Confession time: I really enjoy reading medical biographies. I also enjoy reading stuff about crime, dead bodies, and coroners. Hence, my enjoyment of the (early) Kay Scarpetta books, among othersI was primed to read this book: Cataldie is currently the Louisiana state medical examiner. This book deals with his career as the coroner in Baton Rouge, a post he held for over a decade, I believe.
It's a fascinating book, but not nearly as fully formed as I would have hoped. There are a lot of signs of hasty writing, and page after page of editing that wasn't done to tighten things up. I suppose, then, it should come as no surprise that Patricia Cornwell is somehow involved. sigh
Anyway. In spite of all the complaints, I enjoyed the book. There is no undue dwelling on blood and gore, and he discusses the impact cleaning up crime scenes and death scenes has on those people society designates to do so. It's not pretty. It's very political. There is no way to do it without alienating people. And the book makes clear that it isn't hard to become discouraged in the midst of an investigation.
Not the best book I've ever read, but it is a quick read.
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