Emily Hartford is a promising up and coming surgeon in Chicago, when she gets a call that her father has suffered a serious heart attack. She heads home to Freeport, Michigan, the small town she fled a decade ago after the death of her mother. She is estranged from her father, not calling him or answering his calls. She is needed to care for her father, as well as help with a murder case. Her father is the local medical examiner and there has been a suspicious death. The sheriff, Nick Larson, Emily's old high school flame, wants her help and she can't say no. The longer she stays in town, the more she realizes that she is not happy with her fiance, not in the path she has planned out. Can she help solve the murder of a young woman, hold down the fort at the medical examiner's office and reconcile with her father?

I liked getting to know Emily and the relationship she had with her father growing up. It was his tutelage that directed her into medicine. Working together with Nick rekindled the feelings they had growing up, and they made a great team. The crime/mystery was well written with several suspects and lines of inquiry to follow. This wasn't a hard core police procedural, but still a good story.

This was a quick read with not much focus on the murder that occurred but more on the back story of the characters and the rebuilding of past relationships. Even with this, the book was a cozy read that was much welcomed at the time. The character development makes this read as the first in a series (spoiler: it is the first in a series!!!). It is a classic read of a successful female character having personal trouble in the big city who returns home because of a family emergency. There were time the main character felt forced and not relatable, but it added to her development and plot.

I want to thank NetGalley, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was so excited to read this book. I think there is a void in crime fiction, a hole that Kay Scarpetta used to fill. There just aren't many good Medical Examiner/Coroner books. I love my Police Procedurals, and my Psychological Suspense, but I miss the intricate science of an MC who talks to dead bodies ( not in a paranormal way ). All that being said, The Coroner was not the book to help fill that void. I tried really hard to get into it, but it just didn't hold my interest. I'm sad to say that I did not finish the book.

I tried reading this book but it wasn’t well written. I stopped reading it. I really wanted to like it!

Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Coroner. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Emily Hartford is in her third year of surgical residency when she is called home after her estranged father suffers a heart attack. Nick Larson, once Emily's boyfriend and now the sheriff, calls on Emily to help with an active case. Because Emily's father, as the town's only medical examiner, is incapacitated, it is up to her to fill his shoes. Having spent much of her youth in the morgue with her father, Emily is the only else qualified to autopsy the victim. As she gets involved with the case, will Emily jeopardize all that she has waiting for her back in Chicago?

Overall, The Coroner was a good book, but not what I was expecting. This medical mystery was more romantic suspense than I typically like and was lighter than a typical mystery. I wish the author had disclosed the background between Emily and her father earlier in the novel, as too many questions were left unanswered until well into the book. The beginning of the book was almost unnecessary, as the choice to stay or go back to her old life did not really hinge on who she left behind. The Coroner was a quick read, but I hesitate to recommend it.

This was a gripping read by an author that must be watched in future! It was well written, and I couldn't wait to get to the ending. Recommended.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

Medical mysteries are not my favourite thing. But I do find the job that coroners do quite fascinating. This one sounded good so that was why I requested it. The premise was interesting and sounded like a TV show, and if it were a TV show I would watch it, so figured I would read it as well.

It wasn’t a bad book per say, the basic idea was the main character Emily had been training to be a doctor, she grew up with a father who was a coroner and learnt from him from a fairly young age. She’s right on the cusp of graduating as a doctor and starting a life in Chicago with her dreamy also doctor fiancé.

Then she gets the shock news that her father has had a heart attack and she needs to go home. Meanwhile there’s been a murder of the daughter of a high profile Senator, a horse riding “accident” that may not be an accident. Emily’s high school sweetheart Nick is now the town sheriff.

While it wasn’t bad…it wasn’t…that good either. It was just very bland. And very very predictable. The type of predictable you know exactly what was going to happen, when Emily went home and wound up having to help out with the coroner aspect of things all the while thinking I have a life and a fiancé to go back to. The problem with the fiancé was he comes from a very well to do family and he and his mother (more likely his mother) are doing wedding planning and basically telling Emily what’s going to happen. Also another story line where you know exactly how it’s going to end.

