Isolation Ward

By: Joshua Spanogle

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Straight out of today’s hospitals and labs - and tomorrow’s headlines - comes a frightening, scalpel-sharp thriller from medical insider Joshua Spanogle. In an astounding debut, Spanogle takes us on an all-too-real race against time...as a young doctor enters the dark side of scientific research, desperate to stop a terrifying epidemic before it is too late....

In Baltimore’s St. Raphael’s Hospital, three newly admitted patients are among society’s most helpless citizens: female residents of Baltimore’s group homes for the mentally impaired, their bodies racked by a virus the likes of which no one at St. Raphael’s has ever seen.

Dr. Nathaniel McCormick is one of the first on the scene. A young investigator from the Centers for Disease Control, Nate is paid to explore the bizarre, the exotic, and the baffling - from superviruses to bioterrorism. But as soon as Nate begins to investigate the lives and habits of the victims, he knows something is terribly wrong. Using all his skills as a medical detective, Nate soon zeroes in on the “vector” - the one person who had sexual contact with the first victims. And when that suspect is found murdered, Nate fears that the disease he’s chasing may not be an act of nature, but of man.

With his brash style angering his superiors and fellow investigators alike, Nate turns to an old colleague and former lover, Dr. Brooke Michaels, for help. Together the two investigators follow a twisting trail of clues to a discovery that is at once groundbreaking and unspeakable. And as a circle of treachery tightens around him, Nate is about to confront the most chilling revelation of all - and a past Nate himself has been trying to escape.

At once a taut medical thriller and a riveting psychological portrait of a young doctor on the edge, Isolation Ward is a tale of runaway tension - with a brilliant “what-if” premise that is harrowing...heartbreaking...and impossible to wrench from your imagination.

©2006 Joshua Spanogle (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"[A] tightly woven debut thriller....Engrossing and intellectually wrought." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Combines a wonderfully flawed yet stereotypically smart-ass hero with a plot that moves as rapidly as a lethal virus." (Entertainment Weekly)

"Spanogle is a funny, smart, and skilled writer at the beginning of what readers will hope is a long and prolific career." (Publishers Weekly)

Medical thriller doesn't disappoint!

This was a great thriller even for someone who has no medical knowledge. It offered many twists and turns that kept the listener intrigued. I was only disappointed when it ended.

Fast paced, interesting and well..

This is a great book! The story moves quickly and doesn't spend long periods of time going over microscopic details that lead reads to pure confusion and boredom. Given the story line, this like several smaller stories that were in a series and combined into a single book, mostly because, just when you thought you might know what the book was about, you find out differently...and this happens more than once. Truly a great time and a great book.

Not usually my thing

I have not listened to or read a book like this in a long time but was captivated and found myself listening to the story over the course of the weekend. Definitely would check it out.

Amazing narration.

Excellent tone and passion in the narration. Story gets a bit messy in the middle but comes together in the middle.

Not so great

I found this to be weakly written, poorly plotted and at times annoying to listen to.

Save your credit.

Just shoot me

If there is a medical thriller cliche missing from this book, I would be quite surprised. I kept telling myself that there must be something original to it, some redeeming twist, and so I listened and listened for h-o-u-r-s in hapless anticipation until my brain began to gel. I can't believe I blew 2 book credits on this turkey. Unless you are an absolute medical thriller junkie who never tires of the same old routine, with the same old villains who stand in the way of saving lives to protect their power, their budgets, their pet theories, yadda, yadda, yadda, and the same old young upstart who knows how to save the human population better than all the professionals of any discipline in the universe, my advice is to save your credits and move on.

sad excuse for book

scott brick keep me from returning the book early . The idea of this book is good. It seemed like the story drifted .

Not worth 2 credits

Whiney narration, predictable plot line, annoying main character who is narcissitic and unlikeable. I looked forward to listening to this but it was a waste of time.

A waste of time

After enjoying more than 100 books from Audible i finally came across a real lemon. The main character (Nate MacCormack) is so far over the top with his moronic cliches and infantile melodrama that the book was just plain annoying. Poor Scott Brick, a normally great reader, for being caught up in this mess. 2 credits too!

Inane and obnoxious

I have read over 260 audio books and I would rate this book at the bottom. The character is obnoxious, irrating, and immature. Even Scott Brick couldn't save this turkey. In fact, it seemed like Brick hated this book as much as I did. "She had cheekbones that could cut glass." Need I say more.