Julie Anderson – Plague

‘Plague’ by Julie Anderson is the first instalment in a planned trilogy. It features Cassandra (Cassie), who WAS a GCHQ spook but has been demoted to a procurement position in the Civil Service. She is based in The Palace of Westminster but, oh my, is she unhappy with this position! What she doesn’t know is that an event will affect her life and it has the possibility of placing her right back to the level she thinks she deserves.

Dr Andrew Rowlands is attending the funeral of a young Danish boy. Andrew is there as the boy is the 7th victim who was raped and murdered. All of them being young and vulnerable, Andrew has sworn to catch this monster.

At the same time, Cassie is below ground where excavation work has had to be stopped for Crossrail due to the discovery of a chamber that may be over 500 years old. It begins to collapse, revealing a dead body, a lot more recent than the possible 500 years the chamber has been there. Has the killer struck again? She receives orders from the Prime Minister, she has 7 days for information gathering for inclusion in the investigation. Cassie sees her opportunity to claw her way back to the power she once had. one of her observations, the fact that the victim had a Polish tattoo, surely means there have to be people who are able to identify this victim.

Bodies pile up and one of them she recognises from the Palace, AND he has HER access cars on his person… Cassie realises the killer must have excellent knowledge of the history of London as every victim is found in one of the various ‘plague pits’ in London. Someone who enjoys creating hysteria. As they continue to discover bodies the killer begins to become rather sloppy, leaving an important clue behind. The biggest help is when they discover his latest victim alive!

The story is such a gripping one! We are immersed in the ways of the spooks, the backstabbers, climbers and even the dodgy dealings that are part of this story. Julie Anderson translates her experience excellently into the book, carefully and skilfully weaving a web of lies, intrigue and mystery together to allow us a peek into this world. Her research shines through with the bubonic pits and ancient parts of London I have no clue about.

A fast-paced read that had me on the edge of my seat by the final chapters. I am really looking forward to the next book now.

Thanks to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours and Julie Anderson for my copy of the book, I really enjoyed getting to grips with the past!