The two main characters, Emily and Nick were likeable enough, there were plenty of twists and red herrings. It was all just….okay. Overall the whole thing was kind of bland and dull. It was left at a sort of open ending with potential for a series, but not a series I would be interested in continuing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for approving my request to view the title.

I LOVED this. So Freeport is somewhat local to me so I automatically had a bias. I loved the coming back to the roots while dealing with her fathers death. My absolute favorite thing was the science focus to this. I absolutely love anything to do with anatomy and physiology and that touched that part of me nicely. I will be rereading this again.

This book was pleasant. Yup, like watching a Hallmark movie. If that's your thing. I'm a bit on the fence, however, since I love my crime novels to be a bit darker, more surprising and let's face it less romantic. I saw the plot, what would happen in Emily Hartford's life right from the start. Or, rather from the moment, she met her ex-boyfriend when Emily came back to the town. Her perfect life in Chicago suddenly didn't seem to be so great when her fiance kept surprising her with news about the wedding that his mother is now organizing. This romantic side story is so unoriginal. And, yet I kind of liked the book. I liked the little city, the characters and yes the crime mystery was good. So, it was a pleasant book.

Would I read a sequel? Yes, I would. Not least because the book ended with some loose threads that I want answers to. So, like crime novels with a romantic triangle drama? The go for this book!

She's called home because her father had a heart attack. He's the coroner, they have a young dead woman and he can't do the autopsy, so he volunteers her. She's a doctor but not a coroner. But she worked with him in the past, so she knows what to do. Suddenly an accident turns into murder...

Crooked Lane Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published August 7th.

The girl is an equestrian champion on her way to a fully paid college tuition at an exclusive school. She had no enemies. Who hated her enough to kill her?

Emily has just become engaged but as her future mother-in-law starts arranging the wedding, including the date and the venue and more, she finds herself backing away. That was what she wanted; why does it feel so wrong now?

The killer was a surprise to me and the ending left me wanting more. Where will Emily go from here? Hopefully there will be more to this series and we'll find out.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my honest opinion. I really enjoyed this novel. The forensics were explained very well and didn’t halt the story. It riveted my from the beginning and was very hard to put down! I look forward to more by this author

If you want to read a good mystery with excellent forensic science, make sure the author is a forensic specialist. This book reads as if you were watching a movie. The characters are real and the chapters move the story along quickly. The best part is no commercials!!! After being pulled from her big city life to check on her father's health, Emily stays to help her father, the local medical examiner. She quickly discovers the senator's daughter's accident was in fact, no accident. As she works with the local police to solve this murder, Emily will face decisions on her future. Let's hope there is a sequel!

Hmm....I liked this book. The main mystery is interesting and complex and the characters are generally likeable (more on that later). But there are some things that bugged me.

The main character, Emily, is a surgical resident in Chicago, who is called back to her small-town hometown when her estranged father has a heart attack, the same day a local girl is found dead. Emily takes on his responsibility as medical examiner and performs the autopsy, only to discover that what looked like an accident is anything but. As Emily immerses herself in the mystery, she also finds herself missing her old life. But things are complicated - and Emily has to figure out how to navigate it all.

OK, so first of all, the aim mystery with the dead girl is pretty good. It’s complex and enlightening (I didn’t know that much about equestrianism before!) but wraps up nicely. What doesn’t wrap up nicely, however, is the rest of the storyline, which ends on a cliffhanger! I was disappointed that we didn’t get any closure there at the end,

Also, I was a little surprised that Emily so willingly found herself giving everything up to help with things in Freeport. She supposedly left on bad terms and hasn’t been back in 12 years, but suddenly she’s considering giving up her surgical career to move back? Doesn’t seem likely. But, I suppose it could happen.

I would definitely read another installment to see what happens, because I did find myself invested in the characters and storyline. It was a good book, and I’m hoping things become clearer in a second story.

Read with caution, friends.

I actually really enjoyed this book. Great characters. Good storytelling. Looking forward to the next one.

I just now finished this book and I am really hoping there is a sequel in the works!

