Let me set the stage: small town during their annual Fourth of July parade, a car comes revving into the crowd of people, hitting several spectators. The driver staggers out of the car, and everyone he touches dies almost instantly. Sounds creepy, right? It did start out that way, but then it seems like the vast majority of the book was spent chasing someone who had contracted the contagion through the woods, as they tried to elude various government agencies and contract killers/hunters. I had really hoped for more of the "creep factor" and less of the action & suspense category but that is just me. It seems to have glowing reviews, so this is just my personal preference.

Review Copy *4.5 stars*

RED HANDS book 3 of the Ben Walker saga which began with ARARAT, followed by PANDORA ROOM. As much as I loved the first two books RED HANDS didn't strike me quite the same way as the first two. Don't get me wrong - Golden's words fl0wed like water, just like always; no problem there! I think what bothered me was reading a 'bioweapon thriller horror story' during a pandemic. I can count the number of times I've left my house since January 2020 on one hand. Reading about a bioweapon, for me, is for when times are great.

RED HANDS is a stand alone novel that will interfere with any other books you planned to read or tv you planned to watch whether you like it or not. As much as it bothered me to read, I found myself compulsively reading it until finally, finally I reached the last page. Now I can move on to some light serial killer reading or somesuch.

From St. Martins Press. Check it.

RED HANDS is book 3 in a series of books featuring "weird science expert" Ben Walker. The first book is titled ARARAT and the second book is THE PANDORA ROOM.

The good thing is: These are standalone novels. I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much by jumping into book 3 other than just that built-in love for re-occurring characters.

Golden wastes zero time building up to the action as chapter one explodes with chaos. I was reminded of the first chapter of CELL by Stephen King where the reader is an observer to a series of catastrophic events and tragedy right on page one. We meet Maeve Sinclair who is enjoying a small town 4th of July parade with her family when suddenly, a car comes out of nowhere and drives into the crowd at random. As she watches friends and family suffer under the wheels of a homicidal maniac, a fire burns within her and she risks everything to confront the driver as he emerges from his car. Everyone this man touches dies.

Maeve hits the murderer with a baseball bat and when he dies, something happens to Maeve. In an unexpected turn of events, she flees the scene to hide out in the nearby woods. All of this compelling and shocking action happens in the first scene!

"Weird shit" expert Ben Walker is called in to investigate a strange phenomenon known as the "Death Touch". He works for an organization that pursues scientific abnormalities and occurrences before the "wrong people" catch wind of them in order to militarize or weaponize them.

Walker is tasked with locating Maeve before the voices in her head provoke her to touch another human being.

I cannot stress to readers enough how utterly compulsive this book feels while you're reading it. The energy is masterfully held in tension throughout the entire development of the story. Golden never relaxes that sense of urgency he manufactures right in the beginning. It might sound contradictory, but I'm actually thankful that book 3 served as my introduction to Ben Walker because it is abundantly clear right away, Golden has developed this character thoroughly over the span of the previous two books. Walker literally comes alive on the page as a fully fleshed out human being that I immediately fell in love with. He's whip-crack smart, both intellectually and in wit/sarcasm. I also fell in love with Maeve and felt genuine concern and heartache for her safety. Of course, balancing out these two likable characters are the people hunting Maeve to exploit her and her new ability--making this one of the best supernatural thrillers I've had the pleasure of reading in a long, long time.

I hope Golden is successful in adapting this for film or television. This was a very cinematic reading experience for me. I will definitely go back and get the first two books in this series with all the hope and anticipation for more. All the praise and stars for RED HANDS.

RED HANDS (Ben Walker #3) is available from St. Martin's Press in December 2020

Scientist and DARPA adventurer Dr. Ben Walker returns for his third go-round in Red Hands, a tightly wound horror thriller that just might be my favorite of this series so far.

