Isolation Ward

Book Review: Isolation Ward

Isolation Ward, a debut novel by Joshua Spanogle, is a good effort. Published by Delacorte Press earlier this year (2006) it strikes me as a book that was green lighted at a high level with less editorial oversight than usual. As a result the first few chapters seem unpolished and the ending is a little strung out but the writing after the first few short chapters is quite good. I definitely recommend it.

Spanogle is a medical student at Stanford and his experience in the field shows. The writing about science and medicine in the book are first rate and that's quite important because the plot revolves around Dr Nathan McCormick and his investigation into the possible outbreak of a new infectious disease, possibly a hemorrhagic fever like Ebola.

This disease presents like flu at first but quickly escalates into a lethal hemorrhagic-like disease. Dr McCormick, a junior doctor with the CDC who's stationed in Baltimore, is called in to consult when a second patient exhibits this disease and a third woman comes in with the flu-like precursor symptoms. As the investigation moves forward they find out all the patients are women from group homes for the mentally impaired.

Isolation Ward is a medical thriller that uses a series of dead patients and witnesses to develop dynamic tension as well as clues to what's going on with this disease. On the journey we meet McCormick's very colorful past in the form of burnt bridges in academia, science, and romance. It's quickly obvious that McCormick has a personality that can rub anyone the wrong way--but that brashness is how he makes progress, in fits and starts, tracking down the disease. Starting in Baltimore and moving to the lush financial environs of Silicon Valley, the intrepid McCormick pisses off people everywhere he goes but in the end he does find the original vector behind the disease as well as the people who have tried to stymie his investigation.

You don't need a biology or medical background to read this but it doesn't hurt. Spanogle does a good job of explaining things as his fictional Dr McCormick moves through areas of medicine, molecular biology research and biotech finance. But it's a lot of information to absorb! Of course you can just sit back and indulge in the action and ignore the details. There's plenty of dead bodies in this book with any number of doublecrosses, deadends and new clues to keep the plot moving. And a few loose ends to be sure but they're not very intrusive.

If you like medical thrillers, this one is better than the typical Robin Cook novel. There's supposed to be a sequel coming out in 2007 named Growth Factor also using the Nathan McCormick character. It should be well worth reading, this first novel certainly is.