Last Patient of the Night

The medical thriller genre is a subgenre within the broader thriller genre that combines the typical thriller elements of suspense and mystery with plotlines focused on deadly outbreaks, morality issues, or systemic corruption that occur within a medical setting or with main characters who work in the medical field. Medical thrillers allow authors to explore the realistic components of the actual medical field alongside more fantastical and mysterious characteristics common in fiction writing.

The medical thriller subgenre can trace its heritage all the way back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which focuses on a scientist’s attempts to create life through medical experimentation. Since then, the genre has exploded in popularity. Notable examples include Coma by Robin Cook, The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Medical thrillers are also popular in television and film, including Flatliners, Shutter Island, and Contagion. Grey’s Anatomy, a show running for over 20 seasons, blends the medical thriller and soap opera genres, while The Pitt, a newer Emmy-winning series, focuses on the high-stakes and fast-paced day in the emergency department of a big city hospital.