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A murder suspect for the dead body on her dissection table, spunky surgeon-to-be Zora Smyth races to find the truth. Then more bodies drop…

Zora Smyth is not your average poster child for a first-year medical student with a distant mother, a missing sister, and a deep distrust of the police. All she'd ever dreamed of was to make it through medical school and become a surgeon.

But a dissection gone wrong at the Gross Anatomy lab lands Zora in the middle of a murder investigation and in the crosshairs of a vicious enemy.

When a potential witness points her out as the prime suspect for the murder, Zora faces the frightening risk of losing her dream and her freedom.

Then more bodies drop…

As Zora races to investigate the truth and save herself, will she give in to a killer hell-bent on getting what he wants, or will she fight for her life as she faces her worst nightmare?

LETHAL DISSECTION is the first book in Dobi Cross' gripping suspense-filled series of medical thrillers. If you like page-turning non-gory medical thrillers filled with unexpected rollercoaster twists and intrigue, you’ll love LETHAL DISSECTION.

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 2, 2018

1102 people are currently reading
1707 people want to read

About the author

Dobi Cross

20 books35 followers
As a former physician and business executive in another life—with a childhood filled with reading multi-genre novels (including Shakespeare in the original version)—Dobi Cross loves to write thrilling stories with heart.

She enjoys dreaming up everyday characters who rise above unfavorable circumstances to overcome incredible odds. When not writing, Dobi can be found binging K-dramas and ice cream with her little sidekick by her side.

You can find her below!

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5 stars
490 (29%)
4 stars
421 (25%)
3 stars
452 (26%)
2 stars
241 (14%)
1 star
74 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
16 reviews4 followers
September 26, 2023
It wasn’t terrible but I didn’t like it either. I originally gave it 3 stars but realized I enjoyed my other 3 star books more than this. It was short and a quick read. It isn’t really a medical thriller. The main character is in med school and beyond the opening scene not much takes place in a medical setting. The writing was very high school/college student completing a creative writing assignment. Parts of the plot made no sense things happened just to move the plot but weren’t realistic at all.
Profile Image for Imogen.
139 reviews
December 28, 2023
2.5- hated it but it also wasn’t that bad? idk, interesting premise but a shitty execution
Profile Image for Sarah.
431 reviews7 followers
November 2, 2019
I liked the idea of the book but I think it could have used more editing. Beyond the obvious simple editing errors, the entire book could have been flushed out to give it more depth and a well-rounded feel. The writing could have also been reworked to flow better. At times it was hard to understand what exactly was being said.
Profile Image for Becky (beckyy.readss).
845 reviews1 follower
July 1, 2024
I got this book during one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days and the cover looked great. Looked right up my alley. Thought it was going to be a female version of Chris Carter or Steve Cavanagh and it’s more like Holly Jackson just with a bit more adult theme.

This book is based on Zora Smyth and she is not your average poster child. She is a first-year medical student, who has a distant mother, a missing sister and a deep distrust of the police. All she’d ever dreamed of was to make it through medical school and become a surgeon. But a dissection gone wrong at the Gross Anatomy lab lands Zora in the middle of a murder investigation and in the crosshairs of a vicious enemy. When a potential witness points her out as the prime suspect for the murder, Zora faces the frightening risk of losing her dream and her freedom. Then more bodies drop. As Zora races to investigate the truth and save herself, will she give in to a killer who is hell-bent on getting what he wants, or will she fight for her life as she faces her worst nightmare?

I liked the storyline of a medical student being involved. I thought it was a medical professional and an actual adult rather than a young adult/child. I felt like Zora was the only character that was well built and I enjoyed the view of I'm a suspect someone is framing me, let’s figure it out. I liked the multiple POVs, I just felt like they needed to be main clear that it was a different point of view, at times it took me a while to realize who it was, we were reading about. I liked the romance blossoming between Marcus and Zora and hopefully that gets explored over the series.

One of my main issues is that everything that was mentioned wasn’t drawn out or explained very well. The kid who said it was Zora in the lab just to get a scholarship that Zora was on track to receive, we don’t know what happened to him, if he got into any sort of trouble for lying to the police? The fact that Zora’s mother didn’t make an appearance once? I understand she was distant, but there is distant and then there is non-existent. Then Zora gets kidnapped and it’s like oh yeah, your mother cares because she put a tracker in her necklace. Like can we go back a second and dive into that? Also, her sister never gets mentioned until this tracker comes about? There was also no big action-saving moment of the police figuring it out and saving Zora, it went she’s been kidnapped, some questions answered, Zora passes out, she’s fine and at the hospital, book over. Did she get the scholarship? Did the police thank her? Where is her mother?

