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Lydia Chin & Bill Smith #16
First Do No Harm: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery
In the latest novel in S. J. Rozan’s groundbreaking mystery series, Lydia Chin and Bill Smith face a dangerous task: they must unlock a hospital's many secrets in order to save an innocent man.
With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, a wealthy benefactor is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin.
Before the donation can be finalized, a member of the nurses' negotiating committee is found murdered. A morgue assistant is arrested and although he denies even knowing the victim his father and brother, both doctors at the hospital, are quick to urge him to take a plea. Another negotiating committee member abruptly resigns and a senior biomedical technician disappears. An officially off-limits section of the hospital basement turns out to be a hotbed of unauthorized—and in some cases criminal—activity.
Hired by the arrested man's lawyer, Lydia Chin and her partner Bill Smith start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Among the union disputes, blackmail, thefts, lies, and a detective who really, really doesn't like them, one thing becomes the dictum to "First Do No Harm” is not in effect at River Valley. As time runs short, Lydia and Bill face a complicated and dangerous task: they must unlock the hospital's secrets to save an innocent man.
With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, a wealthy benefactor is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin.
Before the donation can be finalized, a member of the nurses' negotiating committee is found murdered. A morgue assistant is arrested and although he denies even knowing the victim his father and brother, both doctors at the hospital, are quick to urge him to take a plea. Another negotiating committee member abruptly resigns and a senior biomedical technician disappears. An officially off-limits section of the hospital basement turns out to be a hotbed of unauthorized—and in some cases criminal—activity.
Hired by the arrested man's lawyer, Lydia Chin and her partner Bill Smith start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Among the union disputes, blackmail, thefts, lies, and a detective who really, really doesn't like them, one thing becomes the dictum to "First Do No Harm” is not in effect at River Valley. As time runs short, Lydia and Bill face a complicated and dangerous task: they must unlock the hospital's secrets to save an innocent man.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published January 6, 2026
36 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Rozan
127 books387 followersSJ Rozan, a native New Yorker, is the author of the Bill Smith and Lydia Chin detective series as well as several stand-alone novels. She has won the the Edgar, Nero, Macavity, Shamus and Anthony awards for Best Novel and the Edgar award for Best Short Story. She is a former Mystery Writers of America National Board member, a current Sisters in Crime National Board member, and President of the Private Eye Writers of America. In January 2003 she was an invited speaker at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In February 2005 she will be Guest of Honor at the Left Coast Crime convention in El Paso, Texas. A former architect in a practice that focussed on police stations, firehouses, and zoos, SJ Rozan was born and raised in the Bronx. She currently lives in Greenwich Village, New York. (from the author's website)"
S.J. Rozan has a B.A. from Oberlin College and M.Arch from SUNY/Buffalo
S.J. Rozan has a B.A. from Oberlin College and M.Arch from SUNY/Buffalo
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 26, 2026
Another great entry in this long running series.
Marvelously twisty story set around the murder of a nurse in a NYC hospital. The blurb gives a good idea of how complicated the job will be for our main characters.
I really enjoyed this one. Every avenue Lydia and Bill pursue reveals more possibilities, rather than narrowing the search. Along the way, they uncover fraud on many levels, slack security, and members of upper management who don't seem to have the best interests of the patients on their agendas. What they don't uncover is the identity of the killer.
This all leads to a rather dramatic finale and a very satisfactory conclusion.
I must admit that the identity of the killer was a surprise to me. The clue was there, I just missed it.
I really like Lydia and Bill and their supporting team. Their computer experts are a delight. There were several hospital employees who help in the investigation. The young woman from Security was really gung-ho, and added a lot of verve to the investigation.
While I'm waiting for the next one I need to read the previous one The Mayors of New York, which i somehow missed.
Marvelously twisty story set around the murder of a nurse in a NYC hospital. The blurb gives a good idea of how complicated the job will be for our main characters.
I really enjoyed this one. Every avenue Lydia and Bill pursue reveals more possibilities, rather than narrowing the search. Along the way, they uncover fraud on many levels, slack security, and members of upper management who don't seem to have the best interests of the patients on their agendas. What they don't uncover is the identity of the killer.
This all leads to a rather dramatic finale and a very satisfactory conclusion.
I must admit that the identity of the killer was a surprise to me. The clue was there, I just missed it.
