The Gemini Virus by Wil Mara

It begins like the flu - coughing, sneezing, aching, and chills. Before long, though, your body is covered in blisters and you start to go out of your mind. Death is almost certain and no one knows how to stop it. As the infection spreads from New Jersey to New York and Massachusetts then across the country, the CDC and WHO scramble to learn as much as they can about the virus. For Dennis and his family the only solution is to get out of town, as far away from the spreading sickness as they can. But it might be too late. 

Ok, let me just say the opening pages of this book are some of the most disgusting I think I have ever read! Truly cringeworthy, germy descriptions! I think it may even top Scott Sigler's gore! Funnily enough, I checked out Mara's website AFTER reading and came across this podcast addressing just that issue. I found it particularly telling that the author admits to making himself nauseous in imagining certain scenes. But what do you expect from a viral disaster story?!

It seems like medical thrillers have gone by the wayside. Robin Cook and Michael Palmer are still at it, thankfully, but I don't see quite as many of these sorts of releases as I seem to recall in past years. Wil Mara definitely hits it out of the park with his latest, though. Technically part of his disaster series -- along with Wave -- The Gemini Virus is a chilling and horrific outbreak story (and a stand alone in terms of the read). Even scarier is Mara's claim that all the science is sound and that realistically an epidemic like the Gemini Virus could conceivably happen. Yikes!

If you're a fan of Outbreak, The Hot Zone, and Contagion (the movie), you'll love Gemini Virus! Don't say I didn't warn you about the gross-out factor, though :)