Black Death in a New Age

by Kathy T. Kale

CAN A PLAGUE PANDEMIC STRIKE AGAIN? What happens when there is no treatment for the plague? Before antibiotics, millions lost their lives. Today, some plague bacterial strains have acquired resistance, while others have been weaponized for war. In light of this threat, Dr. Dana Sparks, an immunology professor at Duane University is searching for a vaccine. Desperate for tenure and to catch the eye of her old flame Nick Biget, Dana needs to prove her worth. Opportunity to shine arrives when the plague hits her small college town days before a vice presidential visit. But Dana is sidelined by her department chairman and outside experts, including Nick. Accused of incompetence and worse, Dana is left on her own to combat fast-acting deadly bacteria that are spreading quickly.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Ebooks, Amazon, Science Fiction, Mystery Thriller

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2013

About the author

Although I always wanted to be a writer, I ended up with a PhD in toxicology and did postdoctoral research in infectious immunology. I began writing when I moved to Kenya, where I worked as a freelance science editor and writer. I was heavily influenced by the poverty and corruption in the country and my novels are a mixture of science, politics, and the misuse of power. I studied creative writing at Humber College and the University of Iowa, and screen writing at Indian River State College. My first novel won a Royal Palm Literary Award in 2004. Originally from Toronto, I now live in warm, sunny Florida. I've written three novels: 'Black Death in a New Age,' 'Gold Street,' and 'Harm,' and I'm hard at work on my fourth. I am a member of the Mystery Writers of America.

Reviews

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dana Sparks is a lab rat: she runs lab assays on tissue cultures, determining the types of bacteria in a culture and the antibiotics that can be used to kill the identified bacteria. Dana butts heads w/ her by-the-book short-term boss, former General McCoy. He’s determined to break her; she’s equally determined not to become so regimented.
So when a town loaner becomes ill and is hospitalized, Dana discovers that he has bubonic plague,Yersinia Pestis. The Vice President of the US is set to visit the college, so Dr McCoy wants this man’s eventual death kept secret, b/c plague occasionally pops up in a population and the man’s dog had tested negative. But then other towns folk start getting sick, including Dana’s lab assistant’s toddler daughter. Did she catch it from her mom, who had injected Dana herself w/ Dana’s secretly-developed vaccine?

The CDC sends Nick Biaget to town to head up an investigation. It turns out that Nick and Dana had an adulterous affair when Nick previously worked at the college. And... the plotline just dived off the rails for me. I didn’t want a romance; I wanted a story about beating the plague. I eventually got that, but I had to put up w/ all sorts of angst and back story first. More people get sick and the baby is near death. What will Dana do to save her?
The ending tied up everything neatly and elevated my opinion of the novel somewhat. I’ll give it 3.6 stars, rounded up to 4 stars, b/c I DID - eventually - get a story about a plucky scientist doing her research and saving the day.
It was a good time to read this one, in celebration of being fully-vaccinated against our current plague, COVID-19.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found this perhaps more interesting because of current events than I might have otherwise, I found this overall to be an uneven story. The investigation into the cause of a plague outbreak in small town Texas was suspenseful. The story offered a challenging hunt for the index case, a potentially resistant strain, and whether causes could be related to climate change or bioterrorism.
However, I never really connected to the characters. I did not feel any were developed very much. As each was introduced, I could mentally put them into a box, and none of them really broke out of it. Fun, but not memorable. Filed into my brain candy category.

[Mercedes Prieto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

It was one I could not put down. Very well written and the characters and plot very well developed. The only thing I did not like was the last few pages where it got political even if I agreed with it. Fiction should remain fiction.

[Sylvia Mucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I'm in total agreement with this book loved everything around it, I learned a great deal about many things I had about how and where contAgion get from people and places. This is a great read.

[Sarah Hoov · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is there not to like? As someone who enjoys epidemiology, the plot was good, the characters were good, the science behind was good not to indepth. Its a decnt light read not to long winded. The ending eh corny but didnt ruin the book,

[Kathy Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read.

This just shows how vulnerable we are to disease and how fast and furious our world can be destroyed unless we learn to work together.

[Wanda Ward]

Five star

A great read. Be prepared to read as much as you can in one night action packed and could not put down

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

medically accurate

Lots of technical terms but necessary to make the story believable . Takes a long time to get to the epidemic but when it does the tale truly takes off.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book after as a giveaway and was signed by the author , for which I am grateful

Firstly I would like to say that I enjoyed this book.
The idea and setting was original and made a refreshing change.
The reader can obviously see that author knows what she is talking about ( PHD in Toxicology ) and that a good amount of research and knowledge is reflected in the book.