A car, driven by a man carrying a supremely lethal infection, plows into a July 4th parade before the insane driver starts attacking those at the festivities by hand. His touch is instantly lethal, save for one, a young woman named Maeve, who he infects in his final moments. Panicked, and afraid of coming into contact with anyone else after all that she has just witnessed, Maeve flees for the isolating safety of the woods. After cell phone videos of the attack goes viral, Walker is tasked with recovering Maeve and keeping her safe, with the caveat, of course, that he won’t be the only one looking for her.

Christopher Golden has crafted a timely and supremely compelling read with Red Hands! Reading this in the midst of a pandemic helps, perhaps, if only to remind one that while COVID-19 is, of course, bad, it could also be a hell of a lot worse. The contagion at the heart of this book is absolutely vicious, and Golden describes its fast-acting effects in nicely gory detail as the infected are gruesomely killed off in only a matter of minutes. Being touched by a carrier of the Red Hands virus is a guaranteed death sentence, a conceit that keeps the tension high even as the story builds up a bullet train’s momentum.

While the killer virus angle is well handled, Golden doesn’t rest on his laurels, story-wise. As dangerous as it is, the Red Hands virus would make one hell of a bio-weapon, which means Walker has his work cut out for him in the race to find Maeve. There’s a bevy of Blackcoat operators and foreign intelligence agents gunning for her, and by extension Walker, too, making our central series protagonist a man against the world, almost literally.

And, hey, speaking of the world — our past two encounters have seen Walker off in some far-flung locales, like Turkey and the Iraqi desert, so it’s a welcome change of pace to see him operating on home turf. The forests and mountains of New Hampshire present a vibrant terrain, one that’s dissimilar enough to draw comparisons to the previous two books, but given all the action happening in those woods one best not get too comfortable with that home team advantage.

Red Hands excels as a bio-terror thriller, but it’s most definitely a horror novel through and through. Beyond the extreme lethality of this unusual bug, Golden injects plenty of additional weirdness to the proceedings, along with a few very welcome “HOLY SHIT!” moments, some that welcomingly recall his comic book pedigree, but which also remind you of just how well-earned that Bram Stoker Award win was for Ararat. The climax is an outstanding, high-octane action romp that also puts the emotional and physical horrors of it all front and center, along with some terrifically gooey, pulpy grossness that kept me glued to my Kindle.

Golden injects enough freshness into this third outing, along with expected chills and thrills, to prove there’s still plenty of life left in this series. It feels like a safe bet to say we haven’t seen the last of Ben Walker, but unless Book 4 comes out tomorrow I don’t think his next adventure can come fast enough.

Very intense and exciting Scifi slash supernatural story. A Government agency discovered something beyond their ability to control. Something ancient.....something hungry. RED HANDS would make a superb movie. It reads like a thrilling cinematic movie. Great characters, great plotline, it keeps you riveted all the way through.

For Maeve Sinclair, attending the Fourth of July parade in her hometown of Jericho Falls is an annual tradition. Her family, friends, and many of her neighbors will be there, but this year something goes wrong. A man drives his car into the crowd, and once he stops and gets out, Maeve believes that the worst is over. But this is only the beginning as he staggers away, and everyone he touches immediately dies. Maeve reacts and hits him with a bat, and as he dies, whatever contagion he has is passed to Maeve. Unnamed government agents quickly arrive to quarantine the town, but a frightened Maeve runs off. Did I mention that all this and more happens in the first chapter? Yep, Red Hands is almost non stop action from the start.
The chase is on to find Maeve before she can infect anyone. But the lines between the good and bad guys are blurry, and only one man, Ben Walker, might be able to get Maeve off the mountain, alive. There is a lot, and I mean a lot going on. We learn how this contagion came to Jericho Falls and how many people will do anything to hide the truth. Very few people care about Maeve the person, and those who do will fight to keep her safe.
Red Hands has some lovable, some likable, and some loathsome characters, I was surprised at how it ended, and I wouldn't mind another book as I can imagine there is much more to this gripping tale. I love the references to Edgar Allen Poe, and even though I didn't realize that there were two prior Ben Walker books, this worked as a standalone. My first Christopher Golden book and not my last. 4.5 stars.

