alyssatuininga's review
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
Philadelphia, 1889, & a group of young surgeons, including Ephraim Carroll, are observing autopsies carried out by Dr William Osler. When one of the coffins is opened to reveal the corpse of a beautiful young woman, Carroll notices that both Osler & a fellow surgeon, George Turk, have a momentarily odd reaction before the lid closed & Osler hurriedly moves on. For the first time since he has known him, Turk invites Carroll out to the theatre that evening & they end up at a pub called The Fatted Calf.
Turk introduces Carroll to two dancers from the show they have just seen, but Carroll's attention is taken by a strange event when Turk has an argument with a man Carroll has never seen before, but he is sure that he also momentarily spots Dr Osler. Turk waves off any enquiries but the evening ends abruptly. Carroll is rather the worse for wear the following morning but Turk does not appear at all. Nor the next day. Carroll decides to track him down & finds him at death's door & it soon becomes apparent that he has been murdered. Does this have anything to do with the argument or the odd reaction at the autopsy?
The plot itself is okay, it's apparent quite early on what the main thread is going to be about. The issue for me was the main character. Carroll thinks of himself as educated & cerebral whereas he actually does most of his thinking with another part of his body entirely. He's also a bit of a hypocrite & very shallow when it comes to women. After starting a tentative friendship with Mary Simpson, the only female student on the staff, as soon as he gets a sniff that a more attractive, richer young woman may be interested, he then completely ignores Simpson & rebuffs her attempts to continue their conversations (that he initiated), then is surprised when Simpson acts coolly towards him later on. As I said before, it's an okay read but it's not a book I would be in a hurry to reread at any point.
Turk introduces Carroll to two dancers from the show they have just seen, but Carroll's attention is taken by a strange event when Turk has an argument with a man Carroll has never seen before, but he is sure that he also momentarily spots Dr Osler. Turk waves off any enquiries but the evening ends abruptly. Carroll is rather the worse for wear the following morning but Turk does not appear at all. Nor the next day. Carroll decides to track him down & finds him at death's door & it soon becomes apparent that he has been murdered. Does this have anything to do with the argument or the odd reaction at the autopsy?
The plot itself is okay, it's apparent quite early on what the main thread is going to be about. The issue for me was the main character. Carroll thinks of himself as educated & cerebral whereas he actually does most of his thinking with another part of his body entirely. He's also a bit of a hypocrite & very shallow when it comes to women. After starting a tentative friendship with Mary Simpson, the only female student on the staff, as soon as he gets a sniff that a more attractive, richer young woman may be interested, he then completely ignores Simpson & rebuffs her attempts to continue their conversations (that he initiated), then is surprised when Simpson acts coolly towards him later on. As I said before, it's an okay read but it's not a book I would be in a hurry to reread at any point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Medical content
Moderate: Misogyny and Murder
kairangicox's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rulubear's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
aseel_reads's review
not very interesting and I always forget how annoying male authors write females
mystereity_reviews's review
2.0
You know when a book starts off slow but you stick with it because you think it's going to pick up and have a really great ending? This was not one of them. The ending was so convoluted and inane that I want to hunt down the author and slap some sense into him. This book is compared to The Alienist, a book I thoroughly loved and frankly, the comparison is an insult to Caleb Carr.
krisrid's review
3.0
I waited for the audio-book version of this for a full year, and while it wasn't the best book I've ever read, it was a good historical fiction story and I did enjoy it so I'd say it was worth the wait.
Dr. Ephraim Carroll, a young Philadelphia doctor, is studying under the renowned medical doctor and professor William Osler [in a neat Canadian connection, Osler is Canadian and has a major medical centre here in his name today]. Ephraim is hoping to build a career in medicine and is thrilled to be working under Dr. Osler, who is a trail-blazer and advocate of newer methods of medicine, including autopsy to learn more about the human body, among other controversial methods of medical activity.
One day in the "dead house" as the autopsy room is called, Dr. Osler, and another doctor in training react strangely to the body of a young woman. Ephraim is puzzled by the reaction, and as he makes inquiries, a number of disturbing facts come to his attention. Then, another death, that of the other doctor in training further complicates the situation and makes Ephraim determined to find out what is going on, despite the many people trying to convince him to leave the events alone, including his mentor, Dr. Osler.
The book is a complex and many layered murder mystery, combined with history about the early development of the medical establishment in America in the late 1800's into the new century. The characters are engaging, the plot is well done and the ending - without giving any spoilers - is not what one expects.
The book was a bit long, with perhaps more "colour" and descriptions of the time and details about every room and street, etc. but that is the only complaint and it is a small one. One thing I should mention though is that as this is a story about doctors, there is some fairly graphic description of surgery and autopsies, so if you are particularly squeamish about that sort of thing, this may not be the book for you, but I enjoyed this story.
Dr. Ephraim Carroll, a young Philadelphia doctor, is studying under the renowned medical doctor and professor William Osler [in a neat Canadian connection, Osler is Canadian and has a major medical centre here in his name today]. Ephraim is hoping to build a career in medicine and is thrilled to be working under Dr. Osler, who is a trail-blazer and advocate of newer methods of medicine, including autopsy to learn more about the human body, among other controversial methods of medical activity.