The story is set in a small Texan town, where the main character Dana Sparks is researching a plague vaccine. Others characters include an overbearing disciplinarian retired military man who is her boss with his own agenda , a lost love of Dana’s that comes back into her life and an impending visit from the Vice President of America and an outbreak of the plague and you have yourself a entertaining story with a few twists

The build up of the story is well constructed , not too many indulgencies or over complicated.
The body of the story involves the paths various characters take to find the source and a treatment mixed with the conflicts those paths will produce.
The book rises to a fast climax, with a great twist at the end , I had my suspicions about the outcome, but I wont spoil it for any future readers.

As far as the characters go , I must admit to finding some more believable than others .
The main character Dana was portrayed well, a person who has a good moral standing, is compassionate and dedicated and a little feisty . Her Boss however I found a bit too clichéd in an ex military way, more like I would imagine as a movie character, more than one found in a novel .

The way the author portrayed Dana’s ex love ( Nick ) coming back into her life is also well done, the awkwardness of the first meet etc.. , however Nick’s constant mental recollection of song lyrics in relation to the current situation I did find a bit over used.

All in all I would recommend people to read this book. Like I have said, it is original and well researched . It entertained me and also informed me (even though I have studied a bit about the plague in the past ) . Its not going to tax the brain too much, but its perfect if you want a straightforward non complicated read with a bit of a difference .

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally enjoyed this book! I know enough about microbiology that the description caught my eye immediately. After COVID, it was a very interesting read. Loved the reveal of the protagonist!

[Dropspun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just finished reading "Black Death in a New Age" by Kathy Kale and, much to my surprise (I love a good disaster story), found myself disliking it. This might be due to several prejudices on my part.

First, the good points of the story. I felt she realistically portrayed the arguments presented for and against informing the public that the plague was spreading, and the difficulty in quarantining an entire town. She had a nice variety of personalities in the book, (all putting in their two cents worth as humans do), and showed a nice turn-around in one character who argued keeping the townspeople in ignorance -- until his daughter was put in jeopardy. I didn't figure out who the villain was until late in the book. I felt I learned a lot about the importance of tracing sickness to it's source. I also admired the risks the protagonist took in her choices of doing her best for others, even if she expected to face legal repercussions (and the loss of her career) instead of playing it safe.

On the other hand, she hit two prejudices of mine square on the noggin. The main protagonist knowingly had an affair with a married man and seemed to feel she couldn't help herself. Also the married man had a wife who was mentally ill. Since I suffer from depression and know I'm not always easy to live with, she hit some sore spots. I found that her portrayal of the Black Death didn't square with some facts I've read about, but since I was studying plague as it hit in the seventh and fourteenth centuries (and I'm not a modern toxicologist, which she is) I'd trust her info over mine on a current outbreak. People who had the plague were up and on their feet in an astonishingly short amount of time towards the end of the book, although that may have been poetic license on her part. I felt the ending was saccharin.

So...my personal prejudices aside, others might very well enjoy the book, but I'm only willing to give it two stars. You must make up your own mind.

Go. Read. Enjoy!

[Heather Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoy a plague novel that I can lose myself in knowing that I am healthy and safe from infection. Black Death in a New Age kept my attention from the first pages. Not only did it have an outbreak in an unsuspecting location, Duane University in Texas, it mixed civilian and military personal in identifying and containing the spread of the pathogen. Immunologist Dr. Dana Sparks is a brilliant scientist but she likes to work outside the box much to the disapproval of her new boss retired military man Dr. TJ McCoy. He is a by the rules kind of leader and she definitely plays by an entirely different set.

Complicating matters is the transient nature of a university town as well as the pending visit of the Vice President of the United States. Top it all off with a fast moving tropical storm and Drs. Sparks and McCoy have a herculean task ahead of them.

I like that it isn't just one of the doctors that solves the crisis, but that it takes the work of several doctors, CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and FBI to find both the cure as well as the first victim and infection source. Team work makes for good reading in my opinion. This is a well crafted mystery and I had to read through to the end to find the missing answers.

[Erik Sapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the author had left out the old romance between Dana and Nick, this book would have been a lot better. The romantic sub-plot detracted from what was otherwise an interesting story.

My other complaint about the book is how STUPID Dana's boss is. There's plague in the town. Dana is an expert on the plague and has spent her career researching a vaccine. Anyone with more than two brain cells would use her expertise and put her at the center of the investigation. However, he dislikes her because she does not always wear her lab coat and doesn't worship the ground he walks on(seriously!), so pushes her aside and cozies up to some random outsider. Also, he is more concerned with keeping up appearances than saving lives. (I read once that Colonel/Navy Captain is the highest an officer goes on merit. Wearing stars means you know how to play politics. If this is true, that would explain some of the boss's actions, as he is a retired Army General.)

