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Coroner
America's most controversial medical examiner explores the unanswered questions surrounding the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate, Janis Joplin, William Holden, Natalie Wood, John Belushi, and many of his other important cases
Now, for the first time, Dr. Noguchi recounts his colorful and stormy career, explains his innovative techniques, and reveals the full story behind his most fascinating investigations.
In Coroner, Dr. Noguchi sheds new light on his most controversial cases--controversies that persist even
--How did Natalie Wood spend the last terrifying moments of her life?
--Did Marilyn Monroe commit suicide or were the drugs that killed her injected into her body by someone else?
--Did Sirhan Sirhan or another gunman fire the bullet that killed Robert Kennedy?
--How could the knives used in the murder of Sharon Tate be identified and traced to the Manson gang if they were never found?
--What were the real circumstances behind the drug-related death of Janis Joplin?
--Were Patty Hearst's kidnappers victims of police brutality or of their own revolutionary zeal?
--How and why did William Holden die?
--Was John Belushi murdered?
These are just some of the questions answered in this powerful, gutsy book written by the real-life "Quincy," with co-author Joseph DiMona.
Now, for the first time, Dr. Noguchi recounts his colorful and stormy career, explains his innovative techniques, and reveals the full story behind his most fascinating investigations.
In Coroner, Dr. Noguchi sheds new light on his most controversial cases--controversies that persist even
--How did Natalie Wood spend the last terrifying moments of her life?
--Did Marilyn Monroe commit suicide or were the drugs that killed her injected into her body by someone else?
--Did Sirhan Sirhan or another gunman fire the bullet that killed Robert Kennedy?
--How could the knives used in the murder of Sharon Tate be identified and traced to the Manson gang if they were never found?
--What were the real circumstances behind the drug-related death of Janis Joplin?
--Were Patty Hearst's kidnappers victims of police brutality or of their own revolutionary zeal?
--How and why did William Holden die?
--Was John Belushi murdered?
These are just some of the questions answered in this powerful, gutsy book written by the real-life "Quincy," with co-author Joseph DiMona.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1983
330 people are currently reading
761 people want to read
About the author
Thomas T. Noguchi
9 books13 followersDr. Thomas T. Noguchi is a Board Certified Forensic Pathologist and was the Chief
Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles for many years.
Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles for many years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
March 31, 2015
An intriguing educational read into the practices and growth of forensic science
Anyone familiar with the deaths of such Hollywood notables as Natalie Wood, William Holden, Sharon Tate, Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, , and the late Senator Robert Kennedy has probably already heard of Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles Medical Examiners office. This book is his remembrances of the deaths he investigated and the science of forensic medicine whose growth he has fostered and encouraged. The bulk of the information he imparts come from his official files on each case.
He begins his book with his life in Japan during World War II, and continues with his immigration to the United States, his years of toil in medical school and the following years of internship and residency. The Thomas Noguchi, who emerges from his account, is a patient thorough investigator whose reliance on science has advanced the field of forensic science tremendously and helped foster the respect that people have for a medical examiner's opinion.
Relating some of his more famous cases which people are familiar with, he details the step by step investigation into the deaths of people who are now legends in America's social fabric. Showing that Marilyn Monroe did commit suicide, that Natalie Wood fought to save her own life up to the point that hypothermia rendered her unconscious, to the fact that Robert Kennedy's assassination was done by more than Sirhan Sirhan and the basis for that opinion, he outlines the detailed investigation into those deaths, the results found, and the scientific basis for their interpretation, Noguchi builds each case skillfully and believably that supports the medical examiner's office final conclusion even when it runs contrary to the public reports issued by the attorney general's office. Noguchi also discusses his career problems with surprising candor and self examination, still harking back to the science that is at the center of every investigation undertaken by him and his office.
This book is amazingly easy to read,riveting in its subject matter, and well founded on logic and science. Read this book. You will discover the many amazing mysteries that forensic science can now resolve and the promise of a richer future this branch of science holds. You will also learn of a man totally devoted to his job, his sense of responsibility and accountability to the public at large to share findings that especially could prevent future deaths, and the pride of a man who has done work that is not only well done but unparalleled in the medical field despite the obstacles thrown in his way.
This is probably the best non-fiction book I have read in years and I look forward to reading Book 2 of his series.
Anyone familiar with the deaths of such Hollywood notables as Natalie Wood, William Holden, Sharon Tate, Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, , and the late Senator Robert Kennedy has probably already heard of Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles Medical Examiners office. This book is his remembrances of the deaths he investigated and the science of forensic medicine whose growth he has fostered and encouraged. The bulk of the information he imparts come from his official files on each case.
