“Fans of medical thrillers will no doubt find this latest from Spanogle just as good, or better, than anything Cook or Crichton have put out lately.  [Flawless] is not only a fascinating and timely tale of just how powerful the allure of beauty can be, but also an exciting and fast moving story full of realistic characters and gripping twists and turns, and one that will keep the reader thinking long after its over.”
- New Mystery Reader Magazine

“[Spanogle] has an undeniable gift for creating tension and movement. For page-turning fun, this gory medical thriller has all the elements.”
- Publishers Weekly

“This is a very clever novel...well-drawn characters, a smart story, plenty of suspense, and even a little commentary on the nature of the medical profession. If Spanogle ever decides to move from medical to techno-thrillers, he could give Michael Crichton a run for his money. Skilled storytelling.”
- Booklist

“[Flawless is] a whipsmart thriller that will be as current 10 years from now as it is today. Spanogle has created an extremely interesting and complex character in McCormick. Not entirely likable yet ultimately admirable in spite of himself, McCormick is a smart guy who is full of heart, sometimes more than is good for him or for those around him. His research into Bay Area culture --- particularly that of the triads, tongs and youth gangs, whose influence extends far beyond San Francisco’s Chinatown --- is first rate, with Spanogle providing one of the most understandable explanations of the complicated interrelationships among the three groups that I can recall reading.”
- Bookreporter.com

“[In Flawless], you have a novel written in super-short chapters that read like lightning. You have the damaged protagonist, who has incurred much of the damage due to his own intractable nature. His not-so damaged other half. On the read-it-and-find-the-day-erased level, Spanogle knows how to use character to drive action and action to drive the reader through pages without the reader really being aware of it. You look up and you're halfway through the novel.”
- Rick Kleffel, The Agony Column

“[Flawless is] a medical thriller that grabs you from page one and never lets go…Author Joshua Spanogle is a sharp, witty, sarcastic writer who nails the details of plot and character. I was hooked from page one and enjoyed the suspenseful (and sometimes bloody) ride.”
- Fresh Fiction Review

“Joshua Spanogle delivers one of the more entertaining recent thrillers. A medical mystery played out in a world of corporate greed, mob bosses, and the Californian quest for perfect beauty, Flawless is taut and exciting.”
- The Ottawa Citizen (Canada)

“Stanford medical student Spanogle has concocted an absorbing, pulse-quickening thriller about a pharmaceutical company gone corrupt. In 125 staccato chapters, he pits renegade former CDC doctor Nate McCormick—think Jack Ryan with an MD—against the makers of an unapproved cosmetic drug that promises a face-lift in a syringe but instead causes massive tumor. Spanogle propels his tale with the urgency of an ambulance siren: McCormick juggles a best friend’s betrayal, a bloodthirsty Chinese gang, and his own recklessness as he figures out the drug’s dark secrets and why it’s even more dangerous than anyone thought.”
- Portfolio Magazine

“Fans of the medical thriller will gladly welcome Flawless, Joshua Spanogle's second mystery featuring Dr. Nate McCormick, a former investigator for the Centers for Disease Control who gets into another very messy situation… [A] well-written, involving story that moves along briskly. ”
- Palo Alto Weekly (CA)

“Wunderkind Stanford medical student Joshua Spanogle follows last year’s Isolation Ward with another gripping medical thriller in Flawless. Utilizing his medical knowledge, Spanogle features Dr. Nathaniel McCormick, a refugee from the Centers for Disease Control. McCormick has relocated to San Francisco and a new life, but his expertise as a medical detective pursues him across the country, plunging him into yet another investigation, this time involving patients with mysterious facial tumors. Even more unsettling than the tumors themselves is the fact that these patients are being systematically killed off before they can reveal anything about their condition. McCormick is just what the doctor ordered, successfully penetrating and ultimately defusing a deadly conspiracy.”
- Mystery Lovers Bookshop News

“Putting his extensive schooling to good use outside his profession as a physician, Joshua Spanogle’s second medical thriller Flawless, combines cutting-edge medical research with a taut, psychological portrait of a young doctor on the edge...”

Spanogle’s first novel elicited comparisons to Michael Crichton’s early medical thrillers. The similarity is even more pronounced in the young author’s encore novel.”
- Watsonville Register-Pajonian (CA)

Flawless sparkles with witty thrills…

“I was attracted to this book for its uniqueness. Thrillers are usually based on some basic premise such as money, relationships or power…It’s the background used to portray this plot that determines whether the book will become a run-of-the-mill thriller or find itself set apart from the rest. While the use of medicine to achieve this goal does occur, it is uncommon and I enjoyed the book because it was different. It could have been easy to overdo the medical terminology, but Spanogle does well to explain most things in lay terms.”

“I enjoyed McCormick’s unorthodox ways. That is to say he’s a human being. He wasn’t all-powerful, he wasn’t perfect, and his relationships weren’t rosy. This resulted in a serious, yet at times amusing plot. For example, after being rudely brushed off by a potential witness, McCormick asks to use his bathroom. “I found the gents’, all dark granite and sparkling white porcelain. I didn’t aim well and I didn’t flush.“

“This is a lengthy book so before beginning, clear your calendar for at least a couple of days. Once you start, you won’t be doing much else.”
- Times-Record News (TX)