Terrorist attacks and illnesses that don’t have a vaccine.... We could be talking about 2020 right?

We actually no, we're talking about the (not so distant) future. 2029 to be precise.

London 2029, 2 years after the devastating first attack where a nerve agent was thrown at Waterloo Station.

Only a few survived the attack. Now, the booster that was created to keep them safe is starting to diminish, and a scientist is found dead, a scientist that seemed to be on the right path for the vaccine…

Lucy, the main detective in the case, needs the booster to work, but also knows that finding the antidote will be game changing.

For it, she needs to find the killer…

Will she find all the answers before it’s too late?

Well written, addictive and unpredictable. This is a book I have really enjoyed and devoured. i definitely want to read more from this author. Full Review to follow.

I think this book combines two of the most frightening things that are happening right now; terrorist attacks and illnesses that don’t have a vaccine. So, be prepared for a story that will make you think about your life and the society you are living.
This is a dystopian story, based in the near future, London 2029, 2 years after the first attack where a nerve gas was thrown at the Waterloo Station. Only a few survived the attack, and there was a 10% of the population who always died, the “Vulnerables”. Now, the booster that was created to keep them safe is starting to diminish, and a scientist is found dead, a scientist that seemed to be on the right path for the vaccine… Lucy, the main detective in the case, needs the booster to work, but also knows that finding the antidote will be game changing. For it, she needs to find the killer… Will she find all the answers before it’s too late?
I have to say that I really enjoyed this book, it shows the reader how unprotected we are in the bioterrorist world. With a story that mixes some real threats and fantasy it was quite impossible to not fall for it, wanting to know more about the characters and how the story develops.
I think this is quite an interesting book, perfect to make you fear the future but become more aware that it doesn’t matter what surprises the future awaits for us, there will always be someone ready to fight.
Are you ready for “London in Black”?

I did like this thriller novel and found the action and the drama fast paced and suspenseful. The action was written well and i liked Lucy as a character as she was layered and written really well. The plot was good and i think the writing of it was really clear and it had good pacing in the action scenes. The writing was dynamic and kept me on edge throughout.

A great read that mixes classic police procedural with some dystopian vibes (although not set too far in the future, only 2029).

With the current pandemic we’ve all experienced, this books plot is something we could scarily relate too, however a bit more extreme than our current situation.

I was intrigued by the ‘vulnerables’ and the main character DI Lucy Stone. The tension built slowly and I was gripped to know just how it was going to end.

Overall this was a gripping read with a unique plot and cast of characters!

Unfortunately this was a DNA for me as I struggled with the structure of the book but thought the synopsis was intriguing

This was a mix of genres, all of which I really enjoy reading, so it sounded great!
After living through a pandemic, I felt the dystopian vibes really strongly- will our booster vaccines become less effective the more we have? This book really gives you something to think about.
The writing style took some getting used to, and the short sentences made it difficult for me to relax into the story as it didn't flow particularly well.
I did adjust though and I enjoyed the book. The plot kept my interest on the whole, and I would be interested to read more from Jack Lutz, as I think he may write more unusual and interesting novels that are a combination of genres through a thought-provoking premise.

So Di Lucy Stone is a survivor from an attack in London 2027, the time now is 2029. Lucy like other survivors needs to inject herself to keep her levels up as her body has been left "vulnerable" - some are visibly marked after the terror attack, many died. We hear about it back and forth between timelines. Now there has been a murder, someone who worked hard to help the vulnerable, is this what motivated the killing? Lucy investigates the case with her new colleague, fighting against her condition and religious zealots.

So I struggled a bit to start with as Lucy, I get she is/has this horrific after effect and survivor guilt and references to this debt she feels she has and something that happened in her past. She is a DCI though and acts like a hormonal teenager, smashing up an office, deliberately manipulating her superior although maybe this was to highlight the issues with the exposure she had, the survivor guilt as the boss cuts her a lot of slack.

