Sign-In
Cart
Rabid
Paperback
Mystery & ThrillerGeneral Fiction
ISBN13: 9781977247742
Publisher: Outskirts Pr
Published: Nov 23 2021
Pages: 210
Weight: 0.69
Height: 0.48 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Set in the wake of COVID-19 and based on true events, a bizarre new syndrome is emerging, particularly in the US. People are falling ill with extreme salivation, foaming at the mouth, hemorrhagic red dots in their eyes and on their limbs, confusion, muscle destruction, and worse. For some, amputation and kidney failure ensue - even death.
Protagonist Jared is a rookie firefighter/paramedic who still suffers from a traumatic loss; subsequently he experiences unresolved survivor's guilt and is obsessed with perfect performance. Returning from an EMS call with his partner Russ, Jared is baffled over 43 year old Elsie's strange symptoms. Could it be a stroke? A rabid animal bite? Poisoning? A new type of infection from a COVID mutation? Soon a retiring salesman, a commercial airline pilot, a restaurant owner and others fall ill with similar symptoms, necessitating transport to hospitals across the US.
At Lockheed University Hospital, Dr. Victor Rivera becomes inundated in his emergency department (starting with Elsie); nurse Flora is on the edge of burnout, and microbiologist Faidah uncovers alarming findings. Strange alarms and malfunctions capture the attention of pathologist Dr. Tyrone Vast and geneticist Dr. Peter Lankenau, until the nation's public health expert Dr. Mario Trutelli is called to help solve the crisis. Most bewildering is that this syndrome has no precedent: it is not caused by any infectious source, that is, by a bacterium, virus, fungus or parasite. As with COVID-19, this novel syndrome threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system.
Connections to Jared's military past, however, lead to shocking discoveries, including massive secret livestock farms... Ultimately this leads to solving the mystery of what becomes known as Rabid-Rhabdomyolysis Syndrome.
Woven into the plot are the most pressing issues of our time: the epidemic of chronic preventable diseases and of climate change. It is also a cautionary tale.
Also in
Mystery & Thriller
The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy, Volume I: American Tabloid, the Cold Six Thousand; Introduction by Thomas Mallon
Ellroy, James
Hardcover
Coffin Road: An Utterly Gripping Crime Thriller from the Author of the China Thrillers
May, Peter
Paperback
Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues
Bantock, Nick
Hardcover
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Movie Tie-In Edition): Book 1 of the Millennium Trilogy
Larsson, Stieg
Paperback
The Golden Mean: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Concludes
Bantock, Nick
Hardcover
Big Little Truths: Reese's Book Club: A Novel: The Sequel to Big Little Lies
Moriarty, Liane
Hardcover
The Pirate Queen: A Novel from the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Frozen River
Lawhon, Ariel
Hardcover