Just Life by Neil Abramson
Veterinarian Samantha Lewis and her team are dedicated to providing a sanctuary for unwanted, abused, and abandoned dogs in New York City. But every day it gets harder to operate her no-kill shelter. Sam is already at her breaking point when she learns of an unidentified, dangerous virus spreading through their neighborhood. The medical community can only determine that animals are the carriers. Amid growing panic and a demand for immediate answers, suspicion abruptly falls on dogs as the source. Soon the governor is calling in the National Guard to enforce a quarantine — no dog may leave the area.
Samantha knows from her own painful history that, despite the lack of real evidence against the dogs, a quarantine may only be the beginning. As questions about the source of the virus mount and clash with the pressure for a politically expedient resolution, Sam is forced to make life-altering choices. She finds allies in a motley crew of New Yorkers — a local priest, a troubled teen, a smart-mouthed former psychologist, and a cop desperate to do the right thing — all looking for sanctuary from their own personal demons. But the person Sam needs the most to unravel the mystery of the virus and save the dogs is the last one she’d ever want to call on — because contacting him will mean confronting the traumatic past she has fought so hard to escape.
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My Review
5 stars
A virus has been discovered that is killing children in Riverside. They determine that is some advanced rabies virus that is transferred from dogs to humans. Samantha Lewis is a veterinarian and owner of Finally Home, a no kill shelter. Sam thinks there is something suspicious about this since rabies transfers through a bite. But she has other things on her plate when her little shelter is at capacity and she is being threatened with closure. If she is going to save the dogs, Sam is going to do everything she can to find out what is really happening.
This is an incredible, heartwarming story. It is easy to get caught up in the details. What would you do if children were dying and some researcher says that it’s a virus from dogs? Would you give up your dog knowing that they will probably be put to sleep and maybe tested on before and after? That in itself was hard for me. I am a huge animal lover and I would fight tooth and nail to keep my cats safe.
My heart was breaking reading about the different people affected. But they all had their part to play, even Dr. Morgan, bad as she is she had a role to play and you can’t blame her. She just does the part way to well. Although I’m an animal lover I will admit that I could see her part and place in this whole thing. Granted that doesn’t make me like her or accept what is happening.
This is my first book from Neil Abramson and I was wonderstruck with Just Life. I will definitely be reading Unsaid and watching for other books by him.
I received Just Life from the publisher for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
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