Reviewed by Susan Sewell for Readers' Favorite

Astounding side effects of a rampant virus stun the medical world in the fascinating short story The Disorder by Dez Haidley. The Ontario Centre for Disease Control has called a news conference. They are releasing the bulletin that an outbreak of a new strain of a highly contagious virus is spreading due to a lab mishap that occurred a year previously. GenPharma-Tech, a powerful pharmaceutical corporation, is responsible. The accident has unexpected and surprisingly fast and far-reaching consequences. A virus common in rhesus monkeys mutated and was transmitted to a lab tech, who was instantly infected. Within minutes of the unfortunate incident, the ground zero patient passed on the contagion with phenomenal rapidity. Immediately, the OCDC initiated research into the phenomenon, laboring to develop a vaccine. The OCDC maintains no one is at risk, but will the symptoms continue? Will the disease leave behind lasting ramifications that nobody can predict?

The Disorder by Dez Haidley is an unusual short story with a hint of science fiction running through its story line. The plot contains intriguing circumstances with out of the box concepts. This book is a compelling depiction that incorporates the indignity of animals used for research and the aberrations of the human heart. The story is bathed in a surreal aura generated by the extraordinary manifestations of the abnormal viral infection. The spellbinding plot develops at a fast pace, while the scenes move dramatically from one scenario to the next. Characters and time frames intermingle throughout the story line and meld together at the end, bringing the story to a breathless conclusion. With noteworthy elements integrated into the plot, it is a thought-provoking and inspiring novella that is an impressive, entertaining, and delightful work of fiction.