A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel (Sympatico Syndrome Book 1)

"Infection:A Pandemic Survival Novel" was a fantastic book to read !! The characters are truly believable "real" people, with thoughts and emotions that fit within the extraordinary story line. I enjoyed it tremendously, and am seriously looking forward to the next book in this series, "Isolation," due out in 2017.

WOW I started this book and my first thought was, Man I hope it is as good as her other books. I was NOT disappointed, at all! This is a great read and the only thing I worried about, was dreaming about it happening lol. Seriously, if you are looking at the reviews to see if you want to read it, DO IT! One thing I HATE about a book, is one with so much detail you can't seem to get through it. This book has just enough detail, without boring you to death, yet giving you the "view" you need. Well done M.P. McDonald AGAIN! Might I add, its the first book I have read, since your last book, that I started and DID NOT put down until I was done LOL So much for getting anything done yesterday. Thank you again, for bringing new people into my life and I look forward to finding out what happens next. :)

Post-apocalyptic stories are not usually my thing because they're so grim and depressing - but this one was different. Throughout all the death and disease and devastation a thread of hope, of normalcy, rang true. No zombies (thankfully) or other crazy creatures, and that too made this novel seem more realistic. The author handled it all with a lot of dignity and humanity, and by the end we are all rooting for the survivors to make it. Definitely a great read!

I have read many Apocalyptic books and was pleased to see a new take on the "virus", one that makes the victim feel good until death occurs suddenly. So, I was reading along, happy that Hunter and others reached the island near the end; but then the story line fell apart. What do I mean? Well, they arrived on the day of Trent's funeral, after he died from the virus while being quarantined because of exposure to other people who may have been ill. So why did Cole welcome them with hugs and handshakes and then invite them up to the house? What happened to all new arrivals having to be quarantined to make sure they weren't infected? Overall, I liked the book right up to that point, but the ending just didn't make sense!

I loved this book. I love all "end of the world" types of books. This one did not fail. I actually cared about the characters and that is not a "norm" for me. I am anxiously looking forward to the next book to come out and hear what happens.

I have to admit, I really love this genre. I'm not rich and I'm not young, so prepping is not in my future, but I admit I think about stockpiling food and survival equipment.

The people in this book were not prepared for the end of civilization. Who is prepared for a virus that nobody ever heard of that spreads in the air and makes people happy in the beginning. But that's what the story is and it's done well. The fact that everyone is spread out all over the place and all trying to get to the same place is interesting.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the end of the world stories. I really loved it and can't wait for the next book to come out.

Love the characters in this book. They are what really drew me in. They remind me of my family and friends. Cole is really relatable to me, since I’m a parent of an eighteen year old heading off to college, and how frantic I would be if we were separated with no method of communicating with one another. This book really made me focus more on hand hygiene. It just reminded me how easily contagious things can be passed - without being paranoid :). Looking forward to the next two books.

What makes the story Atypical in my opinion is the simple character development and clean narrative. Many distopian​ stories have special forces characters that have to be inserted to make survivability see more plausible. This changes the typical landscape by letting everyday people find their way across obstacles with little professional help. Not a lot of violence and maniac behavior to put you over the edge of your seat, but enough human interaction to get the idea that there's more then just a virus you have to survive. Look forward to the next book!

By chance, I stumbled upon a local author fest in my neighborhood and decided to see what I could find. I pretty much bee-lined to this author's table since I devour post-apocalyptic books. I purchased the first book in the series thinking that I must have already read it, but to my delight, I had not. The author signed the hard copy of the book (which, regrettably, my cat decided the bag it was in looked like a litter box and is now ruined) and I downloaded the kindle version to read. That was Saturday afternoon...it is now Tuesday afternoon and I've finished all 3 of the books in this series. I couldn't put it down. It's one of those stories that has you so invested in the characters that you mourn when the book is complete, because you are no longer part of their lives.

This was a very good book and I have really enjoyed the characters and the story I do like how this book is different than other books of the genre ... I can’t really say too much because this is the first book with laid all the ground work for the other books so I will write a more detailed review after I finish the 2nd book ?

The story feels accurate and the characters are well developed. I wasn’t totally sucked into the story, but I would imagine that when 98% of the population dies and they die a happy, party filled death that there won’t be too much drama. I’m curious to see where things go in the next book.

I truly could not put this book down. I enjoyed the journey the characters made. The protagonists made you want to root for them and mourn their losses. I found the science if the virus believable. Great Read.

I very much enjoyed reading this book as it has the right amount of character development along with a very good story line. The author puts in a good amount of detail without going overboard and it makes for a compelling read. I am about to begin reading the next book in this series.