I did find her ability to recognise faces interesting and would have loved more use of that and references. Another thing was the constant reference to her tugging on her hoodie strings, do DCI's actually wear casuals like that? Fair enough if so I just wasn't sure of it nor the often reference to her tugging on it, maybe meant to highlight her twitchiness and repetition as a comfort measure. After five times though it just felt it wasn't needed.

I think the attacks were really interesting and would have liked the story to explore more of it as more attacks happen, religious movements come after (how often do we hear a tragedy being held against survivors and attributed to God(s).

There was a lot going on so you are kept interested in the story but some of it was quite distracting, her constant thoughts to what she perceives as her debt. We know she has guilty feelings over someone but it hints and for me dragged out.

The characters I can't say I loved any of them and when I thought something was maybe happening with one or two and hinted at it kind of fell a bit flat. Lots of swearing, police procedural as we follow Lucy and co trying to find a motive and the actual killer.

Like I say interesting enough but I would have liked a bit more on the terror attacks, the people behind it, the other vulnerables, why was Lucy so different? I would have liked more depth to the characters but if this is book one in a series (not sure it is) it is a good foundation for the series, this is a debut.

London in Black is a high-paced thriller set in the near future, where Londoner’s suffered a string of chemical weapon attacks, leaving a small portion of society at risk of certain death.

Tensions run high as scattered copy cat attacks put DI Lucy Stone at risk, as a Vulnerable herself. She’s woven in circles across the city to unearth the research on an antidote, and who killed the man researching it. With less than tolerable colleagues and the painful wounds of her past tearing open, we watch Lucy fight against the clock to protect herself and her city.

This novel was excellent and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading a well blended dystopian thriller!

London in Black is a an exciting mix of genres that work so well together to create a dystopian crime novel that is believable and intense. Set in the not-too-distant future, this novel is terrifyingly plausible and really brings some thought provoking questions to the forefront of the reader’s mind.
The main character Lucy isn’t the most stable of people and using short, punchy sentences to portray her desperate and sometimes disjointed thinking/reasoning gave me a interesting perspective into her state of mind. IN the beginning, not much is revealed about the previous events of Lucy herself and it was fun to piece things together as more information was revealed through the narrative. Jack Lutz’s writing style is definitely unique and too me a while to adjust to but it was very worth persevering with. As I became more fluent in his style, the sharpness of it really worked for me.
Lucy herself is a fascinating character. Strong and independent but carrying a lot of trauma and emotional baggage, she struggles in many areas of life – especially following orders and working as a team. She isn’t always likable or the most relatable but is passionate and dedicated to her cause and this is very admirable.
I really enjoyed this novel and it was a refreshing change to read a dystopian crime thriller although at times it wasn’t that dystopian in feel, making it chilling in some aspects. I enjoyed this unique plot and look forward to more work by Jack Lutz.

Oh my. This book had me absolutely hooked! Firstly, the premise is of a deadly attack of nerve agents and the descriptions of its effects are horrifying. This is definitely not a book for the faint hearted! Everything about the situation that London finds itself in with the attacks felt so real, especially given what has happened globally over the last few years. The atmosphere that the author created was so tense and the story moved at such a great pace, you always found yourself thinking “just one more chapter”.

I really enjoyed the range of characters in the book, and I was particularly touched by Lucy’s backstory with her husband. I don’t want to spoil it, but it really pulled at my heartstrings in such a tragic way. The author leaves breadcrumbs throughout the book so you are left wondering what the devastating “thing that happened” was, and it blew me away with the reveal.

My only niggle is there were quite a few characters so I found it sometimes a little bit hard to keep track of exactly who was who. That being said, I’ve found that with a fair few books recently so that probably says more about me than the book!

If you enjoy crime, sci-fi or dystopia, I would highly recommend London in Black. I thought it was brilliant.

What a gritty emotional read. So many moments I was on the edge of my seat. A real page Turner. I was rooting for Lucy the whole way through. The ending was perfect!

Thank you to Pushkin Press and Tara McEvoy for my gifted copy and for having me along on the tour.

