"The Last Vial," written by Sam McClatchie, M.D., is a grim statement about the possibilities of biological warfare. The year was 1962. John McDonald was a veteran of the Korean War and now maintained a quiet career as a pathologist. Upon his return from a much-needed vacation, he found his co-workers struggling with the after-effects of a sudden and overwhelming flu epidemic that had struck the entire North American continent. Careful analysis showed that this was no ordinary flu virus, but a man-made mutation that was unleashed on America's West Coast and quickly distributed across the continent. Was it the communists, or someone else? Whoever it was, they had started a quiet but deadly game of germ warfare and it was up to the recently reinstated Colonel McDonald to find the perpetrators—and the antidote! (Amazon)