The Blood Zone

An unknown pathogen leaves divers bleeding out from horrific wounds.A film of hot water no thicker than a child's wrist separates it from the open ocean.Its escape threatens to turn a day at the beach into a nightmare Hidden below the Mediterranean lies a warren of undersea trenches, punctuated by an explosive cluster of deep-water hydrothermal vents. But when a team of aquanauts return half-dead and covered in festering slashes, epidemiologist Leigh Austen is called in to aid the investigation.Austen must team up with security specialist Nicholas Navarro to piece the puzzle together. The trail leads them to an eccentric nobleman's mountain estate, down to a state-of-the-art underseas laboratory, and then out into the boiling dark of the ocean's depths And through it all, they'll come face to face with an organism that, should it escape its watery tomb, will forever mark the oceans as off limits to humanity.Hope they work best under pressure.Author's Note: The Blood Zone A Pandemic Medical Thriller is a self-contained work and does not end on a cliffhanger. It contains a limited amount of strong language, gore, and some graphic violence. Ratings-wise, it would either be a hard PG-13 or soft R. Please decide to purchase accordingly.Included with this story are previews and a special offer for the novella, The Plague Walker: A Leigh Austen Short Medical Thriller.Reviews of The Plague Walker Pandemic Medical Thrillers: Angel manages the nearly impossible...creating memorable characters in the midst of an intriguing mystery, action, humor and heart. -- JC Andrijeski, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Quentin Black mystery seriesFast-paced action and sly wit make Angel's writing irresistible fun. -- Rebecca Moesta, NYT Bestselling co-author of Young Jedi KnightsInterview with the Author: Q - What makes a Plague Walker Pandemic Medical Thriller special? A - I've enjoyed thought-provoking medical or science-based fiction ever since I was old enough to read Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain and Robin Cook's Coma. I'm also a big fan of the modern-day thriller writers like Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle, and Tess Gerritsen.So I've been writing these new medical thrillers as a unique mix of the two kinds of books. Epidemiologist Leigh Austen encounters similarly apocalyptic threats...and she does in a world rife with international skullduggery and conspiracy Q - Why should readers give these books a try?A - Because you'll get to meet a bunch of memorable characters - scientists, soldiers, doctors, even a shadowy Nostradamus-like figure - in the midst of intriguing medical thrillers filled with action, humor and heart. (Yes, I paraphrased one of my reviewers, but I can't put it any better.)Q - Tell us more about epidemiologist Leigh Austen - what makes her tick?A - Leigh's the kind of person who'll move mountains to help someone. She also carries hidden scars from the time her medical team was wiped out by a killer virus in The Plague Walker. For that reason alone she'll go to any length to stop a local outbreak from turning into a global pandemic