From Publishers Weekly Stanford med student Spanogle's high-energy sequel to 2006's Isolation Ward shares its predecessor's virtues and, well, flaws. Smart-alecky Dr. Nathaniel McCormick, starting a new life in the San Francisco Bay Area after quitting his job at the Centers for Disease Control, stumbles on photographs of living people with hideous facial tumors. Before they can die from their disease, however, the sufferers are being horrifically murdered in an apparent effort to prevent the authorities from noticing their condition. Lurking in the background is an unsavory gang of Chinese mobsters with a particular interest in the region's biotech industry. McCormick hunts frantically for answers as the bodies pile up. Spanogle's efforts at engineering poignant moments clunk more often than not, and his hero's tendency to crack wise in dire situations strains believability, but he has an undeniable gift for creating tension and movement. For page-turning fun, this gory medical thriller has all the elements. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist Dr. Nathaniel McCormick is going through a bad time. After barely stopping a viral outbreak (chronicled in Isolation Ward, 2006), he quit his job at the Centers for Disease Control and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to be with his girlfriend. Now that relationship is failing, and Nate is jobless. It only gets worse when an old friend contacts Nate and then is promptly murdered (with his wife and children); Nate, desperately searching for something to pull himself back into the world, determines to find out who did the killing and why. This is a very clever novel, and although it features the usual medical-thriller device, the deadly conspiracy, it's a far cry from the Robin Cook–style conglomeration of cardboard characters and chase scenes. This one is more in the Michael Palmer vein: well-drawn characters, a smart story, plenty of suspense, and even a little commentary on the nature of the medical profession. If Spanogle ever decides to move from medical thrillers to technothrillers, he could give Michael Crichton a run for his money. Skilled storytelling. Pitt, David Read more See all Editorial Reviews
G**F
Pretty enjoyable
I believe this book is slightly better than the last. It was a page turner. Spanogle has really gotten the hang of it. I believe he really has talent. I hope he is enjoying the writing enough to continue despite his busy schedule. It takes a certain amount of detachment from the daily grind of medicine to write, and sometimes this can take away the impetus to write. I think of one of my favorite quotes about becoming a physician, by Charles LeBaron in Gentle Vengeance, about his first year in medical school, "It seemed tome I had a little vial of weetness and kindness around stomach level. It'd been full when I was born...but I was hanging on for dear life to those remaining couple ounces. They had me for six or so more sears, ample chance to make me spill the rest in wrath or discouragement." That's one trap. Another one is becoming jaded or totally conformist. One can't be a total conformist and create art. My best wishes to Joshua Spanogle.
M**N
Review of narrative not version
I read this on my Kindle not in paperback... so I have no basis of comparison for versions. This version behaved much like other real-Kindle versions - table of contents, formatting, pagination, etc.For the story itself - it was good.I can't say it was predictable because he did insure that there were multiple possible combinations of bad-guys out there and enough red herrings to satisfy some very hungry dolphins. The good guy is real enough but by the end of the story you are a little tired of his approach to life. Hopefully when the author uses him again he'll let him "grow up" a bit.The science and medicine were typical of what is currently on the market... good ol' stem cells causing cancer and evil scientists covering it up, but the victim profile this time around was different. Gone are the hapless and innocent victims... the victims here are flawed enough to give credence to the story although not fleshed out enough to be any more real than they typically are in this genre.Overall it's a decent read in a somewhat overworked genre.
M**R
Fun read
Loved it! Fast paced Exciting read!
B**T
Lousy medical suspense novel....
"It had been only a few months since I’d last stepped foot on the grounds of an elementary school. The occasion had been a whooping cough outbreak in a rich suburb of Atlanta where quite a few of the affluent, Internet-savvy, and misinformed parents had gotten it into their heads that vaccinations were more of a liability than a benefit. Pertussis wasn’t even my bailiwick at CDC, but I wanted to see the disease close up, so I tagged along with the investigation. Two days with wheezing, grunting, miserable juveniles and their nitwit parents. My colleagues and I decided that nitwits who are so flipped about the dangers of vaccines that they don’t take their kids for their shots should be forced to breathe through a straw for a week. Let the parents see how it feels. Then we can talk."That pretty much says it all, doesn't it? I took this paragraph directly from the book. Spanogle is loathsome.My fellow parents and I decided that nitwit physicians who like to play God, are horribly under-educated about the dangers of vaccines, and who force parents to vaccinate under a one-size-fits-all schedule should be forced to take care of all the severely vaccine-injured children for a week...physically, emotionally, and financially. Let the doctors see how it feels.Glad this guy stopped writing novels because they're sure as heck not worth reading. I cut my teeth reading medical suspense novels throughout my life...the two by Joshua Spanogle are, by far, the worst I've read. That is, of course, unless you enjoy a snarky, egomaniacal main character, over-the-top, cliched supporting characters, and completely implausible story lines. Add that the fact this book is WAY too long (it seriously could have been 200 pages shorter), and you've got yourself a big, fat dud.Two thumbs down from this momma of a DTaP injured child.
M**T
I read the first book and enjoyed it so much that I bought this one too
I discovered this author through one of the Amazon specials for 99 cents. I read the first book and enjoyed it so much that I bought this one too. This was a great story that will keep you guessing. I will be on the look out for anything else this author writes...
J**7
Out of all the books I have read, he is rated in the top 10
EXCELLENT writer - really really superb. Gripping story from the first page - only negative is that he hasn't written any more books (I think only this one and one other). Please Joshua! WRITE SOME MORE - so well written, great story - well worth a read.
S**E
Roller coaster
This was an edge of your seat roller coaster ride. I thought Isolation Ward had a lot of suspense . . . This beats the first book. And, the villains are downright horrific. I highly recommend this book.
D**Y
Five Stars
Enjoyed very much.
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