roseybot's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. This book was heavy, but also up lifting. It was great to read, and I'm glad I did.
sooz_767's review against another edition
3.0
As much as I enjoyed(?) the subject (don't judge me!), it just felt a bit repetitive after a while. For such a short book, it felt long.
The book covers a few years at the start of the doctor's career as a medical examiner but there's so much dialogue between her and colleagues I wonder if she wrote it all down at the time or if its just been made up to simulate what would have been discussed. It just felt a bit off.
Definitely worth a read, just perhaps written in a bit of an odd way for a nonfiction/memoir.
The book covers a few years at the start of the doctor's career as a medical examiner but there's so much dialogue between her and colleagues I wonder if she wrote it all down at the time or if its just been made up to simulate what would have been discussed. It just felt a bit off.
Definitely worth a read, just perhaps written in a bit of an odd way for a nonfiction/memoir.
katsherms's review against another edition
4.0
This book is well written and really interesting, but wanted to put a huge disclaimer that it contains two of the most upsetting things I have ever read, one of which has given me nightmares since I first read that passage years ago.
demetria_books01's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
kpownall's review against another edition
3.0
i feel like this memoir had the bones to be great in terms of content. but it lacked a cohesion and strong sense of voice. for the first half of the book it felt like she haphazardly jumped between cases with lack of transitions and reason until i finally figured out each chapter had a theme (ish).
hardcoverhoe's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Morbid and fascinating. One of the most interesting books I’ve ever read.
islandkate763's review against another edition
4.0
Exactly why I expected and wanted. A gory detailed book about the job of a medical examiner in NYC. I listened to it on my commute to work and was always excited to get into the car for the 30 min drive twice a day. The narrator took a little getting used to, but the content was so compelling I pushed through my annoyance.
wildthiiiing's review against another edition
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.0
This was a great read - although I typically love reading about this more macabre sort of thing. Sometimes the author didn't do a great job of breaking down the medical terms - but usually she did quite well. At times she also definitely seemed to *try* to be overtly gory or gross about things - but I suppose you should expect that when reading books about cadavers.
You can clearly tell the author loves her job, and she writes in an upbeat manner for the most part - while giving proper somber tones when needed depending on the subject matter. Occasionally the time line jumps around a little bit - but where she is telling stories based on each particular case and less on an overall timeline, it wasn't a terrible bother.
This is another book on my 2023 list where I read it in less than 48 hours - I could hardly put it down when I had spare time to read.
You can clearly tell the author loves her job, and she writes in an upbeat manner for the most part - while giving proper somber tones when needed depending on the subject matter. Occasionally the time line jumps around a little bit - but where she is telling stories based on each particular case and less on an overall timeline, it wasn't a terrible bother.
This is another book on my 2023 list where I read it in less than 48 hours - I could hardly put it down when I had spare time to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Violence