Child Zero

A Novel

By: Chris Holm

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

From molecular biologist turned Anthony Award-winning author of The Killing Kind comes a fact-based thriller in the vein of Michael Crichton about our species’ next great existential threat.

It began four years ago with a worldwide uptick of bacterial infections: meningitis in Frankfurt, cholera in Johannesburg, tuberculosis in New Delhi. Although the outbreaks spread aggressively and proved impervious to our drugs of last resort, public health officials initially dismissed them as unrelated.

They were wrong. Antibiotic resistance soon roiled across the globe. Diseases long thought beaten came surging back. The death toll skyrocketed. Then New York City was ravaged by the most heinous act of bioterror the world had ever seen, perpetrated by a new brand of extremist bent on pushing humanity to extinction.

Detective Jacob Gibson, who lost his wife in the 8/17 attack, is home caring for his sick daughter when his partner summons him to a sprawling shantytown in Central Park, the apparent site of a mass murder. Jake is startled to discover that, despite a life of abject squalor, the victims died in perfect health—and his only hope of finding answers is a twelve-year-old boy on the run from some very dangerous men.

Critic reviews

"Intense, propulsive, provocative - and shot through with the kind of been-there, done-that authenticity and expertise that makes it really scary.... Highly recommended."
—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of BETTER OFF DEAD

"CHILD ZERO is a tour de force, beautifully written and hauntingly relevant. Chris Holm has given us a powerful and chilling near-future thriller with a breakneck pace in the best tradition of Michael Crichton's novels and Max Brooks' WORLD WAR Z."
—Matthew Quirk, New York Times-bestselling author of THE 500 and THE NIGHT AGENT

"Terrific... a terrifying, all-too-plausible thriller in the Michael Crichton tradition... a white-knuckle tear through the streets of a New York laid waste by pandemics of the future. I lost a lot of sleep over this book, even after I finished reading it."—Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of JUDGMENT

“CHILD ZERO is a thriller that truly thrills! With warp-speed pacing and frightening medical details, it offers a terrifying look at a world gone mad and the possible plagues to come.”—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times-bestselling author of LISTEN TO ME

"A chilling vision of the future that would make Michael Crichton proud. Like the best speculative fiction, Holm doesn’t offer an easy out. An airtight, propulsive thriller, CHILD ZERO just keeps turning the screws past the breaking point. Exactly my kind of book!"—Matthew FitzSimmons, bestselling author of CONSTANCE and the Gibson Vaughn books

“CHILD ZERO gave me nightmares – in the best possible way. Chris Holm offers a terrifying and convincing glimpse into the future that may well await us, while at the same time telling a deeply compelling story full of heart and, despite all the odds, hope. I couldn’t put this one down.”—Lou Berney, New York Times-bestselling author of NOVEMBER ROAD

“CHILD ZERO moves like no other novel I’ve read lately, with Chris Holm’s gripping writing delivering a story whose thrills come as much from its plausibility as from its twists and surprises. A deeply moral cautionary tale, set in a credible future we should be afraid to let happen.”—Matt Bell, author of APPLESEED

Wonderful! Thought provoking.

I found the audiobook gripping, I found myself holding my breath and talking aloud to the narrator. At first I was little out of by the narrators style, but it quickly grew on me and then added to the effect of the writing somehow.

Timely

Perfect and a bit scary read during a pandemic. No wasted words. Only entertaining ones.

Great potential, poor execution

The premise was great. The characters had depth. The narrative only seemed to scratch the surface. This could be so much better.

By the numbers triller

All the elements of a good thriller. The independent cop, the loyal partner, the noble girlfriend and the corrupt leadership. Good effort but not really memorable.

Interesting enough to finish…

…but there were times when I almost stopped listening. The story is interesting, but the dialog is poorly written, and there’s a lot of it. Robert Petkoff’s performance comes off as robotic, which is unusual since he’s usually excellent. I was happy to finish this one and move on to something else.