I am big fan of Christopher Golden, so I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of his new book! Thank you, NetGalley! I really enjoyed this unique take on a virus that gets loose from a lab. Oddly enough given the current world affairs, it was perfect book to escape into and enjoy. This is the third book Golden has written with Ben Walker as the main hero, though it could easily be read as a standalone novel. Looking forward to seeing more Walker novels in the future! #RedHands #NetGalley

My thanks to St Martin's Press, Christopher Golden and Netgalley.
I loved this story! I loved the first Ben Walker book. Not a huge fan of the second, but this?
This story was nearly as good as the first!
Nobody can ever beat the first of a truly awesome series!
But, the author can come close! This is just one of those books that I dreamed about! Fall asleep 😴😴dream! For 2 night's.
I'm not lying when I say that Golden is very good at what he does! He almost always gets high marks from me.
What I like most about this series is that Walker is a good man who has his priorities bassackward!
He could be a Joe Ledger, except his DARPA are scrooges!
Yeah, I love Golden and Walker!

Thank You NetGalley/Publisher & Author for this gifted e-ARC!

This was the perfect quarantine read!

This book was filled with action packed, non-stop. From front to finish.
One of the better books I've read this month.
Red Hands is a must read. I enjoyed the plot, the story of this book,.
This is a must read thriller. That will leave you wanting more.

During a seemingly normal 4th of July Parade, in the small town of Jericho Falls, New Hampshire, Maeve Sinclair watches in horror as a man suddenly drives his car through the crowds not slowing for anything in his path. When the car finally stops, the man gets out stumbling, reaching out, everyone he touches dropping dead in seconds from what appears to be some sort of contagion. When Maeve steps in to try and stop him, he passes the deadly touch to her before he dies. Filled with fear and confusion, Maeve flees into the nearby mountains knowing they will come for her. Ben Walker is planning a quiet camping trip with his son when he is called in to track down Maeve. He is told that Maeve has been exposed to a mysterious bioweapon created by Garland Mountain Laboratories called Red Hands. Walker's mission is to bring Maeve back alive. Others will be hunting her so Walker will have to move fast if he wants to reach her first. Meanwhile a voice inside Maeve's head is growing stronger, filling her with hunger, a powerful urge to touch another human being.

Red Hands is an exhilarating new horror/thriller novel involving a woman who is accidently exposed to what appears to be a deadly contagion spread through touch. This is an action packed novel that kicks off with a bang and doesn't stop until the very last page. I don't want to spoil anything but there is more to the "contagion" than meets the eye. The novel transitions between different characters to reveal their inner turmoil as the horrific events unfold around them. Science meets something much more sinister, something ancient, and it's not planning on going down without a fight. I have read other novels by this author (Snowblind & Ararat) and this is by far my favorite. This is a fast paced thrill ride that I couldn't put down. A deadly touch, a woman being hunted, and the man intent on saving her set in a vast and dangerous mountain terrain...a must read!

Initially I thought this novel showed a lot of promise. It appeared to be a story with rich characters and a suspenseful plot. While the plot was thrilling, the character development really didn't happen. There was some initial backstory for the main characters, but it was brief and was not carried through the novel. The novel felt like a poor man's Stephen King novel combined with a Vince Flynn novel. It wasn't a bad read, just not nearly as good as it could have been.

Why am I compelled to read books centered on contagious diseases during a global pandemic? I have no idea - BUT - Red Hands is where it's at. Right out of the gates we're hit with chaos. A shot man plows his vehicle into a 4th of July parade, leaves his vehicle and stumble into the crowd where everyone he touches dies within seconds. That is, until he gets to Maeve. Suddenly, the torch is passed and Maeve is infected by the Red Death and grapples with the grief of knowing she can never touch a human again and the fear of imminent death.

My major critique is on the pacing and clutter - some parts lulled for me and I felt like I was rushing through them and their excess of chara cters to get to the goods.

