I loved this book, it was an enjoyable read. I love me some pandemic medical drama type books and the medical aspect was great, a new way to infect people with the carrier not even knowing. I really enjoyed reading this novel and would absolutely read this author again.

10/10 totally would recommend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This one just wasn’t for me. I usually like books involving a disease or pandemic (even if we did just go through one). But this book just fell short.
I almost did not finish it but I pushed through.
It isn’t horrible but I also don’t recommend it either.

i'm dnf'ing this at 33% due to the author's use of female characters. a third of the way into this book and there are 4 women that have been mentioned.

one works for the CDC and was recently dumped by her fiance. she is not respected by the men she is working with in the slightest and about half of her pov has been used to discuss a man she is attracted too (that she met that same day).

the second woman is a hotel secretary that's described as "a caricature of a beautiful woman drawn by a cartoonist with cataracts." um... do we see the problem? every interaction she has revolves around trying to seduce one of the male characters. and when she and a male character are together the description is gross and demeaning.

the other two female characters are a housewife who complains about her husband's job and the secretary's friend who hooks up with another male character.

having four women mentioned in your book is a problem and to have them all be used as objects that perpetuate harmful stereotypes is a disgrace. i love books about infectious diseases and i was very excited about this one. but i can't enjoy it because of the sexist undertones. needless to say, i don't recommend this one and i'm honestly pissed that it was published in this state.

The Iceman's Curse mixes Murphy's Law, dark humor, and somewhat dumb characters but it's fast-paced written, full of intrigue and funny parts. Although when I downloaded this book I was expecting a medical thriller it does not extensively focus on the scientific aspects (which could've been done). Entertaining!

I was kind of nervous about reading this book. Ever since this pandemic, I no longer find books about contagious viruses and plagues good reading, and I've read a few really good ones. So I went into it a little biased already, although initially the idea of a 1200 year old corpse having a live virus was interesting and the "iceman curse" might borrow from the supposed curse of Otzi and make for a good story. I would have liked to seen a chapter at the beginning about the discovery, etc.

It wasn't the pandemic storyline that bothered me, in the end. All the science sounded plausible, the protocols, etc., but plausibility stopped there. There were two likeable characters in the whole book. One being Grant, the hero, and the crazy old lady who begged to be arrested. The amount of romance and sex in a book about a possible catastrophic pandemic was mindblowing and frankly, silly to me. One character demands of another that after one kiss, they commit to a long-term relationship and are constantly sneaking off to no-tell motels at noon.

I just could not connect with this book, especially the way one of the criminals was dealt with. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

Dr. Lewis Anton wanted to skirt specimen transferral restrictions and so he decided to bring samples from the iceman found in the alps and his luggage and I’m unbeknownst to any authority. The damage would have been minimal but on his way to Chicago he got laid over in Wisconsin due to a snowstorm and then picked up the bag of a drug dealer. With the dealer hot on this heels he rented a car and made it all the way to Kirby Wisconsin well he plan to stay the night. While all this was going on the CDC got word that was something the matter with the iceman it seems he died of some bloodletting disease and those who worked closely with the cadaver we’re having serious symptoms. Back in Kirby Dr. Anton called Professor Ron to let him know he was staying the night in the small town but that was before he knew that Frank and Tony two drug dealers were coming to his room and they would make the whole situation much worse. When professor Ron at Minnesota’s University couldn’t get in touch with Dr. Anton he got worried and immediately sent his assistant professor Grant To Kirby to find the doctor and check out the situation. Grant had to find the samples and keep the problem contained or it would start an epidemic the world had never seen. Great thought it would be an easy job until he learned about the two gangsters that were staying in the doctors room and the doctor being unfindable. Not only was the virus dangerous to the public but so are these two guys Frank and Tony can they contain them before the Amanda virus got loose? This book was so good I originally wanted the book because I thought it had something to do with old mummies but although I was wrong it was still very enjoyable but it was more like a crime drama but still so worth reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it the brief summary I’ve given doesn’t even come close to covering 10% of what’s involved with the book and it is so good. I received this book from Net Galley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Ebook/Science Fiction/Dark Comedy: I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read an ARC of this book.
This book starts out pretty normal with a scientist not wanting to go through the proper channels while coming to the United States with a unknown pathogen. What could go wrong.
Enter Murphy's Law and a small town becomes infected during a snow storm.
I really liked this book and it's dark humor: The bad news is tests show you've been exposed to a deadly virus that doesn't have a cure. The good news is you're positive for Chlamydia which does have a cure.
The only issue I had was the ending was too easy.

