I read lockdown out of interest following it being dubbed as “predicting quarantine” and was actually really engaged at the beginning. It was really interesting to see the comparisons between setting of the pandemic in real life and in the book, and the eerie similarities. 

However, there were a few too many plot holes, such as none of the police apparently caring at all about getting ill or distancing at all despite the rest of the city being shut down and people not even leaving their homes due to the mortality rates being so high. I understand that they have access to FluKill but it doesn’t seem enough.

I found the main plot interesting, wanting to find out what was happening with the person following MacNeil and the situation with Choy. It did start to bother me just how repetitive the storyline was with Amy and Choy though, with her only ever focusing on the accident and her likeness to Choy. She was too one dimensional in my opinion. 

The ending with Pinkie and the aftermath of the fire became a little too unbelievable for me and I struggled to stay as engaged because it just didn’t seem realistic at all afterwards, unlike the rest of the story. I did enjoy the final chapter and the confrontation at the wheel, but again the very last reveal of MacNeil having caught the flu was predictable and not the best.

Overall, I can see why this book was rejected from publishing originally but it was interesting to read during Covid-19.