't hooked to it, and honestly it felt like a chore to read it. It was only around 85% that the secret came out and it started to get interesting. I was disappointed with this book, and it has put me off reading anymore from this author.

The book burb sets the scene well and you are straight into the mystery. This book is based on the polio epidemic of the 50s.
Told from the pov of phinney with the big secret revealed over different interactions amd timelines
I found it an emotional read as the secret is revealed. The fact that the author confimes their ispiration was a real life incident makes it hartowing. This deals with a complex issuse in a fictional way. Its full of drama and red herrings. The final reveal felt a little untrue to some of the narrative up to that point. The character were complex and the skillful writing gave me as reader the chance to see the complex nature of the secret. An emotional 5 star read that could be a realitu. Thank you netgallery and publisher and author.

This is a gripping standalone mystery thriller with science & cover-up all rolled in to one.

1957 doesn’t sound that long ago but it is & so much has changed in the world including medical advances since then. This book is inspired by the Coventry polio epidemic of that year & the pharmaceutical company that was battling against it. Set predominantly over two timelines we meet Phiney, who is dealing with her beloved grandfather’s death & back in 1957, we meet Wilf, her grandfather, who is working at the aforementioned company. An incident occurs when he was working there which has repercussions over the ensuing decades right up to the present day.

Well researched & thought provoking, you can’t help but think of the outbreak of COVID-19 & the what if scenarios. Easy to follow with fleshed out characters, whether likeable or not. A recommended read.

Fascinating! I didn't really know what to expect from this, but what I got was a well researched, well written and tense thriller, based on the 1957 Coventry Polio Epidemic.

A terrifying account of how one seemingly small error from a scientist can cause catastrophic and wide-reaching results and how the impact of that affects their colleagues and the public for generations,

Very enjoyable and recommended.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jane Jesmond and Verve for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I really thought this was going to be exactly the kind of tale I enjoy but unfortunately I didn’t engage with the story at all There’s itching I can say was particularly wrong with it just not for me.

I'm picky about thrillers and this one had real promise. I loved the premise - a catastrophic event in a small pharmaceutical company producing the polio vaccine in 1957 that had to be covered up at all costs, and the apparent suicide of an elderly man (Wilf) in 2017 who had spent a summer at the company in that fateful year. Wilf's granddaughter Phiney sets out on a perilous mission to find out what happened and if the two events are connected.

The start of this book reminded me a little of Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers with some classy writing and an evocative 1950s setting. The pacing, however, was a little slow with a lot of superfluous descriptive detail that took the tension out of the story at times. The mystery of what happened in 1957 is withheld from the reader until around 75% of the book, which felt just a tad too long.

Having said that, the climax of the novel is tense and gripping, and I raced through the last quarter of the book. Overall a solid thriller/mystery that many will enjoy I think. If you love dogs, Wilf's lovable worker dog Jack is a constant throughout the book. Not a must-read but a nice read. I'd put this one in the cosy crime category for those who are partial! 3.5/5 stars

*Many thanks to the author and publisher Verve Books for an arc via @netgalley. A Quiet Contagion was published this month (November 2023). The audio is available on Everand - I listened to a sample and it was very good. As always, this is an honest review.

I got hooked instantly!

The premise intrigued me, and the story did not disappoint.

The pages turned easily and quickly, a suspenseful thriller where the characters were engaging and I didn't want it to end.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Wilf has lived with illness all of his life, and seems to have dealt with it well.

Until he hasn't...

His death from a fall at a Railway station is no accident.

Except to those around him who cannot believe it could be anything but.

Josephine, otherwise known as Phiney is devastated at the loss of her beloved Grandfather, Wilf. She doesn't believe that he would commit suicide, not when he had so much to live for, despite his health issues stemming from childhood Polio.

But there is one thing bothering her. He was in Coventry on the day of his death, but she didn't know he was going to be there. Why would he not have mentioned it, or come to visit her?

Dora, Wilf's widow is also unaccepting of the explanation for Wilf's death. Her and Phiney haven't always seen eye to eye, but on this subject they agree that the truth must be uncovered.

Wilf's death was witnessed by one person, a local journalist Mat. He is sympathetic to a point. But he knows what he saw, and he knows how to sniff out a story. Meaning he doesn't seem immediately trustworthy to either Phiney or Dora.

When Phiney comes across an old photograph in her Grandfather's shed, she wonders if it holds any clues as to why he was in Coventry on the day of his death. She decides to try and track down the others from that time.

