I’m not sure what possessed me to want to read Lockdown in the middle of lockdown but this is Peter May, so let’s say it’s curiosity rather than madness! This was written in 2005 when H5N1 avian flu posed a threat but was rejected by publishers as unrealistic - little did we know. This is a conspiracy thriller set in London at the epicentre of pandemic. Workmen at Archbishops Park uncover a bag containing a child’s bones which unleashes a chain of events that sinister forces lethally attempt to cover up. DI Jack MacNeil in his final hours as a working police officer is charged with identifying the child and who killed her and why. Jack is helped in his investigation by forensic officer Tom Bennet and Amy who is a forensic odontologist. The story is told from the perspectives of Jack, Amy and Pinkie who is hired by the mysterious Mr Smith to shut down the enquiry by any means.

The story is very well written, there are some scary scenes throughout the drama and a very exciting conclusion with London providing an atmospheric backdrop. The characters are really good especially Jack MacNeil who has his own tragedy to deal with. He is a complex character as he keeps a lot of emotion hidden as befits his Highland Presbyterian upbringing but there is much more to him than meets the eye. He’s brave and prepared to do what it takes to get to the truth. There is some powerful imagery especially towards the end and the section that features the London Eye was especially good. Some of the actions of Pinkie towards the end stretch credulity but did make for compelling reading.

Overall, an interesting plot which is different in many ways to our current scenario and an exciting thriller from the excellent Peter May.

When I saw this book on netgalley I thought it was perfect timing but when I read it I was less convinced. Could be too much gory detail for my taste or maybe I’m just “pandemic-ed” out at the moment but I found the story too dark to entertain me. Amazed when I discovered it was written years ago. Too chillingly possible at the moment.

This was a great read. Bought to life more given the current global situation.
Full of themes of a global pandemic, lockdown and stretched health services. A brilliant fictional insight into people’s minds as they are dealing with the situation

I’ll start by confessing I’m a big Peter May fan so when I saw this book I was so excited. The fact that it is set during a Lockdown in London in the midst of a Pandemic was a bonus. All that aside this is a really good book. It has everything a good police thriller should have, a lovable rogue of a leading detective, a proper bad guy, and a believable story.

It is a really fast-paced thriller. DI MacNeal is working out his last 24hrs with the police when he is tasked with finding the killer of a young girl whose bones have been found on a building site in London, whilst a hitman is tasked with making sure no evidence is left that can lead the police to the the identity of the child and how she died.

This story takes the reader on a fast-paced journey through a London at the centre of a global pandemic that not so long ago would have seemed liked science fiction rather than a believable police thriller,

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of Lockdown, a stand-alone thriller set in a London ravaged by a flu pandemic in 2005.

London is locked down with curfews and army checkpoints to keep the population safe. In the middle of this a bag of bones is found on a building site and DI Jack MacNeil on his last day in the job is assigned the case.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lockdown which is an exciting read with a relevant background to our current world. In his forward Mr May says that he wrote the novel in 2005 but it was deemed too far fetched to be published. Oh, how times have changed! He imagines a virus that is both infectious and deadly, although at 1.4 R0, not as infectious as our Coronavirus, which is currently rated at 2-2.6 R0. The fear, the panic and the lack of equipment are all there although the (delayed) response is rather more draconian and not beyond the bounds of possibility. Still, the author deserves 9/10 for his imagination and prescience. There are some nice touches throughout the novel, for example, a citizens’ militia protecting their own small space and the checkpoints manned by teenage soldiers.

The plot is interesting as MacNeil focuses entirely on the bones and step by step builds up his store of knowledge. Some of it is serendipitous, some of it is a product of what seems like a bygone age and some of it is sheer determination but it’s absorbing and moreish. It gets exciting as he goes rogue and manoeuvres against the system put in place to protect the citizenry. The novel does get a bit conspiratorial towards the end but, as with most conspiracy theories, it could be true and is certainly not impossible as you only have to look at some of the current ones. Another touch of prescience?

Lockdown is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

A very appropriate book to read in the current circumstances, as we are in lockdown at home due to the Covid-19 virus. This book tells the story of another global pandemic raging the world and London, the epicentre of the pandemic, being in lockdown. At a building site for a temporary hospital, construction workers find a bag containing the bones of a murdered child... and the killer will do anything to stop the bones being identified. D. I. Jack MacNeil investigates, but could he be in danger from the killer? Or could the virus get him first? A captivating thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and gives us all something to read and think about as we sit at home under our own quarantine... A recommended read.

Wow this one heck of a real gritty thriller set in London in the grip of a a global pandemic and it is certainly a very topical read and one that is completely relatable to and told in brilliant way right from the first page.
DI Jack MacNeil is on his last day at work when some bones of what seems to be a child are found and it’s a race to try and find out who this child is and what is the reason for their death. With London on lockdown and many areas are a no-go MacNeil is not having an easy time but he is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery before he leaves his job for good. I liked MacNeil he was a great character and I really enjoyed the book as I said it’s a topical read and one with plenty of action with a non stop race to the finish. My first Peter May book and it want be the last I’m sure.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books, Riverrun for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A really good book, but at time of review with the covid 19 happening it hits really close to home. I would recommend this book.

3. 5 stars

You might think that now is not the time to be reading about London in lockdown and global pandemics.... but the story is safe in Mays hands.
He luckily tells a story that is so far from where we're at that I just got lost in it.
Jack the main character is a driven man,and on his last day as a police officer is determined to find who murdered a young girl.
Ther is action a plenty in this,and some grisly stuff ,there's also a great double act forming towards the end of the book.
Set to a backdrop of a London in turmoil,I raced along with the characters and was more than happy with the conclusion.

This book was quite intense read it so quickly as we are currently in a flu epidemic its was like living In the real world reading it