A true comedy of errors!

It was such a fresh take on a pandemic book and was light hearted enough that I didn’t feel dread about other pandemic.

I did check out when the romance starting happening, when reading books of this genre you don’t sign up for romance and it was a little over the top.

It was an entertaining read, a fluff pandemic novel.

The intriguing title initially captured my attention.

An ancient virus revived in a modern world, a story trope I’ve enjoyed reading before. The twist is the mixed up luggage containing samples contaminated with the virus. Overall a fairly enjoyable read.

Feedback:
Ron’s character really annoyed me. He didn’t put on any protective gear when at the hotel, despite the professor he was there to see possibly being in contact with the Iceman. I just felt like more could be done to make his character an authentic Virologist.

Same with Sybil, she just walks into the gas station with nary a mask. If we’ve learned anything of quarantines & pandemics from Covid, you’d think the CDC rep would at least wear a mask and gloves? Also the romance aspect I really didn’t enjoy, that could’ve been entirely left out.

Frank and Tony were bumbling idiots, but somehow Frank also got away with smuggling drugs internationally? They just didn’t seem like very plausible characters.

Not my favourite book out there with the virus plot, but again, an easy & enjoyable read all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley, BQB Publishing, and the author Gary Jones for a copy.

The Iceman's Curse by Gary F. Jones includes Midwest winter weather, crowded airports, mixed up luggage, shady research methods, thrills, chills and a mystery. What more could one ask for....ah yes, a healthy dose of humor and suspense. Very enjoyable and fun read.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book

suspense, thriller, mystery, infectious-disease, theft, bumbling, greed, smuggling, rural, Wisconsin, situational-humor, romantic, CDC, investigation, snow-season****

The publisher's blurb is a good hook. Most of the activity set mostly in rural central Wisconsin (only the Northwoods would have been more remote) near the capitol city. There is a frozen corpse (much like Otzi) in the Alps, inept drug dealers, the predictable romantic interest, and mishandling of valuable biological materials by those who should know better. It's a well written mystery full of twists.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from BQB Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

A twelve hundred year old body dubbed “The Iceman” is found buried under the ice in the Alps. A Swiss professor takes some DNA samples and in order to cut some red tape he smuggles them into the U.S. However, when a blizzard hits the professor’s flight lands in Chicago. A mixup at customs accidentally switches suitcases with a drug mule named Frank. Frank has no clue what’s in his suitcase. The DNA samples are infected by an unknown virus.

This was full of twists and turns and a refreshing read after all the horror books I’ve been reading lately. I loved the snowbound element!


Thank you to netgalley and BQBPublishing for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A gripping and well plotted thriller that kept me on the edge. Well plotted, solid, and entertaining.
I liked the storytelling and the well developed characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope he writes more! I am totally hooked!

Quirky characters and lots of action make this medical thriller an entertaining read.

A crazy luggage mix-up at the airport during a blizzard leaves Professor Louis Antoine, from Zurich, stranded in Kirby, Wisconsin, and a pair of drug mules hot on his tracks. The situation becomes even more fraught when the Swiss prof realizes that the samples taken from a 1200 year old corpse that his team found in the Alps, and that he was bringing illegally for a colleague, are missing. Even more scary -- apparently those samples are infected with a virus that could result in some serious medical issues in the USA. The CDC sends their best woman for the job of containing and tracing this virus before it becomes an epidemic but way too many people could already be exposed.

This was fun and fast and I enjoyed it though it was predictable and there was far too much time spent with Frank on the run instead of on the actual medical situation with the virus. I liked the author's humor and his writing style, and will be looking for future books. The way it was written reminded me of the style of Carl Hiaasen and several passages were laugh out loud clever. I was just wishing for a lot more of the medical aspect instead of the focus on the criminals or the pop-up romance. I would say more drama than thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and BQB Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Oh my reading eyes, the iceman's curse is a thriller you won't put down because *gasp* it's a good read.

