I really wanted to enjoy this book more.
The premise was interesting and to start with I was enjoying it. However I felt the book moves at too slow a pace for me and there was an emphasis on the medical terminology that made it seem that I was reading work material. There was also a significant religious component that I personally found off-putting.

DNF @ 15%
I’m usually such a sucker for virus-centered thrillers. Anything with a mysterious outbreak and high-stakes medical twists immediately grabs my attention. That’s what pulled me toward this book, and I really wanted to love it.

But as I got into the story, it started to feel more like a detailed procedural manual than a thriller. The focus on clinical and technical information ended up slowing the momentum, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters or feeling the suspense I was hoping for.

That said, I can see how readers who enjoy a deep dive into the medical side of things with lots of realism and step-by-step breakdowns might find this really compelling. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

Night Plague by Alex Lettau is an interesting story following a doctor who is called in to help a town when things are starting to go awry,
Kris Jensen, a doctor who specialises in infectious diseases, is contacted by her friend Dan to come to his hometown of Stevens Crossing, to help them work out what is going on, as many residents are becoming increasingly violent and people are getting injured. Otherwise suicidal thoughts are becoming high on their list of problems.
Kris gets straight to work gathering evidence to help with the theory that Dan and some of his other health colleagues think it is….a virus that may have originated from a lemur.
This was a good plot and it started off well, but it seemed to slow and become hard work for me to stay focused on. The characters were interesting, but Kris was the main character., as this story and the previous one are based around Kris and her work.
It may be much better for others to read than me, and I’m sad as I know how much work goes into writing a book.
Many thanks to Bronzeville Books for the opportunity to read this arc copy via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley, #BronzevilleBooks,, #AlexLettau.

A good outbreak novel. This is the first book by this author and I found it enjoyable. An outbreak of insomnia in a small town, what has caused this ? Good characters and a well paced novel. Although it's part of a series it can be read as standalone. Thanks to tha author and Netgalley for this review ARC.

I liked the premise of this novel, an insomnia virus has taken over a small Tennesee town. However, the story was overlong and dragged in places. Some of the medical terms will go.over people's heads. A decent read but not for me.

I appreciated the opportunity to read an ARC of Night Plague.

I found the premise interesting: an outbreak of an infectious illness characterised by insomnia and increasing anger, depression and aggression, spreading through a small town. I also found myself nodding as Kris outlined her theories about the correlations between poor sleep and various ailments. So far so good.

I was less impressed by the writing. It was, frankly, like watching someone at work. Boring, repetitive interviews that moved the story along at a glacial pace, summaries of findings so far that felt like reading someone's work emails, interspersed with some violent scenes that barely made the main characters break stride. Nearly all the focus was on the investigation, not the impact on families; as a result, it was hard to care about the affected people. Too much gun porn, two-dimensional characters and unconvincing, frequently saccharine, dialogue. And too much religion with, especially in the final third of the novel, scenes being interrupted by people praying together. The last scene is basically a church service that I skipped through. Finally, the resolution was underwhelming, to say the least.

This might appeal to people who live in a small town in the US and who can identify somewhat with the scenes and characters. But it doesn't have that 'this could happen to me!' sense of universality that 'outbreak' stories need if they are to have impact.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Night Plague.
This is book 2?of a series but does well as a standalone.
A doctor is called in when a town has medical issues with the citizens.
As this doctor is experienced he unexpectedly ascertains that people are unable to sleep and are becoming violent.
Something is terribly wrong but this is not anything ordinary this is unexplainable. This is more horror than thriller but a good quick read with a few possible vampires thrown in.
3 stars

In Stevens Crossing, insomnia is spreading like an infection, and the onset of sleep trouble is often heralded by a peculiar rash. Kris suspects the insomnia is caused by a new virus—a theory supported by visits with local doctors, the Health Department director, and the police chief.
As the town becomes more dangerous with many citizens armed and police having trouble keeping up with the escalating violence, Kris determines that one early insomniac may have been infected by a lemur when she learns that some lemurs can exhibit cathemerality – irregular sleep-wake patterns which she theorizes could be due to an insomnia virus.

This was an okay read but with far too many acronyms for me. Lots of religious stuff which I don’t do. It didn’t really work in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for sending me a copy of Night Plague to read and review.

This was my first book by this author, and I enjoyed it. I love anything with virus/illness/end of the world vibes.

This is book 3 in the series with the same main character I believe, which I didn’t know until I had started the book. However, it can easily be read as a standalone, I didn’t feel lost at any point with previous information I had missed.

Overall, a decent, quick read and a solid 4 stars.

I'm very sorry but although I really wanted to give it a chance, there were just too many things I didn't like in it. Too much politics, too much religion, too much of several other issues.

Acknowledgements and grateful thanks to NetGalley and Alex Lettau for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC: 'Night Plague by Alex Lettau'. All opinions are my own and are not a reflection of the publishers and/or author, of which I have no association with.

Five out of five stars (3/5 stars).


<B><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204001866-night-plague">Night Plague</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14193856.Alex_Lettau">Alex Lettau</a> is a medical thriller about a little town with what seems to be anger issues but hosts a deadly secret.</b>
<I>THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.</I>

<B>TRIGGER WARNINGS:</b> <I>Animal harm, violence, and death.</I>

<B>Pre-Read:

<I>//I read one of Alex's books earlier this year and I really enjoyed myself, so I am looking forward to approaching this ARC. Kris reminds me of Bones.//</I>

Review:</b>

<I>"A virus that causes permanent insomnia triggers an ongoing outbreak of violence in a Southern town. Kris Jensen races to solve the epidemic before it spreads nationwide.. "</I> — the GoodReads website for Night Plague.