Wow! This starts out tense and horrifying for Maeve as she watches a man infecting people at the fourth of July parade. It's personal instantly because of the small town setting and you can feel the agony of these being people she knows. But she doesn't die like the others when she put herself in path of the man...

Now things get twisty and even more intense. She flees, knowing that she is now a danger as the man had been. The story is told from several perspectives as people search for her. Some are on her side in much as they can be but others have more nefarious reasons. As the story unfolds you don't know what is more horrifying: the deadly contagion or the people involved.

The parts with Maeve are pretty wild and scary and just awesome. I also enjoyed Walker a whole lot. He had a lot of depth and his own personal demons he brought to the story.

This a wonderful, intense read, and though it is part of a series, I came in at this point and had no issues following along.

Pandemic hasn't slowed down my interest in contagion reads, and I couldn't wait to dive into Red Hands. Creepy cover, killer blurb--what could possibly go wrong?

When a man drives into a crowd at Fourth of July parade in the small town of Jericho Falls, Maeve can hardly believe her eyes. But then he gets out of the car, and the people he touches die horrible, immediate deaths. In an act of bravery, Maeve throws herself in the path of destruction and becomes infected. As unidentified government forces storm the scene and quarantine the town, Walker, an off-the-books agent with a harried past with sketchy situations, is tasked with finding Maeve on the treacherous mountain before anyone else does.

I loved this book. It reminded me of Cold Storage, but I found the infection to be much more enjoyable in the way it unfolds. Full disclosure, I didn't realize it was part of a series when I requested the title, but I'm so glad I did because now I can't wait to read the previous books. Walker is a stellar character, with a wonderful mixture of sarcasm, wit, and talent. He's tough, but caring, a straight-shooter with a morally-sound compass, and he's not afraid to do the difficult, dangerous jobs. I also really enjoyed Maeve's character and the course of the infection. I'm a sucker for contagion reads, and Golden did such a great job breathing life into a crowded, stereotypical genre. The virus is creepy and bloody and delightfully horrific.

And it's cinematic. I could definitely see this making its way to Netflix. Golden creates crisp visuals with haunting backstory and a cast of likable and unsavory characters.

On the literary side, I appreciated the allusions to Poe (Mask of the Red Death is one of my all-time favorite short stories) and the complexities he finds in his characters. Yes, this is a story about a virus, but it's also a story of a small town uniting for a common cause, of love and overcoming personal demons to help the ones closest to you, and (of course) a classic battle of good vs evil.

Overall, Red Hands is your must-read contagion book of 2020. Witty, fun, and utterly engrossing, Red Hands is an un-put-downable thriller that will leave you wanting more.

Big thanks to St. Martin's and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Just love books like this! You got somebody being tracked down by everyone from every direction. The wrong people of course and it's tense and exciting to turn each page! She had no idea when she contracted this disease or call it what you want but she couldn't touch anyone or they would become like her or die. It pretty much spends the whole book this way. She being on the run and how if she didn't know the woods and hills like she did then she wouldn't make it as far as she did. Very suspenseful and my gosh it was really good! High Five and hope another one comes out. In the meantime I am tracking down this author's other books to read. Awesome! Thanks

When I requested an ARC of Red Hands it was because I was intrigued by the plot description. I knew the authors name was familiar but it wasn’t until I looked at the list of other books he’d written that I realized who he was and how many of his books I’d already read and throughly enjoyed.
The opening sequence at the 4th of July parade left me breathless and on the edge of my seat as the detailed writing left me feeling I was really there watching the horror unfold. But from there I felt the book dragged on too slowly and I found myself wanting to skip to the ending. The many different agencies were difficult to remember, who was good, who was bad, and who the different mercenaries were working for. I also found the ending of the book very unsatisfactory. In my opinion this is not Christopher Golden’s best work. For that I would recommend Pandora’s Room and Arafat. I can only give 3.5 stars