Thought this was a great book with good pace. Enjoyed the characters, author gives enough development to know them. It was slightly annoying the overused descriptions of hand movements: pinching bridge of nose, swiping hand down face, hand through hair etc. Just a bit over the top. I get it, they were stressed but you can't keep going to that. Readers catch onto this quickly.

Really enjoyed this book, I read so much that a lot of books I really dont remember it and when I go to leave feedback I have to go look thru it to see which one it was. Not so with this one. I remember the people and what they went thur. Saying that .. a great interesting read!

I have enjoyed this series and look forward to the next book. It kept my interest and I looked forward to reading it every day. My only criticism is like many of the books I have read recently there are spelling and grammar errors. I wish authors would proof read their work more diligently.

I loved this book, read it all on the same day. The character build was so thorough. I never found myself breaking away from the story line due to something that seemed repetitive or hokey. I loved this book and would highly recommend it to others.

This book is an extremely intelligent writing of what could actually happen in a pandemic event. I love the way it goes into details of preparing in case of something like this happening. The characters are very well written and you care about them as you read more about their struggles. I can't wait to read the next book.

Wow! This was a sit on the edge of your seat book with twists and turns throughout. I could not put the darned thing down. Love this new author. Well, new to me anyway. Cannot wait to read more of this author's books. Loved this one so much.

I cannot recommend this book although the story was intriguing and the location familiar. The language was vulgar, that ruined the story for me. There is no need for bad language in books, I get really fed up with it! Why sprinkle good writing with dirt?

Very happy that there were no zombies in this book as many apocalypse with pandemic books now have. Great character development. Good read, kept me interested but didn't have that -like awake until 5am quality to finish it quality. Will definitely read the next book.

Another winner from M. P. McDonald! 'Infection' is intense, with a story line that reflects life that we fear will come to pass. Her writing pulls you into the story, you live it as you read. As always with her novels, I'm torn between reading it all at once, or stopping during the intense scenes just to catch my breath. I always feel a sense of loss after finishing one of her books, people I've come to truly care about are no longer a part of my life. I anxiously await book two in this series to find out what happens next!

Well I finished this one in less than 24 hours and that speaks for the book holding my interest. For a book of this genera to receive thumbs up from me it HAS to be written well with good sentence structure, flow and believability. Four thumbs up for that and another four for just because it is a good read.

What makes the story Atypical in my opinion is the simple character development and clean narrative. Many distopian​ stories have special forces characters that have to be inserted to make survivability see more plausible. This changes the typical landscape by letting everyday people find their way across obstacles with little professional help. Not a lot of violence and maniac behavior to put you over the edge of your seat, but enough human interaction to get the idea that there's more then just a virus you have to survive. Look forward to the next book!

By chance, I stumbled upon a local author fest in my neighborhood and decided to see what I could find. I pretty much bee-lined to this author's table since I devour post-apocalyptic books. I purchased the first book in the series thinking that I must have already read it, but to my delight, I had not. The author signed the hard copy of the book (which, regrettably, my cat decided the bag it was in looked like a litter box and is now ruined) and I downloaded the kindle version to read. That was Saturday afternoon...it is now Tuesday afternoon and I've finished all 3 of the books in this series. I couldn't put it down. It's one of those stories that has you so invested in the characters that you mourn when the book is complete, because you are no longer part of their lives.

This was a very well written story with well developed, like able characters. The story was full of action and tension and I very much enjoyed each chapter. The author did an excellent job with character development and conversations in the story seemed true to life. Highly recommend.

This was a very good book and I have really enjoyed the characters and the story I do like how this book is different than other books of the genre ... I can’t really say too much because this is the first book with laid all the ground work for the other books so I will write a more detailed review after I finish the 2nd book ?

The story feels accurate and the characters are well developed. I wasn’t totally sucked into the story, but I would imagine that when 98% of the population dies and they die a happy, party filled death that there won’t be too much drama. I’m curious to see where things go in the next book.

Thank goodness. I am not sure why I avoid Zombie books, but I do. I almost didn't get this book because I feared it was a Zombie story. It isn't, it is far better. Tons of survival and Prepper tips thrown into the story which is what I most appreciate about Post-Apocalyptic Fiction books. Can't wait for book #2 to come out. A great read, highly recommend.

I truly could not put this book down. I enjoyed the journey the characters made. The protagonists made you want to root for them and mourn their losses. I found the science if the virus believable. Great Read.

I very much enjoyed reading this book as it has the right amount of character development along with a very good story line. The author puts in a good amount of detail without going overboard and it makes for a compelling read. I am about to begin reading the next book in this series.

Thought this was a great book with good pace. Enjoyed the characters, author gives enough development to know them. It was slightly annoying the overused descriptions of hand movements: pinching bridge of nose, swiping hand down face, hand through hair etc. Just a bit over the top. I get it, they were stressed but you can't keep going to that. Readers catch onto this quickly.