LONDON 2027. Terrorists deploy London Black, a highly sophisticated nerve gas, at Waterloo Station. For the 'Vulnerables', exposure means near-certain death. A lucky few survive, aided by Boost injections.

LONDON 2029. Copy-cat attacks plague the city. DI Lucy Stone, a guilt-ridden Vulnerable, is called to investigate a gruesome murder of a scientist, who might have held the key to an antidote. But is the antidote real?

And can Lucy solve the case before her Boosts stop working, leaving her defenceless once again?

Review 💉🩸
I was intrigued by this book & was interested to see how it would play out.

I really liked Lucy for her dogged determination and her sweary internal monologues! She’s a super recogniser which I could relate to a tiny bit as I never forget a face. I do feel like her constant guilt and stress about her ‘debt’ was a little distracting at points.

This book gives you the terrifying realities of what would/could happen if a nerve agent was released in London. The writing keeps you gripped and the pages turning. I can see why it’s billed as “Summers hottest thriller”!

I love dystopian novels so I was excited to read this book.

The book is set in 2029, following a series of terror attacks which started at Waterloo station in 2027 when nerve gas was released. For ten percent of people, known as 'the vulnerables' exposure to this means a painful death. These attacks have continued across London and the only way for 'the vulnerables' to stay protected is for them to do daily 'boost' injections.

Time is running out as these boosts are becoming less effective.
In the midst of this DI Stone is investigating the murder of a scientist. Is it true that he was developing an antidote? Can she uncover the truth before the boosts stop working?

Covid. Definitely a thing. In the aftermath of a pandemic are we ready for a tale of dystopian threat from a lethal terrorist nerve agent that will kill thousands in London?
Hold onto your hats-very tightly.....
This is a break neck, staccato sentence roller coaster of a read. I love Lucy Stone-the feisty cop who has 'survived' the London Black attack of 2027 but is one of the 62 'Vulnerables' who owes a debt and needs an antidote.
When copy cat deaths begin in 2029 and Flinders Cox, head of Cox Labs is found dead there is not just a murderer on the loose but someone with a possible link to kill many more.
This is definitely London based - perhaps the very link to 'Lockdown' by Peter May which predicted a pandemic that would bring the capital to a standstill and a virus that would kill many and spread across the world. Lucy and Ed (her partner in crime?) make a good double act and the discussion of global companies making profits out of illness/death and corruption at the Met Police seem far too believable after what we know now.....
Sharp, scary - often simply terrifying.
There is humour. it's dark......pretty much like the death threat that stalks this ambitious dystopian crime tale.

Rating: 2.0/5

I have seen this described as likely to appeal to people who enjoy Andrew Hunter Murray's work - something I can only assume is based purely on the dystopian elements it contains. That aspect aside, there are few obvious similarities. I would suggest that the style of Jack Lutz's debut novel has more in common with the likes of Stuart MacBride or Simon Kernick.

I was attracted by the premise of "London in Black", but I don't feel that the author made the most of its potential. It never really drew me into the fictional world that Jack Lutz was describing. If you were to strip out the dystopian near future element of the story, you would be left with a fairly run-of-the-mill, gritty and expletive-ridden police procedural. (The total word count would certainly be dramatically reduced if all references to the "F" word were edited out.) The over-used staccato style employed by the writer soon lost its early impact and, instead of creating a sense of edginess, it became both tired and tiresome.

Nor was I particularly taken with the characterisation. The supporting cast members are essentially two-dimensional, and even the more fully-drawn chief protagonist, Lucy Stone, the detective at the heart of the story, is little more than another maverick cop, complete with the obligatory flawed character and/or tortured personal history that so frequently features in the police procedural genre.

There may be readers out there who will really enjoy "London in Black", but it didn't do a great deal for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

This dystopian novel keep you on your toes. Totally immersed in the book, I felt thrill and suspense out of every words etched into the book. Highly engrossing.

I really enjoyed this book... I found it thrilling and engaging and loved how the different parts connected up. Would definitely recommend

what an interesting premise really enjoyed this thank you for the opportunity to review flew through it.