July 16, 2007
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.