This was a very enjoyable and interesting mystery with a nice mix of romance thrown in. Emily is a surgical resident in Chicago, very recently engaged to her boyfriend Brandon, another surgeon. Emily gets a call that her father has suffered a serious heart attack and she heads back home to Michigan to be with him. At the same time, also in Emily's hometown, a young girl has been found murdered. Since Emily's father is the medical examiner and she learned his job as she was growing up, she steps in, performing the autopsy and assisting with some sleuthing alongside her former high school sweetheart, Nick, the current sheriff. The story is very well written and just flows. The characters were interesting and likeable. The ending is an interesting cliffhanger which I am hoping is indicative of a soon to come second book in what should absolutely be a new mystery series.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion which I will post on Netgalley, Amazon, Goodreads and Bookbub.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

I love books with medical mysteries and though a first book, the author did a good job with The Coroner. The writing held my interest, and the plot was engaging. The Characters had full personalty and were interesting. What did upset me and I didn't know it, .was this is a sequel. I don't normally read sequels, but now I have to catch the next one because I liked this one so much! Giving this a 4 star

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave insight into the life of a young doctor and life in a small town. Surgical resident Dr. Emily Hartford is returning home to see her estranged father when he has a heart attack. The first person she runs into is her ex boyfriend when he stops her for running a stop light. She ends up working closely with Sheriff, Nick Larson since she has to perform an autopsy on a young girl who looks like she died in a horse riding accident but was murdered. This is book 1 in a new series and I can't wait for book 2. The characters are all likable and the story was easy to follow and very interesting. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Emily is a surgical resident in Chicago. On her birthday she almost simultaneously accepts a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend (also a surgeon) and a phone call informing her that her father has suffered a heart attack. She hasn’t had much contact with him for a number of years but, nonetheless, she heads home. As a result, she is plunged into the mysterious death of a young equestrian as well as confronting the ghosts of her past.

This is an enjoyable mystery, even if some of the equestrian aspects of the story are not quite accurate. I liked Emily’s personality and her values. The characters are interesting and varied and the story itself moves at a nice pace. It kept my attention.

However, I can only give The Coroner three stars (or really 2.5 would be more accurate). I am not a fan of cliff hangers and I always feel cheated by the author when this happens. If this book had avoided this pitfall, I would definitely be more generous in my evaluation.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book for review.

The Coroner - Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley.com as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Dr. Emily Hartford is a third-year surgical resident in Chicago and is preparing for a surgical case as this novel opens. It is also her birthday, which she realizes to her surprise, as she’s commuting into work. Upon her arrival, she’s asked to perform an emergent appendectomy, so she tucks her busily ringing phone away. It’s not until later, as her boyfriend is proposing to her, that she checks her messages and learns of her father’s sudden illness. Diamond ring, newly placed on her finger, she packs some things and heads for home.

As Emily approaches Freeport County, her childhood home, she’s hit by a wave of nostalgia, and inadvertently drives through the towns only traffic light. Witnessed by a cop, she’s pulled over, only to see her high school love is the cop in question. They re-connect briefly, and she continues her trip to the hospital, where her father has been diagnosed with a heart attack. Estranged from her medical examiner father for several years after the death of her mother, Emily hopes she can find some common ground with her Dad.

Meanwhile, a young equestrian and daughter of a senator has been found dead after a morning ride, and her horse has been badly injured as well. With the county coroner hospitalized, and the family not wishing for their daughter’s body to be autopsied out of county, Emily is asked to perform the examination. Her discovery points to blunt force trauma, a homicide.

As Nick and Emily join forces to solve Julie’s murder, Emily’s new fiancé remains in Chicago, busy visiting wedding venues and making plans for their marriage. As her frustration with the case grows, she begins to realize that she has unresolved feelings for her first love, along with unresolved questions regarding her mother’s death that she wants answers to…

For a first novel, this book was surprisingly good!! I very much enjoyed Emily’s character and I hope this is a first in a continuing series. I was hooked right from the start and read this book from cover to cover in just a few hours, not wanting to put it down! There were a few medical errors, but likely not detectable to the layperson – of course they may have been corrected prior to print, also. Great story, engaging characters, and well worth the read!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Jennifer Graeser Dornbush for allowing me to read and review The Coronor. I enjoyed this book. It was well written and held my interest. 4/5