Lockdown

What would a crime thriller set in the middle of a devastating pandemic look like? May (the Enzo Macleod series) provides a grim but plausible answer in this superior effort, which he wrote in 2005. In the near future, the world has been devastated by a virus, leaving London on lockdown in ways similar to the current coronavirus pandemic—empty streets, people wearing masks, mass deaths, and an infected British prime minister. Det. Insp. Jack MacNeil, on his last day working for the Metropolitan Police, whose ranks have been gutted by the disease, gets one final case. A construction crew working to build an emergency hospital has dug up human bones. MacNeil investigates, aided by Amy, a forensic expert specializing in facial reconstruction, who identifies the remains as belonging to a 10-year-old girl who died recently. The author makes the challenges of seeking justice for the unknown child under extreme circumstances feel real, and creates psychologically plausible leads. This prescient novel is an impressive, if depressing, feat of imagination. Agent: David Higham, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.). (June)