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
minorasimulator's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book up to remind me why I wanted to get into forensic pathology, and it didn't disappoint. There were a few issues. For one, the stories were a bit jumbled together, and sometimes when Judy came back to the patient, I'd forgotten the introduction to it. Secondly, her views on suicides are based only on personal experience, from when she was 13. She should know better both as a medical examiner and as a physician. Overall though, it was an interesting read, and I would thoroughly recommend, unless you're squeamish.
chrstnareads's review against another edition
4.0
I underestimated how much I would enjoy this book. Which makes me sound like a creep, I realize. It was just really interesting. Melinek gives the details of real cases that came across her table during her time in the New York City Medical Examiner's Office. Some of them I actually remember hearing about: the crane collapse, the body found in a postal bin, the man thrown down a manhole, and of course 9/11.
The 9/11 details hurt. I cried in a my car a little listening to her explain things she saw that I didn't know were possible. The man thrown/pushed into an open manhole was also hard to listen to, but everything was fascinating. As I was listening to it, I started to think maybe I was in the wrong field, and being a forensic pathologist would have been a much more interesting and rewarding career than what I'm currently doing. Buuuuuuut, maybe I'll just stick to reading about them.
I highly recommend this if you're into details of how the human body works, Law & Order-type shit, crime in general, and if you aren't horrified by objective descriptions of the deceased.
The 9/11 details hurt. I cried in a my car a little listening to her explain things she saw that I didn't know were possible. The man thrown/pushed into an open manhole was also hard to listen to, but everything was fascinating. As I was listening to it, I started to think maybe I was in the wrong field, and being a forensic pathologist would have been a much more interesting and rewarding career than what I'm currently doing. Buuuuuuut, maybe I'll just stick to reading about them.
I highly recommend this if you're into details of how the human body works, Law & Order-type shit, crime in general, and if you aren't horrified by objective descriptions of the deceased.
jaimee_thompson's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
interesting takes on suicide, how “great” cops are, and language describing addiction.
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
4.0
This was pretty good, very interesting, and even charming despite the content. Especially the chapters on 9/11, and I agree with the fact that these are all case studies but a coroner rarely gets involved beyond the evidence which must make it hard sometimes to get closure. It seemed pretty impersonal, but it guess that's what the job entails. I would definitely read from this author again. Overall entertainment/ interesting is four stars.