Pandemic!

We've all heard about the terrible Ebola epidemic unfolding in West Africa and threatening to become a worldwide epidemic of a severity never seen before on earth. According to epidemiology experts, the likelihood of the virus spreading to other parts of the world is real. If that fact doesn't frighten you enough, here are some fiction titles that explore what could happen if this possibility becomes a reality.

Fever by Megan Abbott

The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community. The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community. As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town's fragile idea of security.





Immunity by Lori Andrews
When his partner collapses and dies, DEA agent Castro Baxter refuses to believe that the cause of death was an overdose, a suspicion that is corroborated by tests which reveal a deadly contamination that could cost the lives of thousands.

The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley
How far would you go to protect your family ? Ann Brooks never thought she’d have to answer that question. Then she found her limits tested by a crisis no one could prevent. Now, as her neighborhood descends into panic, she must make tough choices to protect everyone she loves from a threat she cannot even see. In this chillingly urgent novel, Carla Buckley confronts us with the terrifying decisions we are forced to make when ordinary life changes overnight.

Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun
Insomnia has claimed everyone Biggs knows. Even his beloved wife, Carolyn, has succumbed to the telltale red-rimmed eyes, slurred speech and cloudy mind before disappearing into the quickly collapsing world. Yet Biggs can still sleep, and dream, so he sets out to find her.

Life Support by Tess Gerritsen
A delirious patient in critical condition disappears without a trace, and Dr. Toby Harper is under fire from the hospital administration for losing a patient. Toby knows she must find the patient, and her hunt is intensified when a second delirious patient dies in the hospital's care.

The Babel Effect by Daniel Hecht
When Ryan and Jessamine McCloud are hired to investigate the neurological and genetic implications of violence, they uncover a possible link between human violence and a contagious unknown toxin that is causing a global epidemic.

Isolation Ward by Joshua Spanogle
Called in by the CDC after three mentally handicapped women with the same mysterious symptoms check into the same Baltimore hospital, Dr. Nathaniel McCormick is caught in a web of deceit as he follows the trail of a lethal virus to California.