For the past few weeks I haven’t been able to read any book and the best way to get back to reading was to start with a novel. I was browsing the Kindle Unlimited options and found a Michael Crichton. I have definitely read a Michael Crichton novel before but am unable to remember which one it was, probably Andromeda Strain. I picked up this novel “A case of need”.
It’s an easy read and at the same time a very detailed look into the world of medicine – pathology, abortions and surgery in particular. The plot unravels slowly and the most unlikely person turns up as the culprit.
The book starts with the arrest of the protagonist’s friend who is an abortionist. A famous cardiac surgeon’s daughter dies after a botched up abortion and she had met the friend earlier in the day. The plot goes over the entire abortion laws and the illegal abortions that still happen, the Boston culture, the drugs scene, psychiatry and of course allots about pathology as the main protagonist is a pathologist.
I completed reading it over two days and it took approximately 5 to 6 hours to read.
If you haven’t read any of Michael Crichton’s novels, you can certainly start with this one. I also learnt a disturbing bit of information – “….Anthracosis is accumulation of carbon particles in the lung. Once you gulp carbon down, either as cigarette smoke or city dirt, your body never gets rid of it. It just stays in your lungs.” Now with the pollution in Delhi NCR that piece of information is hugely disturbing!.
On a happy note, this novel was first published in 1968 and won an Edgar Award in 1969, the year I was born. :):)