I did feel like we didn't find out what had happened until quite late on in the book, but the air of mystery kind of added to the story from my perspective. This is a unique type of crime thriller, which I really enjoyed.

A Quiet Contagion was a fast-paced and all-absorbing read based on a pharmaceutical company's actions in the 1950s. Moving back and forth between 1957 and 2017, keeping the intrigue going by revealing secrets from the past without interrupting the flow of the story. The characters were very likeable, not overplayed and ones I felt invested in. Although this story is fictitious, it could well have been a plausible scenario from the past. Having a public health background, I felt the topic was sensitively written, and the ethical dilemmas the characters in both periods faced were interesting. A great topic, a delightful read, and I will definitely be reading more of this author’s work.

A well-crafted, intriguing thriller that investigates an incident at a pharmaceutical company in the fifties and the repercussions that have echoed down the decades. I was hooked from the start and liked the pace, which could be quite leisurely at times, and the characterisation. The details about polio and Coventry gave depth. All in all a really good read.

A Quiet Contagion is a strong and pacey thriller, relating the consequences in the present day of a past medical error. In a post-Covid world, the central theme of public vaccinations couldn't be more appropriate.

The characters in A Quiet Contagion are strong and distinctive, the writing solid, and it's very well structured, rather like a police procedural albeit with civilian investigators, It's expertly paced, with some good twists and some intense moments, not least in the final scenes.

Altogether an excellent read and a cut above your average thriller.

After her terrific Jen Shaw series, Jane Jesmond writes a well researched, detailed and profoundly thought provoking blend of fact and fiction, a gripping, dark and disturbing fast paced medical thriller that strongly resonates with our contemporary world and the global experience of Covid 19. In a narrative that shifts from 1957 and the present, Wilf Patterson, nurse Phiney's beloved grandfather has apparently committed suicide, jumping off a railway bridge in Coventry, witnessed by journalist Mat Torrington. A shocked Phiney cannot believe it, surely he would never do that to her and her step-grandmother, Dora? Driven by the need for answers, Phiney and Dora begin to probe into the death.

They embark on a unsettling and twisted path that uncovers secrets and Wilf's connection and links with a haunting nightmare of a past, to 1957, with a photograph showing Wilf with others from that time. There are other suspicious deaths and danger, the tragedy and horrors of errors made in the turbulent times of the polio epidemic of 1957, of which we are given an indepth picture of the terrors and the repercussions that followed from that time. This is a sensitive exploration of medical ethics and more. This is atmospheric, emotive, complex and informed storytelling, with Jesmond creating and developing authentic stellar characters that grabbed my attention and that I wanted to know more about.

A highly engaging read that I recommend to other readers who enjoy smart and thoughtful novels within the mystery and thriller genres. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

A Quiet Contagion is a compelling thriller inspired by the 1957 Coventry polio epidemic.

With a split timeline and multiple perspectives, Jesmond builds a gripping mystery full of twists and turns to keep you guessing. For a high-stakes thriller, I love that it centres on some fairly 'normal' characters - there are no international spies or supervillains here. The protagonist Phiney is a grumpy young nurse, with a stubborn streak that makes her a formidable detective. It makes the mystery all the more believable - especially as Jesmond explores the moral complexity at the heart of the story. The Coventry setting also feels wonderfully real - although I may be biased being local myself!

Tense and thought-provoking, A Quiet Contagion makes for a compulsive read.

I am not a fan of dual timelines set so long apart, in this case 1957 to 2017. In Coventry there was a secret covered up which affected the lives of a handful of people and a wider community.

There are certain parallels to the recent Covid outbreaks (and the revelations in the UK's Covid inquiry currently taking place).

Lots going on, but there is a great chance to give away too many spoilers. The book title helps!

I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Net Galley and Crime and Mystery Club for the chance to read and review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this extremely well researched thriller set around a polio outbreak in Enland in the late 1950's. Told in a dual timeline, 1957 and 2017, the mystery runs through the book and keeps developing as each layer is uncovered. Jane Jesmond's characters and their relationships are so well written, especially Phiney and Dora's. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to read an arc of what was definitely one of my best reads of 2023.

When Phiney’s grandfather commits suicide, she can’t believe it wasn’t an accident, until she meets Matt, the journalist who witnessed him jumping off the bridge. She needs to know why and with the help of Matt and Dora, her step-nan, begins to dig. She uncovers long-held secrets and a lifetime of guilt linked to Berkswell House, the former home of a pharmaceuticals company.
This was a chilling read, particularly in the light of historic and recent world events. A great read from Jane Jesmond!