I really like Lydia and Bill and their supporting team. Their computer experts are a delight. There were several hospital employees who help in the investigation. The young woman from Security was really gung-ho, and added a lot of verve to the investigation.
While I'm waiting for the next one I need to read the previous one The Mayors of New York, which i somehow missed.
January 29, 2026
3⭐️
I’ve been reading this series for years. It’s one of the series I really remember from my younger reading days, so jumping into any Lydia/Bill stories always gives me nostalgia. I’ve always loved Lydia and Bill and their dynamic.
This latest book had all the usual Rozan charm. The only thing I’m struggling with is as the series has progressed over the many years, the characters haven’t really aged but the time period has adjusted to be more modern (specially the technology aspects), and I don’t feel like Lydia and Bill and some of the events that happen really work as well in the modern setting. This might be more a me feeling though as I don’t watch any detective/crime shows or read other detective books, so my understanding of how PIs would work today is basically non existent.
But overall always a good time spent with this series.
I’ve been reading this series for years. It’s one of the series I really remember from my younger reading days, so jumping into any Lydia/Bill stories always gives me nostalgia. I’ve always loved Lydia and Bill and their dynamic.
This latest book had all the usual Rozan charm. The only thing I’m struggling with is as the series has progressed over the many years, the characters haven’t really aged but the time period has adjusted to be more modern (specially the technology aspects), and I don’t feel like Lydia and Bill and some of the events that happen really work as well in the modern setting. This might be more a me feeling though as I don’t watch any detective/crime shows or read other detective books, so my understanding of how PIs would work today is basically non existent.
But overall always a good time spent with this series.
February 7, 2026
Love, love, love this series. Lydia Chin and Bill Smith are so much fun to follow around as they investigate this multi-faceted hospital case, and the potential Nurses strike exposes quite a bit to investigate as they work to uncover a murderer and clear the suspect on the radar of the police. The supporting characters are colorful, and the banter between Lydia and Bill delights. I am always ready immediately for the next book after reading.
March 11, 2026
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader. If you like this post, you might like others on that site. Consider checking it out!
---
WHAT'S FIRST DO NO HARM ABOUT?
That's basically all you need to know. Lydia's brother gets a call from a coworker that he's friendly with, who's the prime suspect in a murder at the hospital. After Bill connects him with a good criminal lawyer, that lawyer hires the duo to do the investigating for her.
It doesn't go well at first—there's a lot of institutional resistance to helping them—the hospital just wants to put the incident behind them—they're on the verge of a nurses' strike, and the additional bad press associated with a murder is too much for them. They're perfectly willing to let this staff member be arrested and convicted, as long as it happens fast and keeps them out of the news.
Thankfully, Lydia and Bill are good at making allies and cashing in favors—once they start learning secrets and talking to the right people (probably in the reverse order), they start finding more people who will talk to them (willingly or not), and a picture—very slowly begins to emerge.
They've had some real doozies of a case before—and honestly, this is one of the more straightforward cases they've had (if you ignore all the distractions they encounter along the way)
WHY DID I PICK THIS UP? WHY DID I KEEP READING?
I picked this up because it's a Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book.
I kept reading for the expected reasons: the mystery/crime s they uncovered and their chemistry and banter. It's also a "Lydia" book, so it's a bit more upbeat and fun.
The way these two interact has always been something that attracted me to the books, and it continues strong here. There's a little competition between the two of them early on about who can charm the most people connected to the case—and neither of them does very well. Dismally, really. But it's fun to watch them go back and forth about it—it's a nice twist on Spenser's strategy of going around annoying people until someone does something that leads him somewhere. At least they're (superficially, at least) trying to charm people.
But really, just getting the chance to watch the two of them talk to each other is enough to keep me reading.
WHAT DOES THIS BOOK TELL US ABOUT HUMANITY?
This is a tricky one, because like most PI Fiction, the core of this book is people being despicable and trying to get away with it. But there's a focus to this one.
Lydia has seen a lot of...well, a lot. Crime, corruption, organized crime, family dysfunction, murder, and so on. A lot of what she's seen would be too much for many of us (myself included). Yet this case disheartens her. She's seen the various and sundry corruptions, backstabbing, machinations, poor conditions surrounding the workers at this hospital—and we're not even talking about patient care/conditions—who knows what would show up if that happened. It's all behind-the-scenes stuff. And it gets to her. She mentions it frequently.