It was a quick read and i didn’t really need to think much during this book because everything was explained but just not explained enough. There was no tension building and it wasn’t really a medical thriller. I am hoping this series improves as this goes on.
Profile Image for rose.
11 reviews
January 11, 2024
i really wanted to like this book since it seemed interesting but i was so disappointed while reading it. the main character just felt annoying to me, things were constantly happening making it so there was no time to process anything so it a very confusing book to read.

the ending was meh, it was extremely predictable what the twist would be and how the case would be solved. the final paragraph made my eyes roll and solidify my dislike for the book and how it was written. it actually felt like a highschool writing assignment or a badly written fanfiction from someone without a beta reader who absolutely needed a cliffhanger to keep people reading future stories.

even though it is a short book, just save your time and dont read this book for your own good as it just wasnt worth it at all in my opinion

Profile Image for Han.
282 reviews4 followers
May 6, 2024
In this fast paced mystery, the reader is introduced to Zora Smyth, a first year medical student. Zora has a handful of lore to her, a distant mother, a missing sister, and a strong distrust for the police. All she dreams about is getting through medical school to become a surgeon.

When a dissection gone wrong drops her into the middle of a murder investigation, Zora finds herself being targeted. As this continues, Zora fears her dreams will be ripped from her, as well as her freedom. Then, more bodies drop.

Zora finds herself in a race to find the killer and save herself and her freedom.

For a little cozy mystery, I really enjoyed the read! I think the Zora lore really added to the book. As the reader, you wanted Zora to find the killer, but also stay safe. I felt like the ending was kind of cut and dry, the author could’ve definitely added more!
Profile Image for Katie Booth.
310 reviews33 followers
January 27, 2024
I really enjoyed this book! The chapters are short, the book less than 200 pages and it kept giving you twisty vibes. This is the first book in the series and it has already got me wanted to read the rest of the series! 🥰 A medical student goes to start to dissect a dead body when they realise it is freshly dead and has been dumped in the lab. This is only the first of many and you see them all! I am so glad I discovered this author and I am so excited to read the next one! WARNING...it does end with a revelation that will want you reading more! 😳
Profile Image for Amanda.
197 reviews11 followers
December 31, 2023
Respectfully, this was so incredibly mid and read like my 6th grade creative writing entry. This book could’ve used a whole lot of editing. Lots of weird grammatical structure and…interesting choices of words (see my notes and highlights). Also really hard to follow. Felt like they introduced a new character every couple of pages and it was not at all written in a way that flows or really even made sense sometimes. The ending was so…random?
Profile Image for Rachel Evans.
130 reviews5 followers
January 29, 2024
Another 3.5 rounded up
the multiple povs were sometimes hard to keep up with but even though it was short it felt complete
Profile Image for Caitlin Wingerd.
92 reviews
May 7, 2024
The sentence structure was poor and the plot was too predictable for my taste :(
Profile Image for Esther.
71 reviews1 follower
May 16, 2024
who the fuck names their killer pickles
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Teresa.
1,893 reviews30 followers
November 19, 2023
Another book written like a YA book that often makes no sense.
Profile Image for Artist_carrie .
706 reviews9 followers
December 21, 2018
As a medical student on your first day you do not expect to cut into a cadaver and get blood, and have someone point the finger at you as a few more bodies pile up, Zora has to either approve her innocence or find who did it because she may be next. This was awesome my favorite kind of book medical thriller. A copy of this book was sent to me by the author. All of the above opinions are my own. 
Profile Image for Sandy Gurile.
493 reviews4 followers
August 15, 2022
Oh my gosh, the ending is a killer! Better have the next book in the series at hand! First time reading a book from this author and I couldn't put it down. Anxious to read them all.
Profile Image for Jasmine.
15 reviews2 followers
October 17, 2018
Zora Smyth is an aspiring surgeon, so of course she's psyched to start her dissection course. And, of course, she's not expecting the body to start leaking blood instead of formaldehyde - or that she's going to wind up the main suspect in a series of murders. Still, she's a determined woman with a dream and she's going to fight to keep her dream and herself alive - but with a murderer on the loose and not everybody what they seem, that's not going to be easy in the least.

