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Cause of Death: Forensic Files of a Medical Examiner
The body of a woman floats to the surface of a lake with sixty pounds of cinder block and chain attached to her legs. Her killer faces the death penalty if the prosecution can answer one question: Did she drown? A worker for the only U.S. plant licensed to produce anthrax dies, the victim of a heart attack. But what caused his heart to stop beating? Follow veteran medical examiner Dr. Stephen D. Cohle into the world of forensic pathology, as he solves these and many other cases. Written from an insider's view, Cause of Death puts the reader behind Dr. Cohle's shoulder while he examines each victim. The cases range from exotic murder mysteries ripe for a CSI episode to everyday casualties of heart attacks and car accidents. Every victim, though, has a story to tell. Enter a real-life morgue with its strange sights, sounds, and smells, and watch a forensic mastermind as he unravels each victim's cause of death.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2007
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903 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 24, 2016
I've been on a bit of a morbid, non-fiction kick at the moment, starting with my spur-of-the-moment read of the fantastic Working Stiff by Judy Melinek and continuing on with books like Blood and Guts: a History of Surgery and Death's Acre. So far, all of these books have engaging, fascinating, and have treated the reader like a competent and intelligent individual. Unfortunately, this was not so for Stephen Cohle's Cause of Death.
This was a tough slog, right from the very beginning. I tried - oh, I tried to be invested in Cohle's long-winded and very purple explanations of the city of Grand Rapids, and I tried hard to ignore the frustration of his numerous off-topic observations of things that have no bearing on the topic at hand. I tried not to be put-off by Cohle's ever-present and ever-expanding ego, or his tendency to repeat certain phrases within mere paragraphs of one another. I did my damnedest, people, I swear!
But it was soon all too clear that somewhere among the pages of this medical examiner's casebook there lurked another murderer - one with a callous disregard for those humble literary techniques, metaphor and juxtaposition. Both were beaten savagely through the course of the book, metaphors stretched and reused, juxtaposition spelled out so frequently you'd swear the author had written the book for a school of goldfish with short-term memory loss. As a literature student, I nearly wept for them. They didn't stand a chance against such shoddy writing.
It amazes me how poorly this book has been put together. One almost wonders if it was self-published, because how could any editor allow so much repetitious writing into the final product? Descriptions are overly long and full of superfluous adjectives, and Cohle frequently explains scientific and medical terms and procedures with the attitude of a condescending kindergarten teacher. At some points, I actually felt insulted.
Overall, this was a very frustrating read. As others have pointed out, the autopsies themselves can be interesting once Cohle actually focuses on them, but even the cases get repetitive before too long. They just all seem too similar, even though the cases themselves are quite different to one another. It is simply the result of an extremely juvenile writing style.
I wouldn't recommend this to anybody interested in forensics or death investigation. There are far better books on this topic out there to read without wasting your time on this one.
This was a tough slog, right from the very beginning. I tried - oh, I tried to be invested in Cohle's long-winded and very purple explanations of the city of Grand Rapids, and I tried hard to ignore the frustration of his numerous off-topic observations of things that have no bearing on the topic at hand. I tried not to be put-off by Cohle's ever-present and ever-expanding ego, or his tendency to repeat certain phrases within mere paragraphs of one another. I did my damnedest, people, I swear!
But it was soon all too clear that somewhere among the pages of this medical examiner's casebook there lurked another murderer - one with a callous disregard for those humble literary techniques, metaphor and juxtaposition. Both were beaten savagely through the course of the book, metaphors stretched and reused, juxtaposition spelled out so frequently you'd swear the author had written the book for a school of goldfish with short-term memory loss. As a literature student, I nearly wept for them. They didn't stand a chance against such shoddy writing.
It amazes me how poorly this book has been put together. One almost wonders if it was self-published, because how could any editor allow so much repetitious writing into the final product? Descriptions are overly long and full of superfluous adjectives, and Cohle frequently explains scientific and medical terms and procedures with the attitude of a condescending kindergarten teacher. At some points, I actually felt insulted.
Overall, this was a very frustrating read. As others have pointed out, the autopsies themselves can be interesting once Cohle actually focuses on them, but even the cases get repetitive before too long. They just all seem too similar, even though the cases themselves are quite different to one another. It is simply the result of an extremely juvenile writing style.
I wouldn't recommend this to anybody interested in forensics or death investigation. There are far better books on this topic out there to read without wasting your time on this one.
October 28, 2018
Fascinating but it did tend to repeat especially when talking about alcohol and smoking
June 26, 2012
Cause of Death is actually a non-fiction book that i got from my job (working at a bookstore has it’s perks). It’s a collection of case histories from the Kent County forensic pathologist and while the science and the autopsies are really interesting the writing is terrible! He was constantly repeating himself, kept referencing things over and over again, and had a very condescending/patronizing voice the entire time. It was if he was writing the book expecting every one who read it to be as dumb as rocks and that he was the supreme higher being. The structure of the book was also kinda weird, there are random breaks to tell side stories right in the middle of the current autopsy you’re reading about. Also he seems like a douche because he tells one of his friends (the co author) to show up at the morgue at a certain time and he himself is always a half hour to an hour late just because he can be. Ugh. But i stuck with the book mainly because the autopsies themselves were interesting.
January 21, 2008
This was an excellent book on forensic medicine as seen from the layman's perspective. Written in corroboration between a medical examiner and a schoolteacher who observed the former's autopsies on weekends over a period of months, it covers all different types of death: natural, homicide, suicide, accident. It includes details (like the use of wintergreen to cope with the smell of decomposing corpses) which bring the postmortem room to life. And you are also told about the lives of the autopsy subjects, and can feel for them.
