Isolation Ward

Medical thrillers have been rather sickly of late, but Stanford med student Spanogle has applied the paddles and delivered a real jolt of excitement with this debut novel of a dangerous viral outbreak, diabolical medical chicanery and research run amok. Dr. Nathaniel McCormick, an officer in the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service, is called to St. Raphael's Hospital in Baltimore, where three young women come to the emergency room complaining of flulike symptoms and, after being admitted, begin to deteriorate in very alarming (and graphic) ways. After their skin begins to slough off in large patches, Nate fears the worst: that a deadly viral disease has been unleashed as part of a terrorist attack. Nate is an intelligent, impulsive, intriguing character, willing to lie and steal from both friend and foe to further the case. Once he learns, at a very high price, that a drug company has been experimenting with a very particular means for treating diseased organs, things begin to come together—but time remains of the essence. Spanogle is a funny, smart and skilled writer at the beginning of what readers will hope is a long and prolific career. (Feb. 28)