His partner in crime, and old friend, Tom McAllister isn’t quite the same as Ben. A man of authority but lacks the charm and devious nature that Ben has. He is stuck with those higher in command who push and shove him about, McAllister may not have the toughness and ability to use dirty tricks to get his way, but is a good detective who may not see reason to Ben’s madness when it comes to solving complex crimes. At first he is reluctant to help Ben in his quest to find out who really did kill Carter Duggen, we’ll come to him later on, believing like his superiors that Jude is the guilty one. At least that’s what the evidence suggests. However, as the case widens he changes his mind and helps Ben not only clear Jude’s name but also try to capture the real killers.

Next is Jude Arundale, and despite his last name he is Ben’s son. A guy who has never been in trouble his whole life, well that’s what every guy says, right? Jude has been accused of a horrific murder and the evidence seemingly points to his guilt, but he swears he didn’t do it and that he is innocent. Little persuades the police in letting him go free and so he finds himself incarcerated in one of England’s toughest prisons. His existence there is grim and he spends every day waiting to be free, and by some freak accident in disguise as a favour he somehow frees himself from the shackles of prison life. He might be a bit of an idiot but without his appearance on the crime scene Ben and McAllister may have never cracked the case.

Now, the next character, Wilfred Grey should be at the beginning as he is the first person to meet, but I think it is best to talk about him further down the line as his connection with the whole plot does not come clear until later on in the book. Wilfred is a sweet gentlemen, according to his wife Violet, but mysteriously disappears and nobody knows why. The mystery of his disappearance comes clear later on in the book, in the journal of Violet herself, however his character becomes more significant and connected with the main story as it unfolds. Wilfred was just another person who suffered from the hands of those who wanted to keep their secret hidden.

The next character is Emily Bowman, a well to do business woman who employed Carter Duggen as an investigator into her family history. At first appearance you suspect that she is a shady character, someone who is up to something, however as you begin to follow her story it becomes clear that she is in danger and needs help. It is her family history that connects her to the death of Carter Duggen and others after and is the starting point in Ben’s investigation. Although not a major character, she is a significant person who tries to help Ben in his investigation before it is too late and brings Ben closer to the truth and the secret that wants to stay hidden.

Next is Violet, we meet her through her journal and it pictures a sombre, painful and difficult life. Her tine at a factory is grim and it seems that her life would be confined to the dark world of long hard-grafted hours of constant tedious work and little pay. During her time there she meets Kitty, who she becomes friends with, and she has become involved in one of London’s notorious women gangs – The Forty Elephants. Violet somehow finds herself involved in this gang, but her involvement finds her at a difficult crossroad; does she continue her devious work with the gang and live a good but deceitful life, or does she tern her back and live a good life with a man she’s fallen in love with but hidden away from everyone she loves? Her choice would become a terrible mistake.

And last but not at all least is Carter Duggen. Carter was employed by Emily Bowman to investigate her family history, he is an old school type and a guy who is thorough when it comes to his investigations. His job for Emily unfortunately leads to his demise, but for his killer it didn’t quite go to plan. Carter’s character may be a small part but he is the centre piece as it was him who found out the truth behind one of the biggest conspiracies the UK has seen. Even so he still is a mystery as there is not a lot of detail we get about him, maybe this is deliberate, but like so many other characters in this book he was just another innocent person who was caught up in a dangerous situation.

Clues and Evidence: The Plot

The book starts with Ben receiving a phone call from his son Jude, he is in some sort of trouble and Ben has to rush back to England from his home in France to come to his aid. At first there is little he can do, all of the evidence points to Jude’s guilt and his behaviour in court does not make the situation any better. When Ben arrives at the crime scene in Little Deaton, Oxfordshire he bumps into his old friend and work colleague Tom McAllister; McAllister is a traditional detective, lacking confidence and ability to break the rulebook. However, he soon comes to the realisation that Ben needs him, mainly to keep Ben in line, but it isn’t easy because Ben likes the freedom and excitement of doing things that are usually dangerous and illegal.

