Before This Is Over

By: Amanda Hickie

Narrated by: Cat Gould

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

"A gripping look at the way humanity handles crisis." (Newsweek)

In the midst of a devastating epidemic, how far will a desperate mother go to keep her loved ones safe?

There is a deadly virus spreading around the world. At first it is a distant alarm bell in the background of Hannah's comfortable suburban life. Then suddenly, it has arrived on the doorstep. The quarantine traps Hannah, her husband, and their young sons in their home and forces them to rely on their own resourcefulness as water and power supplies are cut, food reserves dwindle, and their formerly idyllic backyard and quiet street become battlefields. Hannah is convinced that if she keeps her wits about her, she can protect her family, even as one threat after another looms just on the other side of the door.

Compulsively listenable and deeply personal, Before This Is Over forces us to grapple with disaster through the eyes of an ordinary woman. How far will she go to keep her loved ones safe?

©2017 Amanda Hickie (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Gripping and terrifyingly realistic, Before This Is Over is the story of a mother trapped in the epicenter of a deadly global virus - and the agonizing choices she must make to keep her family alive." (Sarah Pekkanen, best-selling author of The Perfect Neighbors)

"What would you do in an epidemic?.... Utterly fascinating, a little gruesome and impossible to put down.... This is a slow-burn thriller that would make an excellent choice for a book club." (Jessica Broadbent, Books + Publishing)

"A tense debut..... Under these circumstances, how does one cope with entertaining an active child or feeding a growing, whiny teenager, who eats as if supermarkets are still open and refuses to understand why he can't use the Internet? Neighbors turning on neighbors is expected, but society is beyond broken when a family turns on itself. Hickie realistically depicts how isolation and the threat of disease affect one family, especially when electricity, water, and other services break down." (Publishers Weekly)

Your Reflective Skin is Falling Off Your Bones

I suspect it would take about 15 minutes for polite society to be exactly like Mad Max if their was a pandemic, revolution or coup (fingers crossed). I am unbelievably chagrined I finished this piece. We get it, mom is an extra strength neurotic and dad is a dumb dumb super douche not unlike Donald J. Just another in a lifetime of genuinely poor decisions. I hope in heaven I get to Tivo my life just to see my face right before I make some my worst choices. Like in '88 when I was suicidal for months on end, on my way to Pink Floyd and thought to myself, "You know what I need, is this postage stamp sized blotter paper with a pelican on a surfboard." Life has never been the same since.

Trying to push through since I used my credit on this story

Trying to push through this book since I used my monthly audible credit on it, but I'm really disappointed. The story is good but the narration is rough to listen to...I should have bought the kindle version. The narrator sounds like she is constantly either questioning or making a grave point, neither of which is fitting for 90% of the book (and it has nothing to do with her accent- it's just her reading style). I dislike the narration so much that I will make sure future purchases are not read by the same person .

Tension in the Mundane

While hearing about the everyday life of a family hiding out and trying to survive inside their home during a killing flu epidemic, the story unfolds with tension and suspense even in the mundane. I could have done without the manufactured angst over some of the decisions made that didn't need to be agonized over, but it was still a good read and really made you think about what could happen during a serious flu pandemic. The narrator has an authentic Australian accent and did a great job, but had a slightly annoying habit of raising her voice at the end of statements, otherwise I would have given her 5 starts.