He begins his book with his life in Japan during World War II, and continues with his immigration to the United States, his years of toil in medical school and the following years of internship and residency. The Thomas Noguchi, who emerges from his account, is a patient thorough investigator whose reliance on science has advanced the field of forensic science tremendously and helped foster the respect that people have for a medical examiner's opinion.
Relating some of his more famous cases which people are familiar with, he details the step by step investigation into the deaths of people who are now legends in America's social fabric. Showing that Marilyn Monroe did commit suicide, that Natalie Wood fought to save her own life up to the point that hypothermia rendered her unconscious, to the fact that Robert Kennedy's assassination was done by more than Sirhan Sirhan and the basis for that opinion, he outlines the detailed investigation into those deaths, the results found, and the scientific basis for their interpretation, Noguchi builds each case skillfully and believably that supports the medical examiner's office final conclusion even when it runs contrary to the public reports issued by the attorney general's office. Noguchi also discusses his career problems with surprising candor and self examination, still harking back to the science that is at the center of every investigation undertaken by him and his office.
This book is amazingly easy to read,riveting in its subject matter, and well founded on logic and science. Read this book. You will discover the many amazing mysteries that forensic science can now resolve and the promise of a richer future this branch of science holds. You will also learn of a man totally devoted to his job, his sense of responsibility and accountability to the public at large to share findings that especially could prevent future deaths, and the pride of a man who has done work that is not only well done but unparalleled in the medical field despite the obstacles thrown in his way.
This is probably the best non-fiction book I have read in years and I look forward to reading Book 2 of his series.
January 9, 2018
Was a bit disappointing, too much of the book is spent defending his past troubles with superiors.
I felt the famous cases he dealt with were not covered enough and was left feeling shortchanged
I felt the famous cases he dealt with were not covered enough and was left feeling shortchanged
January 31, 2016
Self. Justification
The book spends more time, and space, justifying than it does explaining. It doesn't explore outside pressures brought to bear upon finding the cause of death. For example, the book acknowledges more shots fired at RFK than Sirhan's gun could hold but still found him the assassin. Be it the press, the government, the family, or whoever, there was pressure but it goes unmentioned in case after case. Instead we are given Mr. Noguchi time and again overcoming his superiors wishes to remove him from office even though he is so magnificent in his job. If you ruffled feathers because you did a great job, and now they want to get rid of you, that is the story I want to see domestically examined.
The book spends more time, and space, justifying than it does explaining. It doesn't explore outside pressures brought to bear upon finding the cause of death. For example, the book acknowledges more shots fired at RFK than Sirhan's gun could hold but still found him the assassin. Be it the press, the government, the family, or whoever, there was pressure but it goes unmentioned in case after case. Instead we are given Mr. Noguchi time and again overcoming his superiors wishes to remove him from office even though he is so magnificent in his job. If you ruffled feathers because you did a great job, and now they want to get rid of you, that is the story I want to see domestically examined.
February 14, 2019
Egotistical Noguchi
Not impressed with the book. I lived in Los Angeles and recalled all the deaths from Monroe to Belushi. This book shed no new information and The readers get to witness all the heroics and brilliance that the Coroner heaps on himself. A legend in his own mind.
Not impressed with the book. I lived in Los Angeles and recalled all the deaths from Monroe to Belushi. This book shed no new information and The readers get to witness all the heroics and brilliance that the Coroner heaps on himself. A legend in his own mind.
July 2, 2017
Thomas Noguchi is his own fan club. That's what this book taught me.
August 30, 2023
El doctor Noguchi alterna la narración de casos famosos con detalles sobre su desempeño, no tan sensacionalistas como pudiera parecer después de leer la desafortunada contraportada en la que, usando un lenguaje totalmente alejado del libro, se llama a la sordidez. El libro es la sucesión de una serie de casos en los que se vio envuelto el famoso forense de Los Ángeles y una defensa de sí mismo y sus métodos en respuesta a las críticas que lo tachaban de divo por su afán de protagonismo. Lo cierto es que el forense no escatima en explicaciones y afirmaciones para demostrar cuán brillante es. Nunca lo explicita de ese modo, pero es más que evidente que tiene un concepto de sí mismo muy alto.
Aparte de eso, el libro es entretenido y cuenta claramente qué hay de verdad y de mito en las historias e ideas conspiranóicas que pululan alrededor de las muertes más famosas y polémicas; aparte de un buen puñado de casos breves anónimos.
En mi opción, le sobran las fotografías de los cadáveres añadidas a posteriori. No iban en la obra original, que huye del morbo y se centra en los hechos, por lo que se notan fuera de lugar y cumplen el papel de llamar al sensacionalismo más burdo. Lo peor de este libro no es el texto escrito sino la contraportada y las fotografías, que lo deslucen.
Aparte de eso, el libro es entretenido y cuenta claramente qué hay de verdad y de mito en las historias e ideas conspiranóicas que pululan alrededor de las muertes más famosas y polémicas; aparte de un buen puñado de casos breves anónimos.