One day in the "dead house" as the autopsy room is called, Dr. Osler, and another doctor in training react strangely to the body of a young woman. Ephraim is puzzled by the reaction, and as he makes inquiries, a number of disturbing facts come to his attention. Then, another death, that of the other doctor in training further complicates the situation and makes Ephraim determined to find out what is going on, despite the many people trying to convince him to leave the events alone, including his mentor, Dr. Osler.
The book is a complex and many layered murder mystery, combined with history about the early development of the medical establishment in America in the late 1800's into the new century. The characters are engaging, the plot is well done and the ending - without giving any spoilers - is not what one expects.
The book was a bit long, with perhaps more "colour" and descriptions of the time and details about every room and street, etc. but that is the only complaint and it is a small one. One thing I should mention though is that as this is a story about doctors, there is some fairly graphic description of surgery and autopsies, so if you are particularly squeamish about that sort of thing, this may not be the book for you, but I enjoyed this story.
tough_cookie's review
2.0
The Anatomy of Deception makes an attempt to be a philosophical study in morality, but in actuality, it is a botched historical mystery that lacks depth and is burdened with a convoluted, poorly executed plot. The characters themselves are not endearing, and the main protagonist himself, Dr. Ephraim Carroll, is both obnoxiously naive and altogether forgettable. His detective skills are poor and he stumbles around the entire novel, trying to solve two mysteries that are connected, all the while besotted with an upper-crust woman who is loose and flat, in regards to her character. I disliked all the characters, even the one good one, Dr. Simpson.
The ending was predictable, depressing, and left me completely unsatisfied. The book's pace was slow the entire time, and the author didn't seem to understand how to properly execute a twist; there was just a lot of lying and exposure of lying. I read it quickly because I wanted to be done with it. The only reason why I didn't stop reading it early on is that it had been sitting on my shelf for a couple years and I wanted to give it a fair chance. Sadly, the book did not rise to the occasion.
The ending was predictable, depressing, and left me completely unsatisfied. The book's pace was slow the entire time, and the author didn't seem to understand how to properly execute a twist; there was just a lot of lying and exposure of lying. I read it quickly because I wanted to be done with it. The only reason why I didn't stop reading it early on is that it had been sitting on my shelf for a couple years and I wanted to give it a fair chance. Sadly, the book did not rise to the occasion.
fictionophile's review
4.0
A historical forensic mystery, the novel was set in 1889 Philadelphia. The book was well researched and that although complicated - the plot was entertaining in a didactic way.
The novel featured real people and fictionalized characters together. One of the real people in the novel was Dr. William Osler who has been referred to as 'the father of modern medicine'. Dr. William Osler was a bibliophile who collected the works of Michael Servetus. Another was Dr. William Stewart Halsted, an American surgeon of some reknown. I did not approve of the way the real people in the novel were portrayed in a less than flattering light. I think the author took unnecessary liberties in that regard. Perhaps the author should have used fictionalized characters to be implicated in the crimes, and left the real people's memory unsullied.
The painting on the dustjacket is a famous work by artist Thomas Eakins which now hangs at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
"Anatomy of Deception" depicted the 'old-boy' network thought prevalent in the medical profession. The idea that physicians will cover for each other, regardless of whether guilty or innocent. Another theme was the moral rationale of 'the greater good'. The question of who is valuable... the dilemma of sacrificing a few for the benefit of the many...
The book accurately described historical medical practices and recounted several events in this pivotal time in the history of medicine. During the time period in which the novel was set, autopsies were very controversial and the fact that the doctors in the novel used autopsies to further their knowledge of the human body made them ahead of their time and ground-breakers in the practice of forensic medicine.
The novel featured real people and fictionalized characters together. One of the real people in the novel was Dr. William Osler who has been referred to as 'the father of modern medicine'. Dr. William Osler was a bibliophile who collected the works of Michael Servetus. Another was Dr. William Stewart Halsted, an American surgeon of some reknown. I did not approve of the way the real people in the novel were portrayed in a less than flattering light. I think the author took unnecessary liberties in that regard. Perhaps the author should have used fictionalized characters to be implicated in the crimes, and left the real people's memory unsullied.
The painting on the dustjacket is a famous work by artist Thomas Eakins which now hangs at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
"Anatomy of Deception" depicted the 'old-boy' network thought prevalent in the medical profession. The idea that physicians will cover for each other, regardless of whether guilty or innocent. Another theme was the moral rationale of 'the greater good'. The question of who is valuable... the dilemma of sacrificing a few for the benefit of the many...
The book accurately described historical medical practices and recounted several events in this pivotal time in the history of medicine. During the time period in which the novel was set, autopsies were very controversial and the fact that the doctors in the novel used autopsies to further their knowledge of the human body made them ahead of their time and ground-breakers in the practice of forensic medicine.