Final Epidemic

I originally read this book a decade ago. And now since I've re-read it, I've changed my review. In Earl Merkel's Final Epidemic, the first installment in the Beck Casey medical thriller series, this debut would catapult you into a terrific read to read this summer. It all started with a sick patient had arrived in a medical clinic in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. From there, people had gotten sick real fast like wildfire. When the CDC were called in, they believed it was a strain of the flu with a killer variety. Patients have been dying too. That's when Beck Casey, a historian joins the CDC to help look for a clue on where the virus started and originated them. With the help from the FBI, they discovered it had a link to Beck's past as a former CIA operative who was tortured in Russia, and a link to the Japanese cult Aum and to an America militia who wanted to wipe out the world. When the virus spread across to New York City and nationwide to Russia and Europe, they would try everything to eradicate the virus and sacrifice lives. When Beck searches for his missing daughter with his ex-wife Deborah, they become frantic and search for answers. Later, when there's a discovery of the Russian antidote, they stopped it in the tracks and cured the ill from dying with a mind-blowing ending.

This was a great medical thriller debut that deals with medicine and politics that don't combine well. I do care for Beck and his daughter Katie. I also cared for the people who were sick and dying with this awful strain of the flu. I loved the vast and multiple locations in this novel from Russia and to the USA for the scenic settings as well. This would make you want to hold onto your seat for this wild roller coaster ride with non-stop action, suspense, drama, intrigue, to shake you head, gasp, wince and cry, right to the end.

Will you be a victim to the final epidemic?