Really enjoyed this book, I read so much that a lot of books I really dont remember it and when I go to leave feedback I have to go look thru it to see which one it was. Not so with this one. I remember the people and what they went thur. Saying that .. a great interesting read!

I have enjoyed this series and look forward to the next book. It kept my interest and I looked forward to reading it every day. My only criticism is like many of the books I have read recently there are spelling and grammar errors. I wish authors would proof read their work more diligently.

I loved this book, read it all on the same day. The character build was so thorough. I never found myself breaking away from the story line due to something that seemed repetitive or hokey. I loved this book and would highly recommend it to others.

This book is an extremely intelligent writing of what could actually happen in a pandemic event. I love the way it goes into details of preparing in case of something like this happening. The characters are very well written and you care about them as you read more about their struggles. I can't wait to read the next book.

Wow! This was a sit on the edge of your seat book with twists and turns throughout. I could not put the darned thing down. Love this new author. Well, new to me anyway. Cannot wait to read more of this author's books. Loved this one so much.

I cannot recommend this book although the story was intriguing and the location familiar. The language was vulgar, that ruined the story for me. There is no need for bad language in books, I get really fed up with it! Why sprinkle good writing with dirt?

Very happy that there were no zombies in this book as many apocalypse with pandemic books now have. Great character development. Good read, kept me interested but didn't have that -like awake until 5am quality to finish it quality. Will definitely read the next book.

Another winner from M. P. McDonald! 'Infection' is intense, with a story line that reflects life that we fear will come to pass. Her writing pulls you into the story, you live it as you read. As always with her novels, I'm torn between reading it all at once, or stopping during the intense scenes just to catch my breath. I always feel a sense of loss after finishing one of her books, people I've come to truly care about are no longer a part of my life. I anxiously await book two in this series to find out what happens next!

I was provided a free copy of this book by the narrator for review.

I really enjoyed this book. Now I will have to purchase the sequel to it.

I can only imagine that if the world is ever going to end, it would be this way.
The story is great and so well written.
The narration was excellent as well.

I would certainly read/listen to more from this author and narrator as well as recommend to others.

The way you write hooked me on the first few pages. All the information about the characters was given perfectly . Not redundant . I read 2 to 3 books a week , but this by far was the best in the past year. Read this and you won't be disappointed . I loved it.

Well I finished this one in less than 24 hours and that speaks for the book holding my interest. For a book of this genera to receive thumbs up from me it HAS to be written well with good sentence structure, flow and believability. Four thumbs up for that and another four for just because it is a good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this maybe farfetched tale. Hunter was the most outstanding character. Food for thought for all of us. How would we survive!? A great read!! I would recommend this book to all!☺

love the whole book. I say give it a 5. There where believable character's , nothing boring from start to finish, editing did their job. I don't know if this is your first or your 15th book you have wrote but you know what you are doing. Looking forward to the next one.

Great and fast read.. Very realistic as this is my chosen profession. Forward thinking about a new Super virus and the way people handle themselves in a situation like this. Fell in love with characters right away. Let's just pray that Mother Nature being the BIGGEST B***** there is that she doesn't decide to pull a stunt like this! It only takes one little farther out in the microbial world for a virus to mutate let alone what MANKIND kind can do in there quest for POWER over another! Can wait for the next book!!

I have really grown fond of post apocalyptic books lately, but wanted something beyond zombies i wanted something that really could happen. This fit my wheel house and i am now looking forward to the next book Isolation. 2017 can't come fast enough. Not rushing you MP but i surely wouldn't be disappointed if it hit the store sooner than planned.

The story grabs you right from the start. It's fast paced but gives you enough plot twist to keep you rooting for everyone of the characters. I'm looking forward for the next book and seeing how the survivors fare in this new world.

I've read the other books by MPM and couldn't wait to read this one. Despite the grim topic the story was very well written causing me to literally not want to put it down, reading it in just over one day, I'm looking forward to books 2 and 3 of the trilogy.

I thought this book was very well written with absolutely believable characters. I would recommend this series if you like end of the world fiction. I will be downloading the second book to my kindle as soon as possible.

A new take on the apocalyptic genre. Overall a refreshing take at that with good character development. Unfortuantly there are repeated technical errors and a plot that just never really blossoms. Not a lot of action here if that is what you are looking to find, but worth the time to read.

This entire book we are preached at how bad this virus is. We are told there are protocols to be followed to keep everyone on the island safe. The ending takes every safety that has been taken and flushes them all away. Which is to bad considering I enjoyed the book up until the end. A good story needs to stay consistant from begining to end.