There may be nothing better than staying up late with a bone-chilling mystery novel. An engaging medical thriller walks the line between fantasy and reality. According to Dr. Armand Amselem, the following are five medical thrillers that even doctors find frightening.

• Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

This captivating novel follows Sarah, a midwife in Manhattan at the turn of the century. She specializes in treating women in tenements and boarding houses. Sarah is checking on a patient when she learns of a young woman’s disappearance. Once she realizes the woman is related to her past, she decides to take on the investigation herself. According to Amselem, this novel will show you Manhattan as you’ve never seen before and chill you to the bone.

• A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang

Amselem recommends this book because of its expert level of detail and accuracy. “Kang is a physician herself,” shares Amselem. “Hence the insight that she provides in her novels adds to their authenticity.” A Beautiful Poison is set in New York on the heels of the Spanish Influenza. Young Allene notices many of her friends succumbing to the virus. She starts wondering if the flu is to blame at all. With the help of her closest confidants, Allene must find out if it’s the flu or something much more sinister that is claiming the lives of her friends.

• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

This novel follows Theo, a psychotherapist charged with treating an infamous criminal named Alicia. Alicia becomes a famous mystery after she shoots her husband five times in the face and proceeds to never say another word. As Theo begins treatment, he starts to uncover what happened that night. But according to Amselem, this novel has so much more than a creative plot. “Michaelides asks his reader to follow him as he explores the psychology of crime,” said Amselem. “The depth of this storyline is almost Agatha Christie-esque.”

• Harvest by Tess Gerritsen

According to Amselem, Gerritsen specializes in medical thrillers, and Harvest is a prime example of her craft. This novel follows Dr. Abby DiMatteo as she starts a job at a new hospital. Almost immediately, she is forced to make a difficult choice between two candidates for a heart transplant. When she goes against the hospital’s wishes and chooses a young boy over a wealthier patient, another heart appears as if by magic. But what felt like a miracle turns out to be much more sinister. When Abby discovers that the hospital’s organs are being contracted in an unsavory manner, she knows she must investigate.

• Dreamer’s Island by Gretchen Hummel

This novel tells the story of a post-plague San Francisco, and how the world rebuilt itself in the wake of the illness. In a new society, people have varying degrees of comfort when it comes to talking about, or experimenting with, the former pandemic. According to Amselem, this book prompts the question, what does it is to truly and completely heal?