With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Imagine that there is a biohazard that devours everything it comes into contact with, both animate and non-animate... then imagine that the storage facility it is housed in has been forgotten and that the fungus, which has a 100% destruction rate is in the process of escaping, this is the premise of Cold Storage.

I found it reminiscent of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt or NUMA adventures where the heroic protagonist must save the world with help from friends while the bulk of the world remains oblivious. It was obvious from the thrill quotient that the author is skilled in creating story tension and translating that into an increased heart rate for the reader!

I love a good thriller and Cold Storage by David Koepp ticked all the boxes based on the synopsis. I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately what promised edge of my seat moments and the urge to keep reading way into the night to see what happened next just didn’t translate into reality. Lots of chemical names and the reactions caused plus fairly detailed descriptions of their impact slowed the pace. Disjointed flashbacks added to the problem and overall I really had to force myself to read to the end to see how things resolved. It’s a shame because this story had lots or promise and I really wanted it to be an excellent read.

Cold Storage

A highly mutative and contagious organism sample is contained and buried in a military cold storage sub-basement repository after killing all the residents of a remote Western Australian town.

Long forgotten and decades later the facility has become a self storage unit facility for people’s belongings or their personal ‘ junk’. The security guards on night duty monitoring the security screens at the storage facility stumble upon a hidden sub-basement after hearing an unknown sensor beeping in a hidden control panel. They climb down to the hidden sub-basement and discover the organism has found it’s way out of its confinement and is on a feeding rampage as well as a wild deer roaming the hallways and using the lift!

Roberto Diaz a former bioterrorism operative that was involved in the first encounter decades ago is summoned out of his retirement to investigate. There was no bioweapon anywhere with anything even remotely close to the kind of lethality in this organism. Naomi Williams and Travis ‘ Teacake’ Meacham the security guards at the facility, an unlikely pair assist Diaz to contain the fungus and it’s ‘hosts'.

The story is terrifying and cleverly written science fiction with some comical elements thrown in as well as some oddball but likeable characters, it was a page turner for me and an entertaining read.

Thank you to Netgalley & Harlequin Australia for the ARC

Three people on a plane flying to the vast outback in Western Australia where they suspected something terrible was happening. But what they actually found was much worse. The fungi that was mutating – quickly – had already killed all the small town’s inhabitants. Could it be contained? Would the complete destruction of the town eliminate the threat?

It was years later when Roberto Diaz – from the original three - was called in to save humanity from the fungi that had once again found its way into the open air and was proving to be lethal. Could Diaz and two others outwit the deadly organism which killed in a matter of minutes?

Cold Storage is the debut novel by David Koepp and it was definitely weird! Science fiction; also leans toward horror; some humour; plenty of action; gruesome descriptions; and some way-over-the-top “stuff”. It didn’t do it for me I’m afraid – not my type of read. BUT for fans of the above, you’ll love it! Recommended.

With thanks to Harper Collins AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

In the tradition of Alien, David Koepp, a Jurassic Park screenwriter, entertains with "Cold Storage," a classic tale of a space-wrought mutation evolving on earth into something terrifying. Koepp's technical description of the organism that is our villain is fascinating, even if it echoes the creatures from Men In Black. The bioterrorist hero Roberto Diaz tackles the monster twice, decades ago and now, and a race for dominance ensues, with Diaz joined by an entertaining wannabe couple, an ex-prisoner and a single mother. The plotting is straight from the Jurassic playbook, tight and fast, and Koepp brings the organism into terrifying life. I found the narrative style, hopping from point of view to point of view, including from that of the evil blob, to be somewhat distancing, so that even though individual scenes often crackled with acidic humour, the overall effect turned out to be muted. Nonetheless, a rattling yarn indeed.

I have a secret love of horror/sci-fi - shhh, don't tell anyone! lol

This rollicking good read about a fungi getting out of control captured my attention and got my heart rate racing. I enjoyed the humour in the story as well, it added some light to the shade, which stories like this need.

I liked the interactions between Teacake and Naomi, so much. They were very different people and yet they played off each other well and I ended up liking Teacake - he stepped up when it really mattered. Murphy, however, whole other story!

Scary, that something like this could actually happen. I hope the scientists have all the nasty viruses etc under very strict control indeed! The fungi in this story was way too smart for its own good and suitably gruesome.

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ HarperCollins.