I read The Last Hours and admired the obvious depth of research and the way the author conveyed a sense of the period, the panic as the plague spreads and its social impact. I confess I found it a little slow and felt slightly let down by the ending but that actually makes me keen to read this sequel to find out what happens to some of the characters I got to know in the first book. I like the idea of someone venturing out to find out the effect of the plague on the outside world and seeing this through their eyes.