The Hotline at the End of the World by Brady Koch

In a world paralyzed by an unprecedented outbreak, Clint mans the CDC hotline, a solitary beacon of dwindling hope. Then, one fateful day, a call comes in. Clint finds himself navigating a delicate situation involving a mysterious woman, hinted at in classified files, who may possess the coveted cure. As the world remains under a suffocating lockdown, Clint's every word, every choice, holds the weight of untold futures.

This is the third book in Koch's All Our Forgotten Futures series. And this one might give you Covid-19 flashbacks.

Years later, events at the slaughterhouse have boiled over to the country at large, and everyone is desperate. Social order is breaking down as people are becoming infected, and those who aren't infected are willing to do whatever it takes to avoid getting sick or find the mystery woman.

Clint is taking over the CDC's tip hotline. The current occupant, D'Angelo, has had his fill of the job. With the country in lockdown and people isolating themselves, he's watched as his team has been reduced to just him—the volume of calls no longer warrants a full-time staff. D'Angelo trains Clint, who has experience working other hotlines dedicated to assisting people with the virus or who have family members with it. The training and the off-duty conversations reveal a lot about the men. After the training ends and D'Angelo departs, it's just Clint and the occasional caller on the phone. It's a lonely life, and Clint has too much time on his hands.

Clint learns from D'Angelo that the standard approach to the calls is that the caller has not found the mystery woman with the cure. None of them are. There's just no way it can be her after all these years. Clint is to treat each call as if it were a hostage situation. There's a manual which Clint is instructed to follow. It's a de-escalation procedure that never fails. Clint has to stall for time so that he can track down the caller and alert the police to free the hostage before she gets hurt. It isn't easy on Clint, and Koch does a great job keeping the tension high. Eventually though, Clint gets that one call where abiding by the manual doesn't work, forcing Clint to think of a new way to rescue a woman a thousand miles away.

Despite the lack of action, The Hotline at the End of the World is a suspenseful thriller with an engaging protagonist. It doesn't matter that he's cooped up by himself, quarantined from the world. He's agonizing over the fate of this woman, unable to physically rescue her, relying solely on his intellect to outwit her kidnapper. Koch has skillfully developed his character so that you're right there beside Clint, rooting for him to succeed.

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Full Disclosure: I was hired by the author to proofread/edit this book. While you might think I'm biased, I suggest heading over to Goodreads for other opinions.

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