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!

I really enjoyed this book. In 1957 a catastrophe happened at a pharmaceutical company in Coventry where 16 year old Wilf was working for the summer. What happened needed to be covered up at all costs. In 2017 Wilf jumps from a railway bridge after a meeting in Coventry. The only witness is a journalist, Mat. Together with Wilf's granddaughter Phiney and his widow, Dora, Mat is determined to get to the truth. This is a real page turner that will keep you guessing to the end.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

This book caught my attention as it relates to the polio epidemic in the 1950s which I remember well and which my husband was unfortunate enough to catch. The story flits between timezones as Phiney tries to solve the question as to why her beloved grandfather, a victim of polio, threw himself off a bridge 60 years after contracting it. She slowly uncovers a history of pharmaceutical errors and cover ups which have plagued the lives of those involved. This is my first book by Jane Jesmond but I doubt it will be my last. The tension is maintained throughout as the plot is revealed bit by tiny bit. An excellent read. 5*
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This was definitely different to other books I've read which kept me hooked. The twists and turns were able to keep me gripped too.

Gripping and convincing.
This novel turned out to be much better than I expected. Smooth reading experience, flawless writing style, characters with their own personality, and a plot that's intriguing and convincing. Add to it the fact, that most of the events take place in a close to my heart place - Derbyshire and it´s almost perfect.
On the downside, it´s somehow disappointing, that the author decided to go with the flow and throw in the gay and trans part. It does feel like there can be no film or a book without LGBT these days. I don´t mind, but is this really necessary?

I really enjoyed this book. It had me hooked right from the beginning. In fact it had me hooked just from the book description. “Inspired by the 1957 Coventry polio epidemic” and “a catastrophe surrounding a pharmaceutical company” grabbed me straight away. I like anything with a medical background to it. Add to that a cover-up by pharma, and I knew this book was going to be right up my street.

What I wasn’t expecting though was the emotional aspect, the poignancy that flows through the story. Phiney is shocked and distressed when she learns of her grandfather’s death. He had looked after her and brought her up after her mother died of cancer. She couldn’t understand why he would take his own life. It is partly because Phiney can’t believe her grandad would do that, just suddenly leave her and his wife Dora that she goes to find the only witness, a journalist Mat who witnessed the incident at a railway station.

From there we the reader, as well as Mat, Dora and Phiney are taken on, at times, a daunting journey of discovery to find out why there are so many secrets surrounding Wilf’s death.

There are many twists and turns, revelations, and a constant drip, drip of suspense with the mystery of what happened at the pharmaceutical lab all those years ago being a constant throughout the book, almost to the end. I loved the tension in it, and the ongoing mystery which keeps you turning the pages. As I got further on in the book I thought it would make for an excellent book club read with so much to discuss, so was interested to see there is indeed a list of questions for a book club discussion at the end of the book. (A note to the wise for readers of the book, don’t go to the back and look at the questions until you’ve read it, or you’ll spoil the whole story for yourself). It really is a tense, thrilling read, but I’ve tried to keep my thoughts to a minimum for fear of saying too much and spoiling it for potential readers.

I absolutely loved it and will be recommending it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

**To be posted to blog around publication date.**

I thoroughly enjoyed this inventive thriller. The story was very interesting and kept me wanting to read more. The main premise of the book is based around medical ethics, historical interest and secrets. The book has a core group of characters that blended really well. I particularly loved how Phinney and Dora’s relationship developed throughout the story. A highly entertaining story that I would definitely recommend. I have given it 5 stars.

Oh what a brilliant read this was from start to finish I was completely absorbed and my only complaint is that it had to end !
I absolutely loved the characters they were so well written and the relationship between Phiney and Dora and how it changed was just so wonderful. The humour in the book was also something that was really well done and worked really along side the quite difficult subject matter they was at the heart of the read. The author I think did an excellent and skilful job of weaving a story through different timelines and characters and I never felt lost in what could have been a complicated story line. I have no hesitation in giving the book 5 stars it really does deserve more it was one of those reads that I will remember for a long time and many thanks to Jane Jesmond it was superb.
My thanks also to NetGalley and The Crime and Mystery Club, Verve Books for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Prior to picking up this book, I was unaware of the polio epidemic in Coventry during the 1950s following a series of supply issues that had led to a shortage of the new polio vaccine….. Given the ongoing investigations into the COVID pandemic, this story has a timely resonance!
This was an engaging read, the characters were vividly portrayed, the plot held my interest. A recommended read.

A clever, well researched novel centered on an outbreak of Polio in 1957 in Coventry and the Pharmaceutical company that made the vaccine. Told in a dual timeline, it makes an exciting thriller as mistakes made then come back to haunt 2017.
The mystery develops throughout the novel which keeps the suspense building as people connected to the company die, maybe naturally, maybe murdered. The historical detail is spot on and there is a moral element as well. The characters hunting for the truth are well done too. I loved the difficult relationship between Phiney and her Step Grandmother which develops. Altogether an intelligent novel which I very much enjoyed and which still lingers - always a good sign. Recommended.

