Before This is Over

2017 | Fiction & Poetry

BEFORE THIS IS OVER by Amanda Hickie is a powerful, thought-provoking drama that looks at one family in the heart of a devastated community and compels us to ask: how far would I go to save my children? 'Shatteringly suspenseful...it's impossible not to be super-glued to the page' Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of PICTURES OF YOU Meet Hannah Halloran. Wife of Sean, mother of teenage Zac and little Oscar. Their comfortable home is in a suburb of a city unaffected by the deadly flu that's killed thousands. But Hannah is tense. She's worried about Zac's vulnerability miles away at a crowded summer camp. She's uneasy about Oscar's boisterous play with the children at his school. Is physical contact wise when an epidemic is coming closer? Hannah fears that their safe little world is about to be blown apart. And she's right. It's time to get Zac home - if they can...As the virus traps Hannah and her family in their neighbourhood and then within their own home, supplies of food, water and electricity dwindle. The battery life on their mobile phones fades, cutting them off from critical news bulletins.

Sean's confidence that the government will keep everyone safe is misplaced. Every day, Hannah has choices to make that will decide whether they live or die. Choices with devastating consequences. Just how far will she go to protect those she loves? Originally published under the title AN ORDINARY EPIDEMIC.

Amanda Hickie (Author)