Shantanu Rai is a physician and writer whose fiction reveals the hidden toll of America’s healthcare system. His stories draw on years spent caring for patients and witnessing the quiet struggles of those on both sides of the exam room. Raised on Bollywood films, whodunits, and puzzles, he now turns to storytelling to capture what medicine alone cannot. A Dangerous Diagnosis is his debut novel. When not practicing medicine or writing, he enjoys hiking, family movie nights, and a strong cup of chai.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a physician who has spent much of my career caring for patients in free clinics and underserved communities. Writing came later—a surprise, really—but it became a way to process everything I was seeing in medicine. Through fiction, I found I could finally tell the truth about what’s happening in healthcare today: the quiet crises affecting both patients and the professionals who care for them.

Describe your book publishing in Spring 2026 in 2 or 3 sentences

The story follows Dr. Sanjay Patel, once an idealistic kid who dreamed of healing families like his own, but who now makes house calls by private jet and gets paid in Gucci totes full of cash. When his estranged mentor pages him moments before his death, Sanjay returns to the hospital that nearly ended his career—and uncovers secrets that force him to confront the moral heart of medicine, and of himself. The result is a thrilling ride that I hope will challenge readers to consider their own role in a society increasingly driven by profit over people.

What inspired you to write your book?

The first spark came during a family vacation in a ritzy part of Florida. I imagined this larger-than-life doctor—part House, M.D., part James Bond—jetting around the world treating oligarchs and supermodels. Fun, yes, but not enough reason to step away from my patients and family to write.

Then I started asking: why did he become a concierge doctor? What drove him from mainstream medicine? How does he justify using his training for vanity care? Those questions opened a deeper story—one about the burnout, moral injury, and quiet disillusionment spreading through American healthcare.

I was inspired by John Grisham’s Gray Mountain, which uses the thriller form to expose the human costs of strip mining. I wanted to do something similar for medicine: create a fast, emotional read that also makes people think about what’s really happening behind the exam room door.

What are you currently reading?

No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle. I’m a sucker for stories set in coffee shops or bookstores—any place where creativity and community meet—and I love when there’s a mystery brewing alongside the espresso.

What books are you most looking forward to reading this year?

I’m old-fashioned! I love wandering through bookstores and seeing what catches my eye. My day job can be intense, and fiction is both my escape and my empathy training—it lets me see the world through someone else’s eyes and return to my patients with a little more understanding.