The End of October: A page-turning thriller that warned of the risk of a global virus

Brought to you by Penguin.

A DEADLY VIRUS. QUARANTINE. A WORLD IN LOCKDOWN. THE THRILLER THAT PREDICTED IT ALL.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'Flies thrillingly, eerily close to reality' Guardian

'This page-turner... is riveting and spookily anticipates much that has unfolded in reality' Sunday Times

A race-against-time thriller, as one man must find the origin and cure for a new killer virus that has brought the world to its knees.

At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with a mysterious fever. When Dr Henry Parsons - microbiologist and epidemiologist - travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will soon have staggering repercussions across the globe: an infected man is on his way to join the millions of worshippers in the annual Hajj to Mecca.

As international tensions rise and governments enforce unprecedented measures, Henry finds himself in a race against time to track the source and find a cure – before it’s too late . . .

***

'Eerily prescient. Too bad our leaders lack his foresight.' The New York Times

'Featuring accounts of past plagues and pandemics, descriptions of pathogens and how they work, and dark notes about global warming, the book produces deep shudders . . . A disturbing, eerily timed novel.' Kirkus Reviews

'A compelling read up to the last sentence. Wright has come up with a story worthy of Michael Crichton. In an eerily calm, matter-of-fact way, and backed by meticulous research, he imagines what the world would actually be like in the grip of a devastating new virus.' Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

'If you have a desire to really understand what is going on in the world right now, this is a novel that you cannot afford to miss!'

'Well-written and fast-paced. Most of all utterly, scarily, believable.'

'I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH, and actually much of what I learned has informed my understanding of our current coronavirus pandemic.'

'Very well written and researched, and an all-around fascinating story'