Book Review - Robin Cook's Medical Mystery novel 'Host'

Robin Cook is famous for medical thriller writing. Many of his notable works have been made into movies and tv shows. He has undoubtedly influenced a lot of medical fiction, mystery as well as thriller writing in pop culture. Host, written in 2015, appears to not be considered as one of his best works. In fact, literature on this book, as well as reviews are hard to find. It's mysterious to me why that is cause I found the book to be absolutely fantastic.

For someone who has a very short attention span, Robin Cook’s book Host managed to keep me hooked till the last line. A fantastic thriller with a unique perspective, Host is packed with every emotion. Through the story of young almost doctors, Lynn and Michael, Cook brings out a dark could be reality of pharmaceutical industry that prioritises profit over ethics. It's a scenario that cannot be easily dismissed.

"They want people to think their motivation is for the public good when they are, in fact, poster boys for capitalism run amok…The reality is that they spend more money on advertising prescription drugs directly to the pubic than they spend on research" - Patients are not the centre of medicine. (Host)

The novel is written with cautious descriptions that plays with the imagination of the reader. It almost feels like we’re living the characters and their emotions.For someone who loves TV shows like Orphan Black, this is just the perfect book.

The author does not shy away from going into dark scenes almost unexpectedly and forcing the reader to desperately try somehow to let the protagonists know what is about to happen. Above all Host is a testament of emotional endurance that we as humans exhibit. It is a thriller to remember. Host is un-doubtfully top of the class and a must read (albeit not before or during a hospital visit).