An interesting thriller. Cold era Soviets, the Gulf War, a deadly virus, and a budding flirtation between a doctor and a former soldier. This book has a little bit of everything. Well read by a voice actor who sounds a bit like Gary Sinise.

World war Z? I don't think so. Maybe I would have liked this book more if I didn't listen to the audiobook. There was a lot going on and I found myself zoning out for most of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a compelling book and was a fun experience.

I have recently read a lot of literary fiction with heavy themes and sometimes you just need a break! I don’t do romance so I decided to go with a more zombie apocalypse vibe, and I’m here for it.

In addition to books I also enjoy film, and if you have ever done a deep dive into film reviews on YouTube you will have stumbled across ‘The Critical Drinker’, his reviews are always very well researched, he considers the intent of the source material and values originality. So when I found out that he is also a published author I thought I would give his latest book a crack.

This is a real ‘blokey’ book in that there is NO romance, it’s just a fast paced action packed thriller about two people who have been inadvertently tasked with saving the world. I listened to the audiobook and it was so fun, I was hooked and breezed through it so fast. The characters were really well developed and had histories that added a level of depth and warmth that this genre often lacks.

With thrillers you don’t often expect to care much about the characters, more about the ‘what’s going to happen’ but I actually grew really fond of Becker and Dalton. I also spent way more time googling the very real events of the Dyatlov Pass (Russia) from which this book is inspired.

If you like The Walking Dead or films like World War Z you will really enjoy this, worth checking out.

Thank you to @ netgalley and @ blckstone for an advanced copy of this audiobook which I enjoyed way more than I expected to.

Dark Harvest
Will Jordan
The prologue is the retelling of The Dyatlov Pass event from 1959 on Ural Mountain where A Russian team of nine were found dead with immense and inexplicable injuries. The Dyatlov Pass continues to be unsolved.
Dark Harvest takes place in Iraq, 2019. Cameron Becker is a former army ranger turned bodyguard/mercenary. His latest assignment is protecting Russian businessman Luka Belikov through Bagdad to the safe zone. What started out as a simple assignment rapidly becomes dangerous. Their vehicle is attacked and Belikov is kidnaped. Becker, two team members and their tech guy try to locate Belikov through the GPS transponder hidden in his clothing.
Dr. Lori Dalton (WHO doctor) is in Iraq with the UN. She learns of a close by village where all the villagers are found dead; their eyes are bleeding, and they are foaming from the mouth. Dalton disregards the orders of her boss and takes a party of medical and army recruits to the village. Some of the villagers are still alive and attack Dalton’s team.
Dalton and Becker make an uneasy partnership and work together to uncover why Belikov was taken. The fate of the world is uncertain when bio-terrorists plan to infect the population with a virus that causes people to fall into voracious psychosis. Becker and Dalton race to thwart a worldwide nightmare that could destroy the human race as we know it.
This is an intense read and left me with mix feeling. The plot will definitely stay with me for a long time. I do not like zombie tales and wish the author had taken this a different direction. This is a cross between thriller, mystery, suspense and sci-fi. Author Will Jordan interweaves the Dyatlov Pass case into the narrative. The characters are well fleshed out and likable. If you like Stephen King you will enjoy Dark Harvest.

As someone who has watched many videos about the Dyatlov Pass and the scary rumors surrounding it, this book followed through.

The audiobook was enjoyable; Bradford Hastings did a great job and his accents helped being the story to life even more!

I did hope for a little more spooky action, just based on the rumors surrounding Dyatlov, but I enjoyed the plot all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐
"Dark Harvest" is intense and action-packed. After I finished the book, I had to relisten to the prologue once more. 1959, a possible beginning of the end of mankind buried deep in Dyatlov Pass in the northern Ural Mountains, Russia where an expedition had gone wrong and all nine trekkers succumbed to unexplained deaths.

Cameron Becker is a former soldier and now working as a private military contractor (aka bodyguard) protecting a Russian businessman in Baghdad when the group was attacked and the Russian was captured. The bad guys aimed to spread the long-lost apocalyptic virus that makes human falls into a frenzied madness and attacks one another. Becker along with WHO doctor, Lori Dalton must prevent the biochemical attack before it's too late.

This is a solid action adventure with heroes you care about. It has a sci-fi feel to it and what I enjoy most is the author's imagination weaving the Dyatlov Pass event into the story. I hope that this is the beginning of new series!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Bradford Hastings. I think his voice was perfect as Becker but his female voice needs some getting used to. Overall, I like his narration and it was enjoyable.

The Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959 has left scientists and investigators flummoxed for decades. How and why did a group of experienced climbers die in such strange and gruesome ways? In the present, Cameron Becker is a mercenary protecting a Russian businessman through Baghdad when the oligarch is kidnapped. But Becker has bigger problems as a bio-terrorism plot is unleashed, one that will bring about a global catastrophe. Teaming up with WHO doctor Lori Dalton, Becker races to find answers, and a way to save humanity in the Ural Mountains of Russia at Dyatlov Pass