This is one of those books that you look forward to reading the next chapter and then just have to keep going……
I am old enough to remember the polio epidemic and news films about kids in iron lungs and wearing callipers so I enjoyed the historic details. The crime aspect is well handled and kept me guessing almost to the end. All-in-all a very enjoyable read and the first novel by Jane Jesmond I have come across - I will be looking for more!

As someone from the Midlands, I really felt connected to this book being based in Coventry. This was also the first time I have heard about the Coventry Polio epidemic! This book was fast-paced, I flew through it and never got bored. The twists were excellent and for the majority of the book I did not see where it was going! Great mystery and suspense book. I look forward to reading more books by Jane Jesmond.

Jane Jesmond’s novel, A Quiet Contagion, is inspired by the 1957 Coventry polio epidemic and the negative vaccination history of The Cutter Incident in 1955 USA. I was expecting a more gritty and hard hitting version of the fictionalised events, considering the historical basis of the novel, and was somewhat disappointed. However, the novel is well-written.

A Quiet Contagion is a masterpiece, a thriller through and through whereby I was always kept guessing as to what the secret that the 6 staff members of Poulter's pharmaceuticals were keeping and why people were dying due to it.

I found Phiney to be a wonderful protagonist, I was truly worried for her and rooting for her in equal measure. The book is well written and had me turning pages deep into the night. The cast of characters around her were colourful and believable. Mat, the quiet, unassuming journalist. Dora, Phiney's staid and sensible step-grandmother, wife to Phiney's beloved grandfather Wilf, who dies early on in the story and Meghan, Phiney's best friend and nurse colleague.

Does the secret come out, or have too many people died and taken any evidence with them?

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good page-turner to keep them company until the early hours.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read 'A Quiet Contagion'. I did not know about the polio epidemic in Coventry during the 1950s and was fascinated to learn about it as the setting for this thriller.

The characters were well-described and the plot was interesting and fast paced. The story was very plausible and with the current investigations into the COVID pandemic, it is quite topical.

I recommend this book if you are looking for a quick read which will keep you hooked.

So, the best part was how well thought of & well researched the book is. Upon reading this, as a young non-American, I also get to learn about polio pandemics that happened half a century ago, about the Coventry polio epidemic & about the Cutter incident. I like how in the end the author give notes & more insights on the event and tell us the author works carefully treading the details as they highlight this topic to become a work of fiction.

Now, I went in expecting a thriller & crime mystery--which was what the book is about, sure. But it also, has the feeling of historical fiction to it. Was it intended? Perhaps not (or maybe?) but I wonder if it comes across that way too for other readers or the author. There were some subplots & plot reveal that felt..? I'm sure it wasn't intended that way, but the way it's delivered, it somehow appears like it's a filler. I wish to explore a bit more about Phiney's medical condition & test result because of the built up to it; but the second it was out, the subplot was dropped immediately: resolved abruptly & vanish into thin air. As for how most of the people responsible to the incident & scandal conveniently die, the ending left me hanging & unsatisfied. So what happened to them? Sure the police won't investigate, but which death were indeed accidents as it is, did Wilf end his own life or was he (and the rest) murdered? How about Harry, and Phiney's being pushed in early part of the book?

So many questions was intrigued in me but I find so little answer, I wish the reader could have deeper conclusion to all this mess. But quite a good one. I appreciate the sentiment on writing a book based on such important event. Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me an early read through the eARC.

I found the author Jane Jesmond through Amazon Reads and loved ‘Her’ so I was excited to read her new title. It was an engaging read that keeps the reader thrilled throughout!

I didn’t really know what to expect from this, thinking it was going to be some mad outbreak. Without revealing too much, Scientists were working on a vaccine in the 50s and made a deadly mistake. The grand daughter of one of the ‘group’ set out to solve the mystery after her grandfather died very suddenly.

A recommended read.

Thanks to #netgalley for this #ARC

A novel about the polio outbreak in 1957 and how the country reacted.
O f course there is more to it than that and two timelines take this further and make a mystery and ethical drama from it.
I didn't know about the polio incident of the 1950s and found this fascinating. Very sadly reminiscent of the recent covid vaccine saga.

I've enjoyed all three of Jesmond's previous books and so I thought A Quiet Contagion would be a shoe in as well. And I wasn't disappointed. While this was a quieter book that her Jen Shaw thrillers and lacked the supernatural chill of Her, AQC was full of mystery, historical twists and turns and quiet creeping dread. A medical chiller that was so well researched and depicted, it could have really happened. Phiney isn't an especially likeable character, at least initially. Her fixation with healthiness is understandable but also comes with a lot of judgemental thoughts and behaviour. She also seems to keep everyone at arm's length, again understandable behaviour given how many people have died on her but as a combination, it doesn't make her especially engaging. However, I am a big fan of not holding female characters to an impossible standard and letting them be whole flawed people, which is definitely what's going on here. Anyway, Phiney is waiting on some sensitive news and a different set of bad news hits her out of the blue. Her beloved grandfather has killed himself in a move so totally out of character, it's left her and her step grandmother reeling. Convinced there must have been foul play. The more the unlikely team of Phiney, her best friend, her grandfather's widow and a reporter who was the only witness of the suicide scratch at the surface, the more pieces fall away to reveal a very dark picture indeed. A cover up worth killing for. Overall this was clever and fast paced. A thoroughly enjoyable read.