Even with a brother who works in the ER in this hospital, all of this mess shocks her. Bill doesn't seem as disturbed, but I don't get the impression that he expected it to be this bad, either. Even people like them—given their experience, profession, and what they've heard—they expect hospitals to be about helping people. Healing people. Not trying to profit at other people's expense.
I think it says something about how all of us have illusions about institutions. Or that even in the best places for humanity, our collective depravity shows up. Or maybe, that despite all the nefarious things going on, there are people (like her brother) who help people—and that even those who are getting away with things still manage to do some good.
Okay, I'm not sure what this book tells us about humanity. It's not cut and dry—and on one level, we all know that, but something that Crime Fiction is good at is reminding us all that humanity is a mess, but still some good things happen.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FIRST DO NO HARM?
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think my only complaints are that we didn't get enough of Lydia's brother—because I enjoyed him in his element; and we definitely didn't get more time with the accused murderer—because he was such a fun ball of chaos and earnestness. Seriously, can he get accused of another crime soon? I'd like to see him back in this series.
Everything else was great—good red herrings, a good twisty mystery that exposed a lot of other criminal/crime-adjacent activities, some winning characters. And more than one scuzzy person that you wouldn't have minded being guilty of the murder—sadly, some that get to keep being less-than-upstanding and successful. The final reveal of the killer? I didn't see it coming, but in perfect murder mystery style, once revealed, I couldn't not see it and was annoyed with myself for missing it.
As one expects, Rozan did it again. And now we get to wait for her next successful outing. This would make a fine jumping-on point for the series. I think every book in the series would, for that matter. You've got no excuse not to read it.
---
My brother needs a lawyer,” I told Bill over the phone from the sky diving hut.
“Your brother is a lawyer. Unless it’s a different brother, in which case his brother is a lawyer.”
"It’s Elliott, he needs a criminal lawyer, and it’s for a friend.”
“That's what they all say. What happened?”
“The friend was found at the hospital in the company of a dead body.”
“Did he make it dead?”
“No.”
“That's what they all say. New York City? Long Island, upstate, New Jersey? "
“That's as far as your reach extends?”
“God no. You need Nebraska? The Leeward Islands?”
“Just testing. Manhattan.”
“The guy’s in custody?”
“Yes, and he’d rather not be,"
“That's what they all say.”
WHAT'S FIRST DO NO HARM ABOUT?
That's basically all you need to know. Lydia's brother gets a call from a coworker that he's friendly with, who's the prime suspect in a murder at the hospital. After Bill connects him with a good criminal lawyer, that lawyer hires the duo to do the investigating for her.
It doesn't go well at first—there's a lot of institutional resistance to helping them—the hospital just wants to put the incident behind them—they're on the verge of a nurses' strike, and the additional bad press associated with a murder is too much for them. They're perfectly willing to let this staff member be arrested and convicted, as long as it happens fast and keeps them out of the news.
Thankfully, Lydia and Bill are good at making allies and cashing in favors—once they start learning secrets and talking to the right people (probably in the reverse order), they start finding more people who will talk to them (willingly or not), and a picture—very slowly begins to emerge.
They've had some real doozies of a case before—and honestly, this is one of the more straightforward cases they've had (if you ignore all the distractions they encounter along the way)
WHY DID I PICK THIS UP? WHY DID I KEEP READING?
I picked this up because it's a Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book.
I kept reading for the expected reasons: the mystery/crime s they uncovered and their chemistry and banter. It's also a "Lydia" book, so it's a bit more upbeat and fun.
The way these two interact has always been something that attracted me to the books, and it continues strong here. There's a little competition between the two of them early on about who can charm the most people connected to the case—and neither of them does very well. Dismally, really. But it's fun to watch them go back and forth about it—it's a nice twist on Spenser's strategy of going around annoying people until someone does something that leads him somewhere. At least they're (superficially, at least) trying to charm people.
But really, just getting the chance to watch the two of them talk to each other is enough to keep me reading.
WHAT DOES THIS BOOK TELL US ABOUT HUMANITY?
This is a tricky one, because like most PI Fiction, the core of this book is people being despicable and trying to get away with it. But there's a focus to this one.
