“The Regression Strain” by Kevin Hwang

The Regression Strain

Kevin Hwang
Normal Range Press (2025)
ISBN: 979-8992727012
Reviewed by Stephanie Elizabeth Long for Reader Views (09/2025)

Aboard the opulent ship, Paradise, Dr. Peter Palma has been hired to heal minor injuries and ailments for the wealthy vacationers. But he quickly realizes something is very wrong when some passengers become impulsive and aggressive. A young man jumps to his death, a passenger tries to strangle another, and a mother abandons her severely disabled son. Plus, hallucinations and puzzling flu-like symptoms have Peter and his team stumped. Trying to get support from his superior, Dr. Hartley, proves an impossible task as she, too, seems to be plagued by erratic behavior.

Peter feels a deep urgency to get to the bottom of this, all the while grappling with his declining mental health. Are they up against a highly contagious infection, or could the chaos be drug-induced? Peter has to make the right judgment call; the fate of the passengers depends on it!

The Regression Strain by Kevin Hwang is a fast-paced medical thriller with a unique setting. An idyllic voyage quickly transforms into mayhem as the ship becomes a petri dish of infection and chaos. Without the help of his superior, Peter has to trust his gut and work within the limitations of a ship that is dangerously unprepared and low on medical supplies. Brace yourselves for this exciting, albeit high-stakes, novel.

I love medical dramas, and this one did not disappoint! Rife with puzzling symptoms, a swift-acting doctor, and just enough new medical terminology for my next Google search, the novel checked all the boxes. Maybe I missed my calling as a doctor because nothing brought me more joy than making amateur diagnoses, while Peter sussed out what was wrong with each patient he encountered. (I gave myself a well-deserved pat on the back when my diagnoses were anything remotely close to his.)

Hwang has done an excellent job creating a propulsive book that is unputdownable. Between the heart-pumping chaos of a crew and passengers on the verge of lunacy, and the depth of character development of Peter in particular, the novel should be at the top of your reading list.  What’s more entertaining than a luxury cruise gone feral and in charge of it all is a doctor battling delusions and inappropriate impulses? (I can’t think of anything.) If you love fast-paced, high-stress series like The Pitt, then The Regression Strain will appeal to your inner medical nerd!