“My entire life is a lie.”

From Suzanne Young’s Program: The Epidemic.

This sequel to the prequel follows Quinn as she struggles to find the truth regarding her assignments as a closer (impersonating the dead to bring the family closure), the mass of teen suicides connected to one girl (Virginia), and Quinn’s own past.  Quinn is on the run after learning a terrible secret about her father and the Grief Department, but she has no idea who she can trust and it seems that everywhere she goes, the Grief Department is there to bring her back.  So she decides to take matters into her own hands and solve the mystery surrounding both her life and Virginia’s influence over the life of others.  What starts as a mission to free herself from her life as a closer soon develops into a race to stop a suicide epidemic before the Grief Department can implement a plan that will undoubtably send the epidemic into overdrive.

This book is a captivating book from the very first page; it picks up where The Remedy left off and builds on that action to propel the start of the book.  This book (especially the first half) has an espionage feel to it, which is a nice change from the other books.  Quinn’s character is enjoyable to follow, because she is a bit more stable as a main character; even when discoveries of the truth rock her world, she recovers quickly and continues forward.  Some of the fun of a prequel is the introduction of characters that will play a role “later” in the story, however this can also cause frustration for those who cannot remember the specifics of the character, but know that the full impact of the introduction was missed.  Overall, Young uses The Epidemic to show that she has developed the series enough to create a story that is very enjoyable, with the both the storylines of this prequel series and the series as a whole.