Cover Image: Sometimes People Die

Sometimes People Die

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

I loved the flawed main character, who struggles with being an opioid addict while a stressed practicing doctor in a poor London hospital. I found it odd that the main character wrote down the events twenty years after things happened--why?

So funny! Loved the black humor everywhere--reminded me of House. I didn't mind the insertions of the historical medical folks who murdered, although I hope they are more set apart by design than in the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

I’m not really a fan of medical thrillers such as this one. I found I was bored and my mind started to wander. Sometimes I had to read a paragraph or sentence a few times because I wasn’t absorbing what I was reading.

Was this review helpful?

#SometimesPeopleDie #SimonStephenson #GeorgeMillerBurns #HarlequinTradePublishing,#HanoverSquare Press #NetGalley

This is a medical thriller that takes place in a busy Scottish hospital where a string of mysterious deaths occur. As the deaths pile up, a junior doctor who is a resident there, tries to make sense of it while battling his own demons and coping with the death of his friend.

The story is told convincingly. The ABCs of the ER, the admonishment to DFTG (Don't forget the glucose!), the long hours, the perpetual fatigue, the over-work, and the under-appreciation that make up a resident's life is conveyed with authenticity.

The book is narrated by George Miller Burns, whose Scottish brogue adds a special flavor to the story. The protagonist is charming and relatable, and the well-defined characters breathe life into the novel.

Overall, this is an engaging medical thriller that draws on the author's experiences as a physician to take readers into the brooding underbelly of a hospital. If you're a fan of medical thrillers, this book is definitely worth checking out.

This was an advance copy and I enjoyed listening to it.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. Quick read with a ton of plot twists I never saw coming! Some seemed a little far fetched but it was an enjoyable read that kept you guessing.

Was this review helpful?

I wanted to like this book, but I think it was a case of the wrong subject/plot at the wrong time. The writing was really good, but the medical mystery part was just not something I wanted to read when I sat down with this book. I may try to pick it up again when I am in a better mind space to read it.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed the premise but found that it didn't live up to what I was expecting. It was full of medical jargon that went waaay over my head to the point that it was unenjoyable. On top of that it was waaay too slow.

Was this review helpful?

The author does a fantastic job describing a rundown hospital with over worked staff. The story was a little to slow for me. I liked the ending but overall it was just ok.

Was this review helpful?

Sometimes People Die is like if Grey's Anatomy and James Patterson co-created a novel. I liked the setting of this mystery set in a hospital. I also liked the readability of the plot causing for a quick read. At times, it felt a little too detailed in ways that slowed down the book but it was unique and I think for the right audience, it would be an asset.

Was this review helpful?

The language in this book is so straightforward that I thought I was reading a memoir. Ostensibly a murder mystery, the deaths take a back seat to a doctor who wants to serve his patients while fighting his addiction. Great work.

Was this review helpful?

Truly dark and fascinating. Also using this as a place to show my support for the Harper Collins union. Thank you to Harper for the gifted ARC my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This is a well-written, if rambling page turner that veered at some points too in-depth with medical details and jargon.
Lovers of Robin Cook will appreciate this read!

Was this review helpful?

Featuring ~ single 1st person POV, medical, opioid addiction, serial killer

I like medical thrillers and serial killers, but this was slow and just okay for me. I didn't really find it to be much of a thriller either to be honest. I had to go back and confirm this was fiction because it read sort of like non-fiction with an overload of medical information. There were real life murders that were thrown in, too, which really I didn't mind since I do read true crime from time to time, but it just added to it being over informative.

Overall, an obviously well researched book that might be your cup of tea. It's currently highly rated here at 3.97 and 4.3 on Amazon, so I seem to be in the minority.

I was able to listen to the audio as well, so I went back and forth reading and listening. It was narrated by Greg Miller Burns for an awfully long time at 12 hours and 28 minutes. His Scottish accent is quite thick, so I couldn't listen to it much over 2x. Reading was the better option for me.

Was this review helpful?

This book was quite slow and tedious for ever so long. The intermittent stories of other serial killers, and an abundance of medical jargon threw the story off its tracks. It finally came together for the last 20%. My only wish was that the momentum seen at the end had started much sooner! Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

Was this review helpful?

Made it over halfway through this one and still couldn’t connect to it. I kept hoping things would pick up and capture my interest but it never happened.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes People Die reads partly as a medical memoir, partly as a trivia manual on murderous medical professionals, and as a bonus has a medical mystery woven throughout. While it doesn't read exactly as the medical thriller it is billed to be, there are plenty of twists and turns that make this book enjoyable. Readers are definitely rewarded with an unexpected and satisfying ending!

Sometimes People Die is a recommended read for fans of mystery and suspense and also those interested in medical oddities and serial killers.

Was this review helpful?

A true slow-burn that would have worked better for me had I been engaged early in the book. While the settings were described so perfectly, the abundance of medical jargon made me disengage several times while reading. I found myself skimming over those sections.

The premise of the book was excellent; however, the execution just fell a little short for me. I'd love to read this author's next book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early read that is out now.

Was this review helpful?

An unnamed Scottish narrator takes a job as a junior doctor at St. Luke's Hospital in London, which is the only place he can find work after being suspended for stealing opioids. The hospital is severely understaffed, making it easy for suspicious deaths to slip under the radar until one woman dies under our narrator's care, revealing a serial killer is practicing in the hospital.

500000/5 stars for the audiobook narrator, I was enraptured by the narration of this book.

Although the setting of the hospital kept things tense with all the sick patients and while I appreciate all of the healthcare knowledge I gained from this, I do think this would be more enjoyed by someone in the healthcare field. The day in and day out life in the hospital without much plot moving the story forward in the middle dragged some for me.

The mystery was a solid one. I definitely didn't see the final couple of twists coming. The writing came across as smart and foreboding. I'm intrigued to see what Simon Stephenson writes next.

Was this review helpful?

Sometimes People Die. They most certainly do! Those of us who are fascinated and almost obsessed with the macabre, have probably looked up various serial killers - thus taking us to the subject of killer nurses and doctors. Real life scary, isn't it?

This is one of those books that is quite the slow burn.... but so much so that I almost DNF'd it. However, the murderous medical history chapters we get here and there kept me intrigued... and towards the last half, the main storyline starts to take off.

There are tons of medical jargon and procedures throughout the read - as one may expect considering the subject matter. And I enjoy that the author takes his own real life experiences as a physician to give such detailed descriptions but um.. for me it got to be just a little too much. I wanted more dialogue. I wanted... more... and less... if that makes sense.

Love the subject matter but the writing style just didn't work for me.

Was this review helpful?