After McAllister gives Ben all that he knows on the case Ben pays a visit to Emily Bowman as she might have more information. When he arrives at her house it is clear to him that something is not right, Miss Bowman’s housekeeper is busy packing things into boxes while Emily herself doesn’t particularly want to speak to him. Yet, just after meeting Ben was racing back to the house to find that it was already too late and the hunt for the killers had begun. While his first lead gives him another clue it doesn’t feel connected to the overall storyline until much later; the book that Ben retrieves is a journal of another character and their life story, although it is a lovely backstory and a great insight to a background character, I feel that it just draws out the book even more and doesn’t hold much significance to what is happening in the context of the main storyline.

Following his findings in Little Deaton, Ben travels to Norfolk where a mysterious meeting between two people took place. There he finds his biggest clue to date, but the only problem is that he doesn’t understand what it actually means. From there he makes his way to Miles Redfield, a former employee of the pharmaceutical company Gilliard Group; Miles and his partner, who also was a former employee of the company, could sense something suspicious was going on and decided to gather evidence, tragically this resulted in Miles’ partner being killed. What connects Gilliard Group with a government secret and a dangerous chemical that changed the cause of World War One? Ben was determined to find out. However, someone else had other ideas and both Ben and Miles was attacked, this led to a dramatic chase that didn’t end well or got quite to Ben’s or the killers plan, but that was not the worst thing that could have happened as Ben was to discover that his son Jude had caused more trouble and this time there could be no way out.

After the incident with Miles Redfield, Ben catches up with McAllister and they head to the wilds of Cornwall as that is where Jude is thought to be, according to Ben. He is heading to a deserted farm where Jude used to hang out with some of his friends, however his task is not only be to find his son but to end the lucrative dealings which Gilliard Group are determined to keep hidden. It becomes a final showdown and there must be only one winner, Ben. Can he survive his deadliest task to date? You must stay indoors read the book and decide for yourself, after all you could be the next victim.

 A Killer of a Read: Style and Genre

The style in which Scott Mariani used was your typical crime investigation book, but with a touch of SAS flair. The way that he goes from being from a family prospective to a massive crime investigation that covers vast swaths of the UK is brilliant. The way in which characters intertwine and help in gather clues and evidence makes it a great read, not only does it enable the reader to create their own investigation in their head but also understand how just being in the wrong place and at the wrong time can cause implications that could spiral out of control. Scott Mariani’s use of place names at the beginning of some chapters really enables the reader to follow where the characters are and how they relate to the ongoing investigation, also it is a great way to follow Ben as he travels across the UK to find clues that could free his son and find who the true killer is. Although, for me there were some chapters that either didn’t make sense or felt like they were just added to bolster up the story in general. Additions which did not give me the excitement that I usually want. Apart from that it was a good read.

The genre of The Pandemic Plot is undoubtedly crime, the whole storyline is set around the brutal murder of Carter Duggen a specialist investigator who unfortunately got caught up with the secret dealings that Gilliard Pharmaceutical were involved in. It is not a crime thriller as I got no thrill when reading it but there were some exciting bits that got me turning the page. It is a good piece of crime fiction and nothing more than that, Scott Mariani has culminated a great piece of literature with a genre in which is very popular and tends to be samey. However, with a more subdued storyline it stands out from other crime fiction books where the crimes are more gruesome and difficult to tell who did it. It is an SAS style crime story with all the trimmings of a traditional crime investigation. A truly criminal case that puts the UK in direct conflict with a gang who want to keep their dodgy dealings a secret.

A Deadly Hopeful Case

To be honest after reading The Pandemic Plot I did enjoy it. As the book progressed I found myself wanting to get to the end and find out who was behind all of these killings, but there were a few times where it flopped for me and that means that I wouldn’t be reading it again. While the main storyline itself was good and was actually interesting, however I feel like some of the chapters were disconnected from the main story and only made sense near to the end. Don’t get me wrong, I liked reading it, it’s just that the disconnection with some chapters and the lack of excitement meant that it took me a while to get through it. Although this is my first Scott Mariani book I cannot say it will be my last as I don’t think I can make a final judgement until I read a few more of his books, but if a crime novel full of madness and mystery tickles your fancy then it is good for you. Although watch out because you could find yourself in the midst of a dangerous investigation that could leave you fighting for your own survival.

Happy Reading Guys!