The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh

                                                      

The book is loosely based on the life and times of Sir Ronald Ross, the Nobel Prize winning scientist who achieved a breakthrough in malaria research in 1898. Though in the novel, Ross doesn't discover on his own, he is led to it by native Indians.
The beginning is very descriptive and all the comments on the back of the book praise this characteristic of the book. I found this extremely irritating because it's like beating round the bush to me! But as the book progressed it got really interesting. It begins with one plot and then breaks up into many and then comes back to one plot.A very well written book with and intriguing plot. I didn't quite catch the malaria mystery in it.

for a Sneak Peak into some of its pages...
http://www.amazon.com/Calcutta-Chromosome-Fevers-Delirium-Discovery/dp/0380813947