The book tells the story of a corpse that is 1200 years old. The twelve-hundred-year-old man is found frozen and buried under ice and snow. A swiss professor in the name of science tries to smuggle the corpse samples but accidentally does a swap with drug dealers. The people that have been exposed to the samples are getting ill and it's up to Grant (the man tasked to study the corpse) to find out why. The plot, the setting, the characters made this thriller a good read. Along the way you find yourself asking if the samples are even cursed because the author did deliver on the mystery aspect.

It all starts with a body found in the ice, like Ötzi but medieval. Obviously, the scientific community is set in motion to study this unique specimen, and likewise the cause of all the catastrophes that afflict mankind, stupidity, in several of its many expressions, is set in motion. And since medieval Europe was traversed far and wide by some of the most terrible epidemics ever known (for the series, luck is blind but misfortune sees very well), the frozen mummy is the carrier of an unknown virus that, as a result of the above, soon finds itself circulating more or less freely. The story, scientifically sound given that the author has a specific background, is quite entertaining, although I struggle to find the humorous and costume implications. In spite of the fact that the author tries to put almost all facets of human stupidity on the plate, it seems to me that on some occasions he has been a little too optimistic and that he has not sufficiently deepened the personality of some characters.

Halloween 2022 Read #24

This was a fun, fast-paced read. A twelve-hundred-year-old man is found frozen, buried under ice and snow. Samples of his DNA are discovered to be infected by am unknown virus. Another man is delivering DNA samples to a lab for other testing but finds himself facing drug dealers in a blizzard.

This book is full of suspense and twisted turns. There are some laughs out cloud parts too. It's well written and a bit haunting after the pandemic.

However, I hated the romance aspect. I'm sure some will enjoy it, but I could have done without it. That aside, A fantastic thriller!

A 1,200 year old man is found buried in the ice in the Swiss Alps. Samples are taken to a lab where it is discovered that he died of an unknown hemorraghic fever. Not to worry. After so many hundreds of years, there’s no chance of this deadly disease still being contagious, right?

Well, wrong. And more wrong as a Swiss researcher heads to America with tissue samples smuggled in his suitcase. And more so when a blizzard changes his travel plans. After a dangerous ride in a rental car, he ends up in a cheap motel in a small town in Wisconsin. He’s been followed by two gangsters, angry because their suitcase, packed full of illegal drugs, has been switched with the researcher’s. The researcher who now is dying from the fever.

The Iceman’s Curse is a wild ride that is part thriller, part romance, and part comedy. The gangsters pretending a dead man is drunk who needs help to leave the motel is laugh-out-loud funny. Grant, Tom and Sybil are well drawn characters who drive the plot. This novel has funny moments but it does show just how vulnerable we are to global epidemics. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, BQB publishing and Gary F. Jones for this ARC.

Although THE ICEMAN'S CURSE does not have a very original plot, I still thought the book was ok. However, it could benefit greatly from a perusal by a professional editor.

The only semi-original twist was that the "scientist" who was smuggling the iceman's tissues into the United States somehow switched suitcases with a drug smuggler. However, this idea of a character switching luggage is again, not original.

Setting the book in a hamlet in the most rural portion of Wisconsin allows the author to not have to think very hard about how to contain the virus. Oh, and coincidentally, there just happens to be a military base nearby. In my opinion, this was just way too convenient and was used to make it easier for the author to provide resources to combat and contain the outbreak.

There is, of course, the prerequisite bit of romance included in the storyline. This starts out promising, but ends up completely implausible and (in my opinion) is actually insulting to all intelligent women who have careers which they love. I don't want to give any spoilers, but suffice it to say that the author will never have a career as a romance author.

The ending left much to be desired. Of course, the good guys win, but there are so many loose ends left that it feels unfinished.

I hate giving books low ratings because I respect anyone who puts in the time and effort required to write a novel, but I cannot in good conscience give this book a rating any higher than 3 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

*** Thank you to #NetGalley and #BQBPublishing for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***