Dobi Cross' Lethal Dissection is labeled a medical thriller, but don't worry those of you with a non-medical background: there's not much medical jargon. Rather, the writing's refreshingly straight-forward and it's a nice representation of a cutthroat school/work environment where there's always inequality and some people will do anything for success. This comes out even more strongly once the motivations of most of the named characters are revealed - and is particularly poignant with how Zora's classmates handle the murder. And speaking of characters, there are a lot of them but their representation and their place in the overall tale is balanced quite nicely on the whole. There's a few characters, like Susie and Tiny, that I'd liked to have seen more of, but every character had a purpose and something that gave them motivation and distinguished them from other characters.

As a thriller, things moved quite quickly and that's to be expected. That the characters were memorable and distinguishable despite that is commendable. Keeping up with the switching POVs was a little tricky, but I didn't feel like any part of the story was rushed. The little bits of exposition breaking up the timeline was clever: not dragging the speed of events in any way and also providing much needed information to eventually pierce it all together.

And, as part of a series, there are naturally a few threads left untied... including but not limited to the ending, and the big bad secret in Zora's past that's only sparsely talked about. I have to say, that bombshell of a last paragraph was a little mean considering there's no sequel at the moment, but that's something I can't really comment on otherwise until having seen how it's addressed. I did feel like it came a bit out of the blue, considering - but it's a murder thriller, so surprises are part of the parcel.

All in all, an enjoyable read and I'm glad I was done with anatomy labs in second year otherwise I might have had some concerns with my next dissection.
Profile Image for Kimberly-Dawn Quinn.
308 reviews15 followers
October 10, 2018
Lethal Dissection was an interesting read that left just enough open ends to keep you intrigued and wanting to read the next book in the series. The premise of an innocent person being investigated or charged with a crime while a real one gets away with it hits all those notes about justice denied. The coffee loving medical student is realistic.
Zora gets a bit whiney and indignant with her "distrust" of the police. I feel there is more to this part of the story and need that background info before I end up thinking she's being impulsive for someone who should be smarter.
Where's Tiny? Who is Susie? What the heck are these meetings?

It is not a gory thriller which is important for potential readers to know. I recommend this book and look forward to the next one
Profile Image for Peggy.
81 reviews
October 24, 2021
Close Call for Dr. Smyth

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel! An interesting cast of characters, and good story line. The only negative is that there are hundreds of various "thrillers" out there to read and I've certainly read my share, they must follow a particular outline because now when I read a thriller it feels like I've already read something similar. Overall, I enjoyed the writing, great attention to detail, very descriptive and comfortable!
Profile Image for pastbedtimestories.
58 reviews6 followers
April 7, 2024
An interesting mystery and decent characters. The descriptions are very thin but it all seems to work as the novel progresses. What I mean is the characters are quite real, at least for me, by the end and even midway through. The plot was definitely unique and the medical aspect was quite intriguing. There’s also a heart-tugging twist at the end of the epilogue. I would probably recommend this book.
16.3k reviews142 followers
October 11, 2018
She is at medical school and it is her first day and she expects it to be normal. Then their is a murder and someone points the finger at her. More bodies appear and she need to try to find who did it so she can prove her innocence. Who is behind it all? Will she find out? See if she will

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Shawn Nies.
10 reviews
February 20, 2020
Story line felt a bit jumbled. Huge amount of typos and incorrect grammar in the kindle version. Would give the author a second chance in case the problems are only with this story.
Profile Image for Trauermaerchen.
419 reviews
February 18, 2024
Let me start by saying that I thought this had an interesting premise but the execution sadly didn't work for me at all.

The plot was... fine, I guess? I felt a vague spark of investment two or three chapters in but it died down very quickly. Nothing really felt all that cohesive and the ending (especially the epilogue) was so incredibly random that I was just like. Okay? That's it?

The romance aspect was incredibly unnecessary and added exactly nothing to the story either, mostly because none of the characters were even a little bit interesting nor particularly relevant.

The writing was okay – not great but I didn't hate myself for forcing myself to get through it. The dialogue was the weakest part, incredibly clunky and I had quite a few moments when I just wanted all the characters to shut up and never talk again.

I want to find something positive, I really do, but the only thing I can think of is that it's short and not the worst thing I have ever read.
I think the author has the ideas but is struggling with the execution – it felt like they wanted to hit certain plot points but pretty much nothing was put into actually connecting them or even really fleshing them out. It almost feels unfinished, like a first draft that needs to go back to be edited.
Save to say I will not continue the series.
Profile Image for R. M..
136 reviews
November 9, 2023
rgeon-in-training attends her first dissection, only for the cadaver to start bleeding under her scalpel. Thus begins a mad dash to clear her name and retain her scholarship, all the while the killer is closing in.

