The Oxford Virus eBook Adam Kolczynski
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PLOT INTRODUCTION
Dr. Olembé of Lorenex Biotherapeutics believes he has the cure for cancer – albeit in its infancy. He finds himself on the brink of his first human trial. Things do not go to plan, reawakening old enmities between conventional medicine and vanguard therapy. DCI Dárdai of Thames Valley Police investigates. Barely has he finished questioning Dr. Olembé, when a body is discovered in a terraced house in Jericho, Oxford. Was it suicide? Does it relate to the Olembé affair? Are there deeper, darker elements at work? Dárdai reluctantly enlists the help of Professor Konstantin Vadimovich Zolotov – failed medical student, former samizdat dissident, part-time epicure, incumbent Head of Russian and East European Studies at Clapperton College. Two distinct methodologies collide. But just how much does Zolotov already know about the case? And what is his real reason for wanting it resolved? The stakes are high, the dénouement chilling...
SELECTED REVIEWS
"The Oxford Virus is at once heartfelt and topical as medical minds continue to do pioneering research into cures for cancer. Adam Kolczynski has a really unique voice and is certainly a writer to watch" – EALING TIMES
"Unlike many books of this genre, The Oxford Virus is refreshingly well-written, with a clever and sometimes unorthodox use of the English language, with a subtle approach to background research...and with an unexpectedly mature assessment of his larger-than-life international characters" – RUSSIAN LONDON COURIER
"The Oxford Virus is an intriguing blend of speculative fiction and murder mystery with an international cast of characters. A confident writing style ensures reader interest is held until the final revelations" – JOHN CURRAN, author of Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks
"...an engaging modern take on the cozy, combining academic satire with the contemporary theme of cutting-edge medical research" – EURO CRIME
"...set in contemporary Oxford with an international cast of characters, the dénouement is both unexpected and ingenious" – CATHERINE ANDREYEV, author of Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement
" ... there is a degree of authority to his descriptions of the suggested cancer cure. It's an intriguing idea and the author manages to convey the concept logically without appearing to fall into the 'look how much I know' trap. I was fascinated by the set up ..." – THE BOOKBAG
"... the author is obviously highly intelligent and this is shown throughout in a style similar to that of Christopher Brookmyre. Approach with caution and time to digest this book, and you will be rewarded by a crime story which may well win a literary award ..." – CRIMESQUAD.COM
The Oxford Virus eBook Adam Kolczynski
As a lifelong reader of America's leading novelists--with detective and police procedurals being high on my list--I found THE OXFORD VIRUS to be quite unlike any murder mystery I've ever read. Kolczynski, who was born in London and educated at Oxford, has a magnificent command of the English language that makes his writing style as different from American detective fiction as beer is to wine. Not a problem, of course, to anyone who likes both.As both an author and book editor, I read this book like I read all books--with a yellow highlighter in hand to mark words, phrases, and sentences I like, or things I want to learn more about. Kolczynski is a meticulous writer who obviously delights in crafting colorful descriptions and dialog that reflects his intelligence, education, opinions, and bilingual skills. His writing beautifully captures the English dialects, and, because the star in this book's colorful cast of characters is a Russian college professor named Zolotov, readers are introduced to several Russian words and phrases (defined in a Glossary), as well as some amusing Scottish slang words such as "bampots" and "numpties." (More than once, Kolczynski sent me to the Web to Google a phrase or find the definition of a word I had yet to encounter.)
Here is an author who knows how to turn a phrase and paint a vivid mental picture. He writes of such things as "globular clouds amassing in rolls and clumps--an inverted sea of mackerel scales," "almond eyes beaming in tandem with the lips," and (my favorite) "spaghetti hoops, soused in a mucilaginous mess masquerading as tomato sauce." Several sentences gave me a chuckle, such as "Speech seemed to issue from her larynx without involving the higher centres of her brain." And: "If the reason for those death threats ever surfaced, her name would be elk dung."
The plot of this book is indeed complex, with many interesting twists and turns. After a friend on the police force discusses one of his cases with Zolotov, one thing leads to another until he finds himself in the position of an amateur detective who has a personal reason for solving the puzzling aspects of the death of a woman who apparently committed suicide, but may actually have been murdered. As the book progresses, we see that her death and the people she knew are directly connected to the death of a woman in an Oxford cancer trial, one whose husband also plays an important role in the book, along with an Oxford undergraduate with landlord troubles.
