The Night Parade

I love a good end of days pandemic horror novel that has a supernatural twist. Think "Swan Song" and "The Stand". As a result, I can be very picky and to be honest, I find that the majority of authors who try this combination leave much to be desired. "The Night Parade" begins with a father and daughter fleeing the CDC because she has a gift in her genes that could save humanity. The disease is called "Wanderer's Folly" and it begins in an almost biblical fashion with a massive dying off of all birds around the world. Then humans are hit and for some reason, some cities and communities are hit harder than others. The symptoms appear to be similar to the flu pandemic of 1918 but "Wanderer's Folly" makes the 1918 pandemic seem like a walk in the park. The strength of the novel lies in the vivid description and the main characters; particularly the moral question of an individual's right to live as opposed to many people. It resonated with me because I am a parent and I could not help but feel the father's desperation to save his daughter even though it will result in the extinction of all humanity. David Arlen is the father trying to protect his daughter Ellie who apparently has the same genetic mutation her mother had but Ellie apparently also has an almost supernatural ability. You need to be prepared to read until the end because the book really is hard to put down. I am wondering why I have never come across Ronald Malfi before and am looking forward to reading more. I received a copy of this novel for free from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.