Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver
The threat of nuclear war is no longer scary. This is much worse. It’s invisible. It works quickly. And it’s coming…
The scourge has already infected and killed half the population in China and it is heading towards the UK. There is no time to escape. The British government sees no way out other than to distribute ‘Dignity Pills’ to its citizens: One last night with family or loved ones before going to sleep forever … together. Because the contagion will kill you and the horrifying news footage shows that it will be better to go quietly.
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Dr Haruto Ikeda, a Japanese scientist working at a Chinese research facility, wants to save the world. He has discovered a way to mutate a virus. Instead of making people sick, instead of causing death, it’s going to make them… nice.
Instead of attacking the lungs, it will work into the brain and increase the host’s ability to feel and show compassion. It will make people kind. But governments don’t want a population in agreement. They want conflict and outrage and fear. Reasonable people are harder to control.
Ikeda’s quest is thoughtful and noble, and it just might work. Maybe humanity can be saved.
Maybe it doesn’t have to be the end. But kindness may also be the biggest killer of all… But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for them both…
My Review
Once the pandemic was over, I swore I would never read a book about Covid. But this is different. It’s Will Carver, so I made an exception. I’d read the telephone directory if he’d written it.
Not that this book is about Covid per se, but the parallels are there. Carver is obviously not a fan of politicians and is scathing about their greed and self-interest, particularly the prime minister Harris Jackson. Anyone who recognises themselves might be a bit worried. They should be.
This book is about a virus that would be unleashed on the world, and Japanese scientist Dr Haruto Ikeda is working on a vaccine. The vaccine would be ready before the virus takes hold, so governments could show how quick they were to respond, thus controlling the people. It’s about power. But Ikeda has actually mutated the virus to attack the brain rather than the respiratory system and make people nice. He calls it CompX. But the last thing politicians want is for everyone to love each other and be in agreement. Carnivorous chefs turning vegan and the super rich using their wealth to help others rather than buy another island.
But then something else happens and it’s far worse. It’s taken out half of China and is heading towards the UK. No-one knows what it is or how to stop it. It’s so horrific that the government is handing out Dignity pills, so families and friends can choose to die together peacefully.
Kill Them With Kindness is a horrific indictment of the Western world. It’s Noah’s Ark and who should be saved? Are we even worth saving?
And the final question. Would I take the dignity pill? I don’t think I would.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series and the critically acclaimed, mind-blowingly original Detective Pace series, which includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were ebook bestsellers and selected as books of the year in the mainstream international press. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2020 and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker Prize, and was followed by the literary thrillers, The Beresford, Psychopaths Anonymous, The Daves Next Door, Suicide Thursday and Upstairs at the Beresford. Will spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He and his partner run their own fitness and nutrition company, and live in Reading with five children and a tortoise.
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