Kolczynski neatly stitches all elements of his crafty plot together at the end . . . but just when you think the whole story has been told, he throws in a surprising twist that leads to an ending as satisfying as a rich dessert loaded with chocolate and whipped cream. (I suspect we haven't heard the last of Zolotov and his assistant, Rena Figueroa, two colorful characters around which a series could be built.)
P.S. Although the product page indicates that this book is out of print, I happen to know that this is only temporary and due to the fact that the book was recently published in the UK.
Barbara Brabec, author and publisher of The Drummer Drives! Everybody Else Rides: The Musical Life and Times of Harry Brabec, Legendary Chicago Symphony Percussionist and Humorist
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The Oxford Virus eBook Adam Kolczynski Reviews
Never read Adam Kolczynski before, but this is a really absorbing read. Wolfed it down in two sittings. The Oxford Virus is among the best written books I've ever read - great variety of sentence length, dialogue as sharp as a switchblade, and the humour/irony is really well handled. He has a natural way with words. A deep and moving book that challenges the reader as well as gripping them. You really care about the fates of the characters (particularly Zolotov) You want to read on. I thought the double-twist ending was really clever. Clever in a chilling way. All the different layers are brought together nicely, with no plot holes. It's one of those psychological thrillers where all is definitely not as it seems. This author is going places!
As a lifelong reader of America's leading novelists--with detective and police procedurals being high on my list--I found THE OXFORD VIRUS to be quite unlike any murder mystery I've ever read. Kolczynski, who was born in London and educated at Oxford, has a magnificent command of the English language that makes his writing style as different from American detective fiction as beer is to wine. Not a problem, of course, to anyone who likes both.
As both an author and book editor, I read this book like I read all books--with a yellow highlighter in hand to mark words, phrases, and sentences I like, or things I want to learn more about. Kolczynski is a meticulous writer who obviously delights in crafting colorful descriptions and dialog that reflects his intelligence, education, opinions, and bilingual skills. His writing beautifully captures the English dialects, and, because the star in this book's colorful cast of characters is a Russian college professor named Zolotov, readers are introduced to several Russian words and phrases (defined in a Glossary), as well as some amusing Scottish slang words such as "bampots" and "numpties." (More than once, Kolczynski sent me to the Web to Google a phrase or find the definition of a word I had yet to encounter.)
Here is an author who knows how to turn a phrase and paint a vivid mental picture. He writes of such things as "globular clouds amassing in rolls and clumps--an inverted sea of mackerel scales," "almond eyes beaming in tandem with the lips," and (my favorite) "spaghetti hoops, soused in a mucilaginous mess masquerading as tomato sauce." Several sentences gave me a chuckle, such as "Speech seemed to issue from her larynx without involving the higher centres of her brain." And "If the reason for those death threats ever surfaced, her name would be elk dung."
The plot of this book is indeed complex, with many interesting twists and turns. After a friend on the police force discusses one of his cases with Zolotov, one thing leads to another until he finds himself in the position of an amateur detective who has a personal reason for solving the puzzling aspects of the death of a woman who apparently committed suicide, but may actually have been murdered. As the book progresses, we see that her death and the people she knew are directly connected to the death of a woman in an Oxford cancer trial, one whose husband also plays an important role in the book, along with an Oxford undergraduate with landlord troubles.
Kolczynski neatly stitches all elements of his crafty plot together at the end . . . but just when you think the whole story has been told, he throws in a surprising twist that leads to an ending as satisfying as a rich dessert loaded with chocolate and whipped cream. (I suspect we haven't heard the last of Zolotov and his assistant, Rena Figueroa, two colorful characters around which a series could be built.)
P.S. Although the product page indicates that this book is out of print, I happen to know that this is only temporary and due to the fact that the book was recently published in the UK.
Barbara Brabec, author and publisher of The Drummer Drives! Everybody Else Rides The Musical Life and Times of Harry Brabec, Legendary Chicago Symphony Percussionist and Humorist
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