En mi opción, le sobran las fotografías de los cadáveres añadidas a posteriori. No iban en la obra original, que huye del morbo y se centra en los hechos, por lo que se notan fuera de lugar y cumplen el papel de llamar al sensacionalismo más burdo. Lo peor de este libro no es el texto escrito sino la contraportada y las fotografías, que lo deslucen.
September 5, 2023
Interesting to learn more about the deaths of these celebrities and how things run behind the scenes of a celebrity's post-mortem. Also unique to see how they did things before computers were firmly established. The chart for matching up the body parts and personal effects after the plane crash. Many of these events were within my lifetime and the advancement of technology since then is remarkable.
Read
December 1, 2025DNF
April 6, 2025
Fun look into a bygone era. Some crude language that needs to be tolerated on account of the 1983 of it all but on the whole, entertaining. Every page had something exciting or interesting but still managed to avoid seeming sensationalized. This book isn’t about new details coming to light, it’s an examination of how people in forensics (the Chief Medical Examiner for LA County mainly) managed to do their specialized and esoteric work in the midst of super high profile cases.
September 7, 2024
I guess I enjoyed this more than the 1 and 2 star folks because I wasn’t looking for lurid content. If you’re looking for new insights, you’re decades too late; this book was written in 1983, so anything “new” you’re hoping to get isn’t going to happen. As for the focus on personal issues - this was as much a memoir of his time as LA medical examiner as it was about the deaths he helped to investigate, and those who think he was stroking his own ego are just as bad as the people who constantly targeted him for doing his job.
February 12, 2018
there's some genuinely interesting stuff in here, but it's unfortunately offset by a lot of tedious self-promotion and boring, self-important minutiae about what professional conference this guy attended when, and what kind of ventilation system (i'm not joking here) the LA county morgue had installed in 1972. worth a look, though. a brief and cursory one. just skip over the stuff where he's talking about himself - which is about half the book.
December 1, 2016
I found this book to be average. The author spends a lot of the book talking about his personal work issues and his stories about death are pretty short. it would have been a better read for me if there had been more detail into the deaths and how he came to his conclusions. Aside from some interesting tidbits the book was a little boring.
January 15, 2020
Boring. No new info, too much about Noguchi himself and his legal issues.
June 2, 2020
This was interesting because of the famous cases, but the writing was stiff—more just a recitation of facts—and had very little detail. It was almost like reading a series of reports.
September 4, 2024
Corner was interesting and taught me facts about celebrities I never knew. It also talked about racism and about people wanting their way and doing anything including covering up facts. It also talked about conspiracies and how the person died. It spoke a great deal about forensic pathology and his childhood in Japan. There were many celebrities like Robert F Kennedy, Patty Hearst, Monroe, Natalie Woods and many other celebrities' lives and deaths. How their bodies were tested, how being a forensic pathologist is difficult, especially being a man of colour. There were many facts I didn’t know like Marilyn Monroe was named Norma Jean or that an overdose upon autopsy the stomach lining would be irritated. I learned that Dr. Thomas Noguchi is the victim of many controversies because he was Japanese. The controversies were stupid like Dr. Noguchi praying for a disaster but it was found that pathologists tend to have gallows humour.
April 9, 2025
An easy, breezy read that gently transported me to the swaying palm trees bending over the bodybags north of Sunset. Yes, a fair amount of this book was about Noguchi's troubles with the bureaucracy of forensics in Southern California; yeah, he's got an ego to match his talent. At the same time, I can't help thinking he was at serious disadvantage coming from Japan to America so soon after World War two. America is not terribly welcoming in the best of times. Personally, I enjoyed reading about his trials and tribulations.
As for the deceased, he provided an insider's view to the tales we all know, lending interesting insights beyond Belushi's speedball and Marilyn's Nembutal. A fun read and all the better for being written in the early 80s. Grab it for a couple bucks if you find it.
As for the deceased, he provided an insider's view to the tales we all know, lending interesting insights beyond Belushi's speedball and Marilyn's Nembutal. A fun read and all the better for being written in the early 80s. Grab it for a couple bucks if you find it.
December 14, 2019
Esas lecturas azarosas que llegan, a veces son las que más se disfrutan. Este libro fue una recomendación al aire, comencé a leer y me atrapó. Noguchi cuenta sus años como forense en Los Ángeles, Estados Unidos, entre los años 50’s y 80’s, donde pasaron por su mesa las más grandes estrellas del cine, la televisión y crímenes que resuenan a escala mundial hasta el día de hoy. Entretiene saber como detective determina la causa de muerte, hora y cómo llegó a ocurrir, reconstruyendo una historia. Es un libro muy ágil y rápido de leer, que “mata” el tiempo de la mejor forma. Ayuda a despejar la cabeza si te gustan por ejemplo, las novelas negras, pero no has tenido el ánimo ni concentración para leer en este Chile Revolucionario. Carga pilas con esta recopilación de información.