— I adore outbreak stories and movies, and I enjoyed my first adventure with Kris.
I now understand why there aren't a lot of outbreak movies and books <I>without</I> zombies. No disrespect to Alex and his writings/profession but it can feel tedious reading them without a lot of action and / death and that can often be disrespectful to actual patients, survivors and or the people lost to similar ailments. Of course, an insomnia virus isn't exactly deadly and we spent the first half of the book interviewing other characters. Thankfully Alex has a great amount of knowledge of medical issues and then has the charisma to explain it to us in a way that is easy to read and understand.

I often find that authors that are in the medical profession often focus too much on labels and using the medical lingo and narrative which can often be confusing and/or long winded for most readers. Of course, I often lose myself in the language and terminology—I actually prefer it over people simplifying technology so others can understand. I like having to go and research terminology, new words and meanings, and Google really is your friend these days. You can even paste a bit of text into A.I. programs now and ask them to explain or deep dive and you can find out so much. Technology is so freaking amazing and I'm always in awe of it so why would I disrespect it by simplifying what makes it the most interesting thing to me.

That being said, Lettau managed to keep things interesting with his character conflicts, information gathering and even the back and forth of the interactions between Kris and the people she was interviewing was kept interesting and fresh.

You're probably noticing the three stars, hear me out. I should have paced the books further apart because I was still on a high from the first book I read which really blew my mind and left me wanting for more. I think I let that need win and I should have waited.

But. I would have missed out and that wasn't going to happen. Do you know how long, I personally, would have had to wait? I can't afford to buy anymore books, not right now.

So even though I am disappointed, I am not disappointed because it was a brilliant story with a tear jerking end (and a few moments in-between that we will NOT be talking about). Honestly, it takes a lot to be able to make me cry, even a few tears, unless you're a sad book / movie about dogs or a nappy advert, you're out of luck— most of the time.

<B>ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</B> Alex Lettau is the penname for Ludwig Alexander Lettau M.D., an infectious disease specialist who currently lives and works in Charleston, South Carolina in the United States of America. He writes novels in the thriller and horror genres and has a talent for writing intense character dialogue and medical scenes that engage and titillate his readers.

I sure was titillated. However, his first Kris Jenson novel is definitely my favourite. After talking to him, myself, I asked him why he'd decided to write the third book instead of the second and he showed great passion for his newest project with is always one of my most favourite things about authors — their passion for their writing, for their stories.

Despite the three stars, I would recommend this story of an insomnia virus if you like outbreak stories and novels filled with laughter, tears and mean action scenes.

Dark, I enjoyed the prose. Characters were somewhat hit or miss for me, but the plot was extremely interesting and Im excited to see where this takes you in July!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced reader copy! All thoughts are my own:

Night Plague follows infectious disease doctor Kris as she tries to investigate an insomnia outbreak that is causing widespread violence in a small town in the south.

The prose of this book actually made this a pretty accessible book, despite all the medical talk. Rather than feeling locked out, I was drawn in and interested in the medical talk throughout most of this book. I’m no medical expert, so don’t expect me to have researched how accurate any of it is, but the author is an infectious disease specialist, so I’m definitely gonna trust it.

I think towards the middle of the book, the story got a bit dull as it was mostly just interviews and theories, but I also understand that to be a necessary component in this particular story. I just think it was drawn out a bit long.

The resistance Kris faces throughout her investigation is unfortunately too close to reality in many ways. Very well written and interesting story. Would definitely recommend.

This is my first book by this author. and was intrigued by the book's plot about an unknown virus. I work in healthcare and I enjoyed all of the medical details although they may be a little too technical for a lay person. Overall it was a good read with some suspense and plot twists that kept me guessing.

This is my first book by this author. and was intrigued by the book's plot about an unknown virus. I work in healthcare and I enjoyed all of the medical details although they may be a little too technical for a lay person. Overall it was a good read with some suspense and plot twists that kept me guessing.

This is my first book by this author. and was intrigued by the book's plot about an unknown virus. I work in healthcare and I enjoyed all of the medical details although they may be a little too technical for a lay person. Overall it was a good read with some suspense and plot twists that kept me guessing.

Wasn’t able to read this one digitally but I did order a copy of the book so will be reviewing it after I’ve read it. I’m really excited for it as I’ve only heard great things about it.

I love a good zombie story this looks like this might be similar I’m having surgery today just the right opportunity to read something light
The story follows an infectious disease doctor who arrives in a small American town to investigate an outbreak of insomnia associated with violence and antisocial behaviour.i was not aware of this series of books but I think this doctor is the recurring character .altgoygh part of a series this book works as a stand alone novel
The author has a clear easily read prose style the book was a relaxing read despite its subject matter
There are times towards the middle of the book when it felt rather dull like reading an epidemiology lecture
Thos is probably because I am a doctor and this reminds me of uni lectures
I read an early copy on NetGalley uk in return for an unbiased review
The book is published in the uk on 1st July 2025 by Apex Lettau
Thos review will appear on NetGalley uk ,StoryGraph .and my book blog Bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.uk

Thank you NetGalley and Alex Lettau for the ARC!

I love vampires, and I really enjoyed the fresh take on vampires here. That said, I found the medical procedures and terminology to be a bit much and distracting.

This was a fantastic thriller. Twists, suspense, tension. The mystery was riveting. I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.