Carlucci's Heart

Carlucci's Heart, Richard Paul Russo, Ace Books, 1997

        This is a science fiction story set in a near-future San Francisco divided into separate walled-off sections, some of which even the police ignore. Lt. Frank Carlucci looks into the disappearance of a friend of his daughter, he soon runs into this mysterious organization called Cancer Cell. It does cutting edge medical research and gives terminally ill patients a chance at whatever treatments are available for their disease, as long as they agree to be guinea pigs for any other drugs that need testing.

        Carlucci also meets Cage, a doctor at a storefront clinic that specializes in treating the poor and destitute. Cage begins to see signs of a new, very contagious disease coming out of the Core, a part of the city for which the term "no man's land" was coined. It starts off looking like the flu, but after a couple of weeks, it turns virulent, and has a 100% fatality rate. This leads to a not-very-successful federal quarantine of the Core, in the hope that the disease will burn itself out without spreading elsewhere.

        This is a tough, down and dirty story that will appeal to fans of police novels as well as science fiction fans. It's an excellent piece of writing, and I really enjoyed it.