Host: Robin Cook

Fourth-year medical student Lynn Peirce is desperate for answers when her boyfriend falls into a coma after an initial routine operation. She is devastated when the MRI scan confirms he is brain dead, and she is sure there is more to it. With the help of her lab partner, Peirce investigates every aspect of his treatment. She soon discovers that Middleton Healthcare’s local hospitals have a disturbing pattern of losing patients to unexplained illnesses and complications – and all of these hospitals are linked to the same international company that just happens to be making a fortune from a radical new protein drug. This protein drug needs to be incubated, and Peirce suspects she knows just what to do. WHO is used as an unwilling host for the production – but when she and her lab partner receive death threats, Peirce realizes that she has stumbled upon a cover-up that Middleton Healthcare is trying to cover up by any means necessary.

Curing Death by Mark Rosenberg MD

After a particularly grueling day in the emergency room, Dr. Mike Royce can’t help but hope, however unrealistic and desperate, that there might ever be a way to stop death. With the help of his brilliant nursing partner Alesha Simmons (and sometimes more), he soon launches a controversial new study that seeks to stop death by any means necessary. Despite obstacles, roadblocks, and harsh criticism from other medical staff, Royce and his colleagues soon make a breakthrough: they have found a previously undiscovered source of energy in the bodies of dying patients. Royce believes that discovering a way to stop soul energy from leaving the body will prolong patients’ lives – but what is the price of playing God? And why is Royce plagued by strange bouts of memory loss and disturbing dreams that haunt him even in his waking hours? The book is as thought-provoking as it is captivating. Healing death asks us to think about when it is better to leave certain matters of life and death alone.

Read our full review of Healing death Here.

Lakewood: A novel by Megan Giddings

Unlike the previous two entries on this list, this stunning debut isn’t told from the perspective of a medical professional, but from the perspective of the one receiving the medical treatment. Lena Johnson is a black millennial who just dropped out of college to support her family after her grandmother’s death revealed the family’s dire financial troubles. Her salvation is a job in the mysterious town of Lakewood, Michigan — a job that pays well and even provides her with a place to stay. The only condition is that Johnson must not tell her friends and family about the trials she’s taking part in — even when the trials begin to take their toll. But it will be worth it, according to Lakewood authorities. The trials have the potential to change the world, as long as the trial participants learn to persevere. Described as “part The Handmaid’s TalePart The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks“…” this novel recalls the dark history of human experimentation on black people in the name of medical discoveries.

Coded to Kill by Marschall Runge MD

After years of product refinement, Drexel Hospital is about to release its electronic health record, or EHR. This groundbreaking technology uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning to “quickly and accurately diagnose any human disease,” promising to revolutionize healthcare. And for former surveillance agent Hugh Torrence, the EHR is the perfect weapon to wield absolute, unchecked power. Only a handful of Drexel Hospital employees stand in his way as they begin to question whether the EHR is really as infallible as they’ve been told.

When Dr. Mason Fischer loses two patients due to incorrect input in the program, he seeks the help of Drexel’s IT wunderkind RT and his girlfriend Dr. Carrie Mumsford, an internal medicine resident and daughter of the hospital CEO. The three soon come across further evidence that the miracle of the EHR is not what it seems. But the deeper they delve into the conspiracy, the deeper they get into Torrence’s web – and he won’t go down so easily.

Read our full review of Coded to kill Here.

Side effects of Joel Shulkin

Boston psychiatrist Cristina Silva is desperately awaiting results. She prescribes the revolutionary new memory-restoration drug, Recognate, to her amnesiac patients in trials—and secretly takes it herself to try to recover her own memories. All seems to be going well for her and her patients until a seemingly successful case turns fatal. Soon after, Silva begins receiving her memories in violent, vivid flashes, accompanied by an incessant voice in her head. She is soon faced with a decision: should she stop taking the possibly unsafe drug and lose all her memories, or should she keep taking it and risk unknown consequences? The mystery only gets worse when a man shows up at her bus stop who seems to know more about Silva’s life than she does, claiming Silva is hiding information that will make her a target. To save her own life, Silva must keep taking the drug and discover the memories that will keep her safe—even as the drug’s side effects threaten to tear her apart.

The first damage by Steven Piskula

First-year medical student Tanna Christensen has been anticipating her first anatomical dissection for ages, but nothing in her textbooks could have prepared her for what she discovers: disturbing genetic abnormalities that rid the body, painting a disturbing picture of the corpses stored in the medical lab’s morgue. Then her roommate dies in what seems like a freak accident—but Christensen has her own suspicions. She soon stumbles upon a vast, secret body-trafficking system between the school and a shady research lab called Modern Genetics that specializes in the kind of abnormalities found in the bodies. But once she pieces together the terrifying revelation, it’s clear Christensen has learned too much—and she must fight to escape those who would rather get her out of the way for good. Citing stories from 18^th Body snatchers of the century sold corpses to medical schools, The first damage brings these stories into modern times – and the results are nothing short of terrifying.

Interested in more medical thrillers? Here are some other titles we think are similar The first damage.