“Seriously,” I said, sipping the cinnamony froth off my mug, “I've never seen so many people doing so many nefarious things. It’s a little disheartening. No, it’s a lot disheartening. A hospital? Isn’t it a thing that medical people are supposed to at least do no harm?”
Bill shrugged. "I always thought so."
Lydia has seen a lot of...well, a lot. Crime, corruption, organized crime, family dysfunction, murder, and so on. A lot of what she's seen would be too much for many of us (myself included). Yet this case disheartens her. She's seen the various and sundry corruptions, backstabbing, machinations, poor conditions surrounding the workers at this hospital—and we're not even talking about patient care/conditions—who knows what would show up if that happened. It's all behind-the-scenes stuff. And it gets to her. She mentions it frequently.
Even with a brother who works in the ER in this hospital, all of this mess shocks her. Bill doesn't seem as disturbed, but I don't get the impression that he expected it to be this bad, either. Even people like them—given their experience, profession, and what they've heard—they expect hospitals to be about helping people. Healing people. Not trying to profit at other people's expense.
I think it says something about how all of us have illusions about institutions. Or that even in the best places for humanity, our collective depravity shows up. Or maybe, that despite all the nefarious things going on, there are people (like her brother) who help people—and that even those who are getting away with things still manage to do some good.
Okay, I'm not sure what this book tells us about humanity. It's not cut and dry—and on one level, we all know that, but something that Crime Fiction is good at is reminding us all that humanity is a mess, but still some good things happen.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FIRST DO NO HARM?
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think my only complaints are that we didn't get enough of Lydia's brother—because I enjoyed him in his element; and we definitely didn't get more time with the accused murderer—because he was such a fun ball of chaos and earnestness. Seriously, can he get accused of another crime soon? I'd like to see him back in this series.
Everything else was great—good red herrings, a good twisty mystery that exposed a lot of other criminal/crime-adjacent activities, some winning characters. And more than one scuzzy person that you wouldn't have minded being guilty of the murder—sadly, some that get to keep being less-than-upstanding and successful. The final reveal of the killer? I didn't see it coming, but in perfect murder mystery style, once revealed, I couldn't not see it and was annoyed with myself for missing it.
As one expects, Rozan did it again. And now we get to wait for her next successful outing. This would make a fine jumping-on point for the series. I think every book in the series would, for that matter. You've got no excuse not to read it.
January 6, 2026
“First Do No Harm,” by S.J. Rozan, Pegasus Crime, 336 pages, Jan. 6, 2026.
With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, Seymour Larson, a wealthy benefactor, is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Medicine: Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin.
Larson is giving the donation because Chin once saved his daughter, Hartley’s, life. But before the donation is finalized, Sophia Scott, a member of the nurses’ negotiating committee, is found dead. Jordan Kazarian, a morgue assistant, is arrested. He denies even knowing her, but he found her body. She overdosed and police believe it was murder.
Dr. Irwin DeBreng, Jordan’s father, is chief of medicine and his brother, Bradley, is also a doctor. They have different last names because Jordan changed his to his mother’s name. They want him to have a family friend as his lawyer and for him to plead guilty.
Bill Smith, Lydia’s partner, asks a friend to recommend a criminal lawyer. He recommends Juanita Cohen, who in turn hires Lydia and Bill who start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Then someone they interviewed, Alon Bacay, quits the negotiating committee and another employee, Barry Sivek, cleans out his locker and disappears.
“First Do No Harm” has a complex plot as Lydia and Bill discover some people employed by the hospital are dishonest. I didn’t see the ending or the motive coming. The characters are great, including some new ones. While this is the 16th in one of my favorite series, you don’t have to read the others first.
I rate it five out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, Seymour Larson, a wealthy benefactor, is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Medicine: Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin.
Larson is giving the donation because Chin once saved his daughter, Hartley’s, life. But before the donation is finalized, Sophia Scott, a member of the nurses’ negotiating committee, is found dead. Jordan Kazarian, a morgue assistant, is arrested. He denies even knowing her, but he found her body. She overdosed and police believe it was murder.
Dr. Irwin DeBreng, Jordan’s father, is chief of medicine and his brother, Bradley, is also a doctor. They have different last names because Jordan changed his to his mother’s name. They want him to have a family friend as his lawyer and for him to plead guilty.
