A coughing and sneezing Thomas Lamb was flying from Nairobi to Boston, and then on to his hometown of Seneca. The geology teacher sought medical treatment at a local outpatient clinic for what he thought was a common cold. He was admitted to the ICU unit at Boston General Hospital hooked up to a ventilator and IV's and eventually he died. Lamb’s wife and a medical student at the clinic which originally treated him are stricken with the new variety of Influenza C. The hospital department chairman Dr. Burke insists that Lamb’s doctor Sydney McKnight must team up with the hospital's new infectious disease specialist Dr. Casper Jones. Thomas Lamb’s lungs reveal that they were destroyed by a mysterious infection. Two more cases of this super virus are reported at nearby Children's Hospital and the number of people infected continues to grow exponentially. Sydney is suspicious of Casper Jones. She witnesses him taking home tissue samples of those stricken with the virus and she sees Jones visiting with the new hospital aide, Jackson. Who is Jones and what is he up to?

"The Seneca Scourge" by Carrie Rubin is a first-rate medical thriller that includes totally believable science fiction elements. The story is filled with great suspense and action and characters that will engage the reader from the story's beginning to its conclusion. The author knows the medical world and she also knows how to write a great story! "The Seneca Scourge" belongs at the top of reading lists everywhere.

"The Seneca Scourge" is not what it initially appears to be, neither the illness that emerges nor the book itself. The story begins with Dr Sydney McKnight dealing with a perplexing patient. He seems to have flu but isn’t responding to the usual treatment. The mysterious Dr Casper Jones works with Sydney on the case and it soon transpires that they are facing a deadly virus. Panic grips the city and soon the country and beyond. This scourge is a truly horrific one, posing a huge threat to humanity. Experts work tirelessly to defeat it but it seems to stay out of their reach. Sydney sees a stream of patients, including her friends, passing through her care. Despair isn’t far away. But Dr Jones is on hand there, turning events in an unexpected direction.

Sydney is a tough loner, but a sympathetic character none the less, and a very appropriate heroine for such a gritty novel. And she has bucked expectations and turned out to be a highly successful professional despite her abusive and troubled childhood. The handsome Casper is an intriguing character as he does not turn out to be what he first seemed to be. The novel changes gear very successfully and we move from realistic thriller into science-fiction. The new circumstances and events we meet are so convincingly portrayed that it is all plausible and we allow the story to transport us. Just as Sydney copes with what life throws at her, we can keep pace with the author’s imagination too and take it in our stride. It is a courageous move, very rewarding for the reader as it gives a whole new perspective.