I would highly recommend Cause of Death to any lay person interested in autopsies and forensic medicine. My only complaint is that the book is somewhat repetitive; the authors tend to repeat the same facts (like, details on what the various autopsy knives and scapels are like) in every chapter.
I would highly recommend Cause of Death to any lay person interested in autopsies and forensic medicine. My only complaint is that the book is somewhat repetitive; the authors tend to repeat the same facts (like, details on what the various autopsy knives and scapels are like) in every chapter.
January 26, 2021
I couldn't finish reading this book and I've tried my best but just couldn't make it. This book was interesting with the cases and each case was given a very detailed explanation. I'm a fan of forensic stories but this book was not what I initially expected. I wasn't expecting to be written in a fictional way as I know this book should be based on true crime stories. It was just too dry for me, I guess.
March 3, 2008
I'm fascinated by forensics. But not this book. Amateur writing, overuse of cliches, each chapter introduced the same terms as if they were new (over and over and over), and frankly, there was not much difference in the autopsies - they were almost interchangable.
November 9, 2008
The explanations of science are easy to follow where they are present, but there aren't very many of them. Has some pretty graphic/gruesome photos. There are places where the writing is bad/awkward, but comprehensible.
June 17, 2013
Interesting topic poorly written. Dr. Cohle thinks pretty highly of himself and his tendency to toot his own horn is grating. Apparently he recruited a high school English teacher to serve as his co-author and the result is an amateur product.
May 12, 2016
Wasn't what I thought it would be. Much more novel like with very limited pictures. But the pictures are very real which was slightly disturbing but that's what you get for reading this type of book right?
January 4, 2013
This book was interesting with the cases he mentioned, but I felt he took too long to get to the actual cases and spent the majority of the book rambling about medical stuff.
January 4, 2026
I can't get enough of the topic of this book. As a registered nurse who spent most of my working years in surgery, a morgue and autopsies intrigue me to no end. Since the events depicted in this book happened right here in my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI, it grabbed me right from the beginning. The descriptive writing creates a mind-picture in the reader.
A couple of things did bother me. One, in a book heavy in medical terminology, it irritated me on the constant misuse of "prone". Prone is lying face-down (as a medical examiner should know), not face-up, people!!
Also, several things were explained over and over ad nauseum - the white board with its dirty marker, the cabinet filled with alcohol bottles, the saying "if you hear hooves, look for horses, not zebras", the skeleton that guards the doors, what lividity is, etc. Each time they were presented, they were thoroughly explained as if for the first time. It felt like the book was written in bits and pieces and all out of order, but then when compiled, there was little editing done to weed out the repetition to make it flow more smoothly.
But these irritants did little to stifle how much I enjoyed this book. Call me morbid, but I'd jump at the chance to observe some autopsies!
A couple of things did bother me. One, in a book heavy in medical terminology, it irritated me on the constant misuse of "prone". Prone is lying face-down (as a medical examiner should know), not face-up, people!!
Also, several things were explained over and over ad nauseum - the white board with its dirty marker, the cabinet filled with alcohol bottles, the saying "if you hear hooves, look for horses, not zebras", the skeleton that guards the doors, what lividity is, etc. Each time they were presented, they were thoroughly explained as if for the first time. It felt like the book was written in bits and pieces and all out of order, but then when compiled, there was little editing done to weed out the repetition to make it flow more smoothly.
But these irritants did little to stifle how much I enjoyed this book. Call me morbid, but I'd jump at the chance to observe some autopsies!
March 2, 2018
This was an interesting summary of the experiences of medical examiner Dr. Cohle during his work in the Kent County, MI morgue. It gave me a new perspective on how fragile our bodies are and how lucky we are to be above ground. It reminded me that death really is just a part of life.
October 10, 2018
Enjoyable and entertaining, this book is definitely interesting if you like the subject matter. However, the other book by these authors, Skeletons in the Closet: Stories from the County Morgue is my favorite between the two. I'd still recommend it though!
September 16, 2019
Remarkable book that details how forensic experts work and the level of detail necessary to figure out causes of death and/or homicides. Really cool real-life book by a very good medical examiner.
June 23, 2021
I love medical and forensics books, but this one was hard to get through. Boring cases, and pompous writing!
January 8, 2022
Great overall. A lot of sexual reference and repetition. A bit uncomfortable when describing one of the students..
August 5, 2008
Some interesting stories from the morgue indeed. However, I disagree with the authors that real life (at least from these case histories) is not more interesting than fiction. I'd rather watch Dexter, call me low-brow, I'll live. If one is interested in the workings of a morgue and under what circumstances a body needs to be autopsied this book will be valuable.
I gave two stars because the book covers a lot of the same ground twice--for 1000 pg textbooks recaps are refreshing, but for a 200 page easy-reading bookumentary refreshers feel redundant.
I gave two stars because the book covers a lot of the same ground twice--for 1000 pg textbooks recaps are refreshing, but for a 200 page easy-reading bookumentary refreshers feel redundant.
Want to read
December 20, 2015#
Own in hardback.
NC
FS: "Several smaller neighborhoods border the south side of Grand Rapids; in a large metropolitan area, one might call this area the near south side."
LS: "And maybe one day, he'll again be able to eat wintergreen mints."
Own in hardback.
NC
FS: "Several smaller neighborhoods border the south side of Grand Rapids; in a large metropolitan area, one might call this area the near south side."
LS: "And maybe one day, he'll again be able to eat wintergreen mints."
April 27, 2011
A bit graphic but very interesting information and well written!
September 3, 2013
Loved the descriptions and excellent graphic detail.
December 28, 2023
Generally interesting, but frequently jumping between the current case and a past case makes it difficult to follow the flow of the current one being examined.
January 23, 2016
How many times can someone use the word "juxtaposition"?
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews