David M. Ward debuts medical-horror novel Excruciating

Retired Army Reserve colonel and CRNA David M. Ward has released Excruciating, a medical-horror thriller set in a small-town hospital and grounded in his decades of clinical experience. The e-book is available now, with paperback and hardcover editions due by Oct. 30, 2026.

Why it matters: - Excruciating blends medical suspense, psychological thriller and supernatural horror around a setting readers trust: the operating room. - The novel uses a hospital environment to explore grief, addiction, uncertainty and the limits of professional judgment. - Ward’s clinical background gives the debut a detailed medical backdrop that could appeal to readers of both horror and hospital dramas.

What happened: - David M. Ward released Excruciating, his debut novel, in e-book format on Oct. 25, 2026. - Paperback and hardcover editions are scheduled to reach major bookstores and online platforms by Oct. 30, 2026. - The story is set in and around a small-town hospital and follows a nurse anesthetist named Matthew Rix. - Amazon Kindle is carrying the e-book now.

The details: - Matthew Rix works in a role that depends on control, vigilance and precision while patients are under anesthesia. - Outside work, Matthew is grieving the loss of his son. - Matthew’s marriage and career are under strain. - Matthew is growing dependent on the drugs he administers. - A murder close to Matthew unsettles the hospital and pulls him into events he cannot explain. - Disturbing incidents continue to mount as Matthew faces questions his training cannot answer. - Ward spent more than two decades working in operating-room and trauma-care environments as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. - Ward’s military career began in 1988 as an enlisted combat medic. - Ward later served as an Air National Guard flight nurse and an Army Reserve nurse anesthetist. - Ward retired as a colonel in late 2025 after a 37-year military career.

Between the lines: - Ward is using real clinical experience to heighten realism, but the book moves beyond medicine into horror and mystery. - The hospital setting matters because it is built on trust, and even a small breach in that trust becomes terrifying. - Matthew’s personal losses are not side notes; they shape how he interprets the threats around him. - The novel appears designed to keep readers uncertain about whether the danger is external, psychological or supernatural. - Ward’s service across multiple deployments and roles suggests a long-running focus on high-pressure environments, which may help explain the book’s preoccupation with vulnerability under stress.

What's next: - Readers can buy the e-book now on Amazon Kindle. - Paperback and hardcover versions will become available by Oct. 30, 2026. - Ward’s debut positions him for further fiction built from the same medical and military perspective.

The bottom line: - Excruciating uses the familiar logic of hospital care to make uncertainty feel dangerous, then pushes that unease into horror.