While reading this on the kindle app, community highlights (a feature that allows you to see which quotes are often highlighted by other readers) kept highlighting the character introductions. It took me a while to figure this out, as a new character was introduced at the beginning of nearly every chapter. This became a lot of characters.

There was a solid attempt to make these characters distinctive; the ridiculous names. Zora. Pickles. Yes, Pickles.

As well as the strangely named characters, I found the writing rushed, the pacing random, and felt the whole book could have done with tighter editing to make it flow better. 2/5.
21 reviews
May 13, 2025
This book was awful.
Just because the main character is a medical student does not make this a medical thriller.
I found Zora to be very dislikable. Rich with mommy issues. Applies for scholarships she doesn't need and screws over those who do. Anxiety ridden and makes poor decisions. Meh.
The actual writing feels very stiff. A lot like fan fiction. Lots of unnecessary descriptions and detail. Stilted dialogue. And who in the world thinks baby's breath has a distinctive fragrance?? Enough that it was someone's favorite scent to wear and it could be smelled on a lapel pin over the smell of formaldehyde?? And this pin was found by Zora who just happened to look under a truck near the crime scene. Like the investigators wouldn't have bent over to look too.
Nope. Not worth the time.
Profile Image for Mel.
1,448 reviews10 followers
May 5, 2023
2⭐️
Lethal Dissection was classed as a medical thriller which I am sure would appeal to readers who enjoy the likes of Kathy Reichs. The protagonist asked herself a lot of hypothetical questions one after the other, to show her thought process but I felt there would have been a more subtle way to get these across to the reader. The plot was very holey, with certain elements not being explained (a lot of completely coincidental phone calls) and some vital plot points appearing out of thin air. Written in a very simple manner which made the book easy to read and the characters easy to relate to.
370 reviews3 followers
May 2, 2023
Zora has an ambition to be a surgeon and her first cadaver as a student turns out to be a bit fresh, bleeding when she makes her first incision. All kinds of mayhem ensues and she has to prove she is not a murderer, almost becoming a victim in the process. The perp is avenging his daughter and doesn't really care who goes down in the process and Zora's mother surprises her in the end, see she really does care. Read it over a day as it was an involving story, short chapters keep you turning the pages.
Profile Image for Jodi Pomerleau.
615 reviews8 followers
August 14, 2023
A generous 3 stars....I felt like I was reading a high school English assignment. It just lacked any depth and the premise was ridiculous. There was no reason that the bad guy, intent on revenge, should choose Zora as one of his victims except to make a miraculous come to the rescue event that wasn't even described. I finished the book, but it wasn't one that I just couldn't wait to have the time to get back to when I had to put it down. Even though I have the second book in the series, I think it might be only desperation for a read that will make me turn to it.
61 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2024
Zora was trying to figure out who had killed Martha and put her body in me medical training building after starting to do a dissection of what she thought was just a corpse, and sh saw lots of blood coming from the cuts she was doing. Her and Marcus were hurt and she was taken by the man who had killed three people to avenge his daughter who committed suicide after being raped by her boss. This book had you wanting to read to the end to find out if she makes it out alive. Recommend this read!!
Profile Image for Kayleen Connor.
52 reviews1 follower
April 5, 2024
This was a story that took me a moment to get into but once I got into the story I knew I wanted to finish it. I liked that Zora got sucked into the potential crimes and she tried to fight for her innocence. Maybe a potential romance if I had to bet in later books.

This was a short read but it left a lot up in the air. I know this is a series and I’m sure more will be revealed in later books. But I was left with a lot of questions.

I also got lost with the start of each new chapter because a new character would be introduced. It was too much all at once then you wouldn’t see those characters til later in the book. There was actually one characters name at the end of the book and honestly I couldn’t remember who they were.

I don’t know if will finish this series. At least not any time soon.
1,145 reviews7 followers
May 5, 2023
Simplistic

A medical student becomes a homicide suspect. Luckily she has a hot investigator, immense family wealth and an experienced lawyer to help her wed through the vicious conspiracy, cover up and revenge. But the killer has nothing to lose and Does is in his sights.

This book is unsuspenseful. The writing is basic and the plot unchallenging. The corporate baddies are cardboard. Soda is bland and for a med student kind of dumb. Disappointed.
1,931 reviews9 followers
July 29, 2023
A thrilling read

A good read. Zora is a medical student that stumbles upon a dead body. And it will lead her on a dangerous path. Will her friend Marcus be able to keep his head strong friend safe? A young woman committed suicide and someone out there is making sure that the people that allowed it to be covered up pay for what they did. Will Zora be able to find the killer before it is too late?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews

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