Bill Smith, Lydia’s partner, asks a friend to recommend a criminal lawyer. He recommends Juanita Cohen, who in turn hires Lydia and Bill who start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Then someone they interviewed, Alon Bacay, quits the negotiating committee and another employee, Barry Sivek, cleans out his locker and disappears.
“First Do No Harm” has a complex plot as Lydia and Bill discover some people employed by the hospital are dishonest. I didn’t see the ending or the motive coming. The characters are great, including some new ones. While this is the 16th in one of my favorite series, you don’t have to read the others first.
I rate it five out of five stars.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
March 10, 2026
Rozan is back with another engaging Lydia Chen/Bill Smith mystery. Set primarily in Manhatten, the plot involves solving the death of a nurse in a NYC hospital.
The client is the attorney for the morgue employee Jordy, who has been charged by the police for the murder.
The plot is complex and there are so many characters to keep straight--so many that I couldn't remember who the killer was when his name was revealed.
I had figured out the motive at least by the halfway point but not who the actual killer was.
I have been reading this series since the beginning, and it is one of my favorite mystery series. Rozan is an excellent writer who creates fully developed characters and settings. Dry humor infuses the dialog between Lydia and Bill.
This was an enjoyable read with no troubling unrealistic plot points and with good plot pacing.
The client is the attorney for the morgue employee Jordy, who has been charged by the police for the murder.
The plot is complex and there are so many characters to keep straight--so many that I couldn't remember who the killer was when his name was revealed.
I had figured out the motive at least by the halfway point but not who the actual killer was.
I have been reading this series since the beginning, and it is one of my favorite mystery series. Rozan is an excellent writer who creates fully developed characters and settings. Dry humor infuses the dialog between Lydia and Bill.
This was an enjoyable read with no troubling unrealistic plot points and with good plot pacing.
February 3, 2026
This book is about a nurse who is killed in the mortuary area of the hospital. Jordy is arrested and hires a lawyer. The lawyer hires to detectives to follow the clues. The truth goes all the way to the top of the management chain. The nurses were about to strike and a person bought options against the strike and will do anything to get his pay off. Including people who get in his way. The truth is finally realized when another person is killed while Jordy is in jail for a crime he didn't commit. The plot has many twists and turns to get to the truth.
August 17, 2025
Lydia and Bill work together to find out her murdered a nurse at the hospital Lydia’s brother works at. A donor wants to give the hospital money to recognize Elliott’s good work, but the murder puts a hold on things. I love Lydia’s relationship wit bill, her mother and her family.
February 3, 2026
Read this amidst the third week of the NYC nurses’ strike (including Mount Sinai on the Upper East Side and two blocks from the restaurant Conmigo). I really appreciated the details of the various hospital units—and the behind-the-scenes machinations.
February 20, 2026
A slow burn with so many layers and plausible characters. As a retired nurse, all the hospital details were compelling and rang true! Super mystery and my first novel by Rozan and call me IMPRESSED!
March 2, 2026
One of the best Bill and Lydias yet. I have read and enjoyed the whole series, but I think you could read this as a standalone perfectly well.
Lots of action and snarky banter, and a suitably well-conceived plot.
Lots of action and snarky banter, and a suitably well-conceived plot.
January 6, 2026
Slow paced boring. Told 1st person. I would not recommend at all.
January 9, 2026
A great story
I, love spending time with Lydia and Bill. This is a great story. I had a hint of the killer, I just didn’t see how it fit into the story until it did.
I, love spending time with Lydia and Bill. This is a great story. I had a hint of the killer, I just didn’t see how it fit into the story until it did.
January 17, 2026
What a wonderful series - great characters, locale and plots. Need more.
January 18, 2026
Suspenseful & lots of fun banter. A winner!
January 22, 2026
Too much foul language
February 13, 2026
I love the characters in this series. Always unpredictable.
February 22, 2026
what a great installment of one of my favorite series! Can't wait for the next one!
Did not finish
February 25, 2026I really didn't like the narrator at all.
February 25, 2026
Really enjoyed the wit and interplay between Lydia and Bill
March 14, 2026
Bored to tears. Confusing. Subpar dialogue. I should’ve DNF about a third of the way through!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews