SOLVED. Alien amoeba-like cop enters symbiotic relationship with human teen [s]

[Elizabeth]

I can’t remember the name of the book or the author but I remember an amoeba like alien crashes on earth and enters a human teen. The alien is a cop chasing a fugitive. The alien needed a host and he needed one with a relatively large brain so he chooses a human. I remember shortly after entering the host, he is dismayed that the boy gets on a plane to go to boarding school taking him away from the fugitives crash site but he doesn’t have a realistic way to get back as just randomly moving from human to human isn’t likely to get him where he needs to be. So he determines to learn to communicate with the boy and enlist his help.

He hides in the boy learning the language and finally is able to make contact with his host. He projects words on the boys retina or something like that. They don’t have telepathic communication. They become friends and search for the fugitive. Turns out to be someone the boy actually knows. The cop amoeba confronts the fugitive. I’m pretty sure he kills the other alien. I can’t remember if he gets to go home or if in the end he is stuck staying with the boy.

I think I would have read this in the last 70s or early 80s but thinking back on the style of the story it might have been an older book. Maybe a classic science fiction from the 50s or 60s? I’m not sure but I certainly don’t remember anything technological that dated the story.

[Margaret]

Sounds like Needle by Hal Clement. Classic indeed!

[Elizabeth]

OMG, yes that was it! I love this website so much. I read this as a teenager and have never forgotten it but I didn't remember the name or the author. Of course it is Hal Clement. Now I’ll need to figure out how to move this to solved.

[Andy]

There is a sequel by the way "Through the Eye of a Needle" http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...