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In the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, a group of physicians open a coffin and uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. Within days one of them strongly suspects that he knows the woman’s identity . . . and the horrifying events that led to her death. But in this richly atmospheric novel, the most compelling moment is yet to come, as young Ephraim Carroll is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets, and unimaginable crimes. . . .
Dr. Ephraim Carroll came to Philadelphia to study with a leading professor, the brilliant William Osler, believing that he would gain the power to save countless lives. As America hurtles toward a new century, medicine is changing rapidly, in part due to the legalization of autopsy–a crime only a few years before. But Carroll and his mentor are at odds over what they glimpsed that morning in the hospital’s Dead House. And when a second mysterious death is determined to have been a ruthless murder, Carroll can feel the darkness gathering around him–and he ignites an investigation of his own. Ultimately, Carroll is forced to confront an agonizing moral choice–between exposing a killer, undoing a wrong, and, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 29, 2008 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781415946916
- File size: 326517 KB
- Duration: 11:20:14
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from November 12, 2007
Goldstone, an acclaimed popular historian (Out of the Flames
; The Friar and the Cipher
), marks out new terrain with his compelling fiction debut, a medical thriller set in 1889 Philadelphia. The narrator, Ephraim Carroll, a young, idealistic and somewhat naïve doctor, works alongside the real-life William Osler, often described as the father of modern medicine. Carroll is troubled when Osler, the head of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania medical school, forgoes an autopsy of a woman without explanation. Carroll’s curiosity is further piqued after George Turk, a colleague who also seemed unsettled by Osler’s actions, dies, apparently of cholera. When Turk’s autopsy reveals trace amounts of arsenic, Carroll’s suspicions of foul play are confirmed. Goldstone artfully integrates a manuscript the actual Dr. Osler wrote and ordered sealed for half a century after his death. With this top-notch historical page-turner and his proven versatility in nonfiction, Goldstone can expect to win over many new fans. -
Ephraim Carroll is an idealistic young physician who comes to Philadelphia in 1889 to study medicine with the real-life Dr. William Osler, the father of modern medicine, who is preparing to head the nascent Johns Hopkins Medical School. Instead, Carroll finds himself at the center of the search for the person who murdered a prominent young woman, as well as some of his own colleagues. Historian Lawrence Goldstone's debut novel is highly entertaining, with plenty of twists, medical intrigue, and political implications. David Ackroyd is an effective narrator who captures the characters with vocal inflections and deft timing. Although Ackroyd mispronounces a few medical terms, his overall performance is captivating, and complements the book's engaging dialogue. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
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