Dark Cure: A Covid Thriller by Bradley West

What might happen if Covid-19 mutates and becomes a deadlier version of itself? Covid-20. People infected with Covid-20 live for a maximum of three days. There is no cure for it. Riots, looting and almost zero survival rate if infected. In the midst of all this tension is the kidnapping of a newborn baby.

What’s so special about this baby? The baby’s mother was diagnosed with the deadly virus and almost died. Her father Sal Maggio tried an experimental treatment on her and it worked. The daughter survived and her child was born with Covid-20 antibodies. Before Sal’s organization could start producing the drug on large scale, disaster strikes. His office building is on fire and the lead scientist who worked on the drug is burned to a crisp. The documents containing the formula are encrypted.

Sal manages to get a copy of the documents. His business partner Burns has different plans. He learns of the treatment that saved Sal’s daughter and her baby. He plans to kidnap the baby and demand the cure as ransom.

Dark Cure is a spine-chilling medical thriller. I cannot even imagine what might happen, if in reality, Covid-19 mutates to something more dangerous. Bradley West has written an excellent thriller, taking into picture the (almost) real-life scenario most of the world is experiencing right now. It’s not just quarantines and lockdowns, neither is it ‘the survival of the fittest’.

In the story, Sal Maggio plans to relocate into the wilderness of Canada with his family. Start farming and breeding animals, something like the modern-day Noah. This got me thinking. I wonder how many people actually moved to similar places to self-isolate themselves during the lockdown.

Coming back to the story, the chase for the cure and finding the baby and the mother(she is kidnapped halfway through the story) keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Add a psychopathic scientist who would kill the baby if required to the mix and the chase intensifies a notch.

The suspense is well-maintained throughout the story. Apart from the kidnapping, we also have the characters’ side stories – these additions made the story more engrossing. In the second half of the book, we see people becoming aggressive – riots, looting and murders, to name a few of the crimes committed. Also, the ‘breakthrough’ at a lab where one of Sal’s nieces works (she had a hand to play in this ‘breakthrough’) turns into a money-making scheme. Obtaining blood from the survivors – literally draining them of it, killing them in the process.

The only niggle I had with this story was the number of characters. As the story begins, we are introduced to the whole of Maggio family. Then comes Burns and his gang. Initially, I found it a little difficult to remember who’s who.

A lot of action and adventure in the second half of the story. The ending is brilliant. At 110k words, this might be a long read but definitely worth it! I highly recommend this book.

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I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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