There was so much potential to this book. I liked so much about it, but those two issues were just too big to ignore.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

COMA was the first, five star, medical thriller I ever read. Between that book and this book, I have read some doozies (etymology: the Deusenberg automobile). Believe you me, I have! Few books rate five stars, but due to the author's excellent mechanics and good storytelling, this book got my five. The storyline had the perfect number of ups and downs, and every theory floated by the author was within the realm of possibilities. All of the characters kept cool heads, even though none thought alike. I thank the author for keeping the language clean and the romance behind closed doors, relatively speaking.

This book was on a special price from Amazon. Thank you, Amazon.

Thank you, Ms. Kale, for a Good Read.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

For some strange reason, I was half-expecting parts of "Black Death in a New Age" to read like a medical textbook (possibly due to Kathy T. Kale's background). It doesn't. I'm not disappointed!

There's a fine line between giving too much information, and not giving enough. The balance here is just right.

The writing is smooth and comfortable to read, while the story line has a very good balance between the medical side and human interest.

That said, "Black Death in a New Age" is probably not for the squeamish!

[wwjdcindygmail.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller,

while I usually enjoy viral catastrophes as yes, I'm one of those, this book is more of a thriller.it's well written and the scientific parts are not above understanding as you may expect of an author who specializes in toxicology.it was kept at a average person's understanding lots of twists and I proudly(though disappointed at the same time) figured out who dunn it.a little stretch of imagination is needed but otherwise,I enjoyed reading this mystery.worth the time!

[Allan Ashinoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Medical thriller lite with a layer of moral equivalence and dose of US bashing to spice things up for the lefties. It was an okay read that could have been been much better had the author put more effort into building suspense and avoided making her political statement. Overriding theme : "we brought this on ourselves" and "they are only reacting to the mean, cruel and heartless USA." I've been left without any illusion of this authors opinion toward 9-11 or any terrorist attack on US soil. Further, I have no desire to read more from this author.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Summary,
Black death epidemic caused by bad men.
Bad handling of epidemic by narrow minded authoritarian men.
mistakes in containing caused by stupid men.

But luckily we have beautiful clever superwoman to save the day. who not only has all the answers to cause and containment, she also invented the cure.

And of course the obligatory romance, well he had to fall in love with her when she cured him as well.

What a silly book.

[Redpoet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Are editors working any more? For example, when was the last time you stood on the sixty yard line of a football field? When was the last time an entire university campus became filled with people because one exam "ended" in some class?

And please, if I never hear, " it reminded him of blah blah blah from a song by Robin Wheeler," it will be too soon.

[cisco pike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scientific thriller

I'm not very smart and I barely passed college chemistry, so I didn't understand all of this tale. It was exciting and had good characters that one could love or hate. I knew, of course, that there is no sixty yard line on a football field. I like the inside scoop on what's happening in the hospital. This story was more research so I was disappointed.

[Laura Trachtenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book.

The book was good. I read it quickly because I got caught up in the story, and wanted to find out what happened next. She was very detailed in her descriptions of the laboratory procedures, which were mostly correct. I thought it interesting that when she explained the antibiotic resistance plates, she didn't include sterilizing the agar.

[L.A. Kragie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Truly captured the life of a female academic scientist and public health warrior. Mixed in romance, intrigue, danger with characters fully fleshed out, human and relatable.

A winner.

[Tabitha Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an engrossing book that I didn't realize how quickly that I finished it. The scientific aspects are easily to grasp and the overall plot line is very solid. Not a huge fan of the secondary plot line of the two main characters. Well worth reading novel, there's a bit of a rush towards the end.

[Sonya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a freebee. Not sure it's going to deserve all those stars, maybe for being free. A Jane Eyre in modern day just doesn't work. An affair, wife locked up in an asylum, doesn't work in the modern age. Hope it sticks to the plague. Predictable silly story

[Rebecca Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written, fast moving story. And, the military man in charge, was pictured (by me) as the ever so sexy Sam Elliot! Some of the science jargon was over my head, but it didn't keep the story from being understandable. I liked it.

[Barbara Koca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, characters, too much scientific information

5 stars for characters, story lines, but lots of skimming over too much insifnificant medical & scienticif informarion. A localized plague where the hyroic woman saves the day and a lost love.

[Mary Ann Olsztyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story line was good

I enjoyed the story and the idea of a plague in a small town used as a bio-weapon. The characters in the story really didn't add to the story. They were kinda of generic and not very endearing or memorable.

[Loretta Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

The title caught my eye. Having been a nurse for nearly 35 yrs I like mysteries like this one. The characters are believable. And the romance was left to the end of the story. I recommend this books to my co-workers and family.

[Laura Mascheroni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite fun!

Thank you, Ms. Kale for another great book! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and reflected a bit on our current times. Keep up the good work!