July 19, 2022
This book is not for the casual reader meaning it entails concentration but if you are interested in the details and an expert, first person account of Marilyn Monroe's death along with other high profile / famous cases (i.e. William Holden, Natalie Wood) this book is a factual account from the actual coroner who performed the autopsies. I got the book due to the fact I was interested in only one of the main cases - Marilyn Monroe, but ended up reading the entire book. The author details the entire sphere of the death of Marilyn Monroe and in light of the facts and full context of what occurred, the rumors and hypothesis and speculation and questions I had were at least discussed if not explained and answered by the author.
September 8, 2020
Although rather outdated compared to today's forensic sciences and regarding famous people from around 50 years ago, I found this to be interesting. One learns exactly why Dr. Noguchi was so controversial, why he was so highly regarded by his peers, the impressive progress he fought for & achieved for California, and interesting facts & conclusions about the deaths of Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, Sharon Tate, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and so on.
February 11, 2023
I wasn’t sure what to expect beyond celebrity autopsies, but I was pleased at the breadth of the book. I learned a lot about the sociopolitical aspects of being a medical examiner. I also didn’t know it was such a struggle to get forensic science legitimized and given proper facilities.
Was not as gory as I’d predicted, but some chapters (like the one on the Manson family) are rough and you can skim them.
Was not as gory as I’d predicted, but some chapters (like the one on the Manson family) are rough and you can skim them.
May 1, 2024
I am a big pop culture and true crime fan, and this was super interesting. I’m taking a star away though, because the author, Dr. Noguchi, is brilliant and very successful, but totally egotistical and makes a point to let you know all the times he was right and they were wrong. I was particularly intrigued by the section on RJF Jr and how his assassination stirred up the controversy of the unreliability of eye witness accounts vs. the autopsy results directing us toward answers via science.
August 4, 2017
Interesting from a scientific view
I did enjoy this book even though there was no real new evidence to any of the famous deaths listed. I chose and read it simply because I admire Dr. Noguchi and plan to use what scientific knowledge, explained in plain layman's English , in my own future writings.
I did enjoy this book even though there was no real new evidence to any of the famous deaths listed. I chose and read it simply because I admire Dr. Noguchi and plan to use what scientific knowledge, explained in plain layman's English , in my own future writings.
July 22, 2018
Like Mark Furman's otherwise excellent "Murder in Brentwood", the author spends too much space defending himself. From 35 years remove, the machinations of the local politics is not what we are here for.
Like Furman's book, it's a product if its time. Similarly, It's a fascinating read. Well worth your time.
Like Furman's book, it's a product if its time. Similarly, It's a fascinating read. Well worth your time.
June 7, 2019
When the author writes about the cases he’s solved, the book is at its best. In between, he writes about his childhood, and achievements. I think this is why I usually veer away from non-fiction. But those who are intrigued by the man himself, and not just the mysterious deaths of celebrities, may enjoy the book as a whole.
August 11, 2025
Long ago I lived on Catalina Island in Los Angeles County and I remember well, these famous celebrity deaths, and the name of Dr. Thomas Noguchi. I found this book to be a page turner and a quick read. He gave us just enough detail about the deaths of some famous stars and about his career. Highly interesting.
December 5, 2016
Not a book I read from cover to cover. Picked it up and read segments here and there. Eventually I finished all of them, but in no chronological order. It gives you insight on some information about these Hollywood deaths that you may have not heard before.
May 7, 2017
Interesting read. I could not stop reading till I finished it.
Reading books about medical and scientific evidence for clearing a person of a crime always grabs my interest. I found out the truth about several cases in the book.
Reading books about medical and scientific evidence for clearing a person of a crime always grabs my interest. I found out the truth about several cases in the book.
July 10, 2018
Very interesting but you have to be in to forensics.
The Author Thomas Noguchi was the Los Angeles County Coroner that did a lot of famous peoples autopsies. Thomas Noguchi was also used as an expert witness in the O.J. Simpson trial.
The Author Thomas Noguchi was the Los Angeles County Coroner that did a lot of famous peoples autopsies. Thomas Noguchi was also used as an expert witness in the O.J. Simpson trial.
April 5, 2021
This book was my go-to for nighttime reading. Each chapter was about a famous person that he was the medical examiner for, and some chapters were also educational on what certain process were, science used, drama in his job, etc. Interesting ready and would definitely recommend!
August 5, 2022
For those of us fascinated with forensic science and autopsies, this book is great. The author has apparently written a whole series of his adventures as Chief Medical Officer in California and so-c alled coroner of the famous.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews