Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 6%.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I’d rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

*thank you to Netgalley, Keith McCarthy and Endeavour Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


1 star.

Ok no. Just a no from me. I found this to be poorly written and that made it so distracting to the point where I just couldn't connect with it. It is unfortunate because the sypnosis for this sounded so good but unfortunately I was borderline DNFing it several times. This was not for me.

As an avid fan of crime and medical dramas, I was really excited when I read the description and reviews of "A Kiss Before Killing." Once I started reading, I was happy with the plot, and with the characters. Clearly, a great deal of research went into writing this book. The terminology is all accurate, and the writing style paints a very clear picture.



Unfortunately, there was something about this story that just refused to stick with me. Each time I put the book down, when I came back to it, I couldn't remember what was going on. There lacked a certain depth and emotional draw that kept me from really feeling consumed by this story. That is one of my favorite things about reading - is getting so pulled into the tale that I feel I'm in it, or it almost runs as a movie in my head. I didn't get that here, and I was disappointed by that.



Now, at over a week from having finished the book, I truly don't remember many of the details about it. I recall only my visceral reaction, which was mostly positive. I came away thinking it was a good story and that I'd enjoyed reading it. I just can't remember, at this point, why that is.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away... Well perhaps a poisoned one if you can get that recipe.

If you like Robin Cook, this book may appeal to you; however it is creepier, quite a bit! When a few patients meet their maker unexpectedly and much sooner than their approximate scheduled appointment, suspicions arise that there may a killer doc on staff.. As Detective Chief Inspector Beverley Wharton and sergeant Tom Bayes begin to investigate, they too start to wonder whether patients are dying of natural causes or if they're getting help checking out.

I said It was creepy. It is, but not outrageously. Think dead body minus limbs, minus head, .

I thought I had the villain picked out, but I was pleasantly surprisingly wrong! Nice brain candy book.

I wish I had known this was a series before I read it but unfortunately I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I would have had I read the previous in the series.

I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest review. I found this to be a quick thriller with a forensic spin. This is the first book I have read by this author but I did enjoy it so will now b e on the lookout for others by him.

John Eisenmenger is back as the protagonist in A Kiss Before Killing by Keith McCarthy. In this medical/police procedural thriller, he is paired with Beverley Wharton, a former lover, who brings a new sergeant into the picture, Tom Bayes. The case begins when Beverley requests Eisenmenger to do the autopsy on a prison inmate who is suspected of committing suicide. The suicide doesn’t make sense, since the inmate was dying anyway, and when Eisenmenger and Wharton begin to look closer into the death, they discover that there are numerous deaths happening at the hospital that are suspicious. Dr. Claire Woodforde who is trying to bring attention to this, is written off as crazy and is in danger of losing her job.

During the investigation they discover several bodies that are missing heads, and limbs, which are very difficult to identify. As the body count stacks up, Eisenmenger and Wharton rush to solve the murders before even more murders occur.

A Kiss Before Killing is presented as a standalone novel, albeit the characters are the same as in McCarthy’s other novels. It would have been nice to know this, as many readers would have probably read some of the previous novels to get the background and history of the main characters. As it is, this standalone version has enough information to make the book intriguing, but to fans of McCarthy’s writing, it would have been helpful. As it is, the book is quite well-written and the characters are well-developed. McCarthy tells the story well, and is able to build suspense from the beginning up to the very end. The novel is filled with plenty of violence and blood and guts, so it really isn’t suitable for young readers or for those who are sensitive.

The book is quite short, so it can be a fast read, and fans of McCarthy will want to pick it up. The setting is in the UK, which adds some charm, and makes the story a bit different from the norm.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I picked this up because I'd previously read and enjoyed The Silent Sleep of the Dying and was interested to revisit Eisenmenger some years on.

Sadly, this for me isn't as strong a novel. It feels a little rushed, like it's an early draft.

The strengths - the pace, the detailed portrayal of the hospital/medical world and the author's willingness to populate his books with unlikeable characters!

The weaknesses - I struggle with the trope of pulling an indispensable cop (or in this case pathologist) out of retirement. I felt there was one massive hole in the plot and a number of smaller things that were set up but not paid off. We didn't really get a clear sense of the killer's motivation.

Having said that, I'd give this series another go because of the quality of the first book I read.

I loved the book. It's right up there with Palmer. A nurse who thinks a killer is stalking the hospital. None of the other nurses or docters believe her. Finally one will look into it. Hold on to your hat this novel takes off and doesn't stop till the end.
I really liked the cover and the hint of things to come. This is one book you should read it you like Medical Mysteries.

Good story, but it doesn't stand alone. I had to read previous books to really enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley, for this ARC . My opinion is my own.

Quite an interesting read. Plenty suspense to keep you guessing. It kept me entertained throughout.

Excellent story line and great main characters. I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend.

I didnt realise this was book 11 in a series and I think this was the reason I found this book hard to ‘get into’...... I feel Ii would have to read the other 10 books in the series to really enjoy it.and to get to know the characters etc,elements of the book held my interest but way too much ‘medical jargon talk’ for me....

This book was okay. We know the author knows a lot about corpses and it is really interesting. However, as I read the book it was just so clinical. It would have been nice to have some more emotions. I did not finish this book sorry.

I struggled with this book a little. Couldn't really get into it.
I have now realised it's part of a series. Maybe better if I'd read the previous books.

It seems this is the 11th book in a series. Would it have been better for me if I had some back story on the characters? Probably. In many ways the interaction of the main characters and the action of the serial killer seemed to work against it. I found myself wishing that they would just get on with it!

The murders are gory and the author doesn't spare the reader's finer feelings! I could almost smell the gory discoveries! He certainly knows how to hook a reader! Do these gory dismembered corpses have any connection to the suspicions coming from a doctor, that too many people are dying in her hospital?

For a lot of this book I wasn't totally hooked, but the last third or so really picked up and I was reading way past my bedtime. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read & review this book

I have just realised that this book is number 11 in a long-running series! And I have not read ANY of the previous books!
Reading this book as a standalone works but I feel I would have been more invested in this book if I had read the series in the proper order.

Keith McCarthy, is himself a practicing pathologist and knows a great deal about cadavers and forensics and there is a lot of detail about the dissection of bodies so there are parts of this book which gets a bit grisly with plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading.

I think that the realism added by the author from his own experience with the medical aspects added to the book and gives it an edge on other books in this genre.

I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and I will go back and start at book 1 when i get chance.

I wanted to love this book but the story had way to many cliched from the Evil person to Lambert Beverley Wharton Boss. It felt like the author was trying to do something new but in the end it fall apart and was nothign more than another serial killer cliche cat and mouse game.
I had no idea this was a series and I will be reading the next one in the series. I hope the author was able to drop the cliche cat and mouse and the over the top characters.
Thank you to Netgalley for an copy of Kiss Before Killing