Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to review.

I have read Adam Kays memories and found them very entertaining.

A Particularly Nasty Case wasn't what I was expecting. The lead character Dr Eithan Rose was a very complex, almost anti hero. It was a very well written and the author has the petty bureaucracy spot on.. The plot was good with some toe curling moments and one big twist at the end that I really didn't see coming. Overall I enjoyed the book, but some bits were a bit hard going.

I received a copy for review purposes. All opinions are honest and mine alone.


If you’re looking for a read that will center on a young doctor, a hospital and patients in addition to A PARTICULARLY NASTSY CASE mystery, this is definitely not it.

What you will find between these too many pages is the story of an entitled young doctor with mental health issues. He’s ill mannered, foul mouthed and tortured by events from his youth. Eitan, our doctor, does have a heart, but doesn’t have any idea how to act in polite society. He has no relationship with his family, other than financial, and is tolerated professionally for a variety of reasons. His personal life is a hot mess and I wish it had remained a mystery.

Two of Eitan’s fellow doctors are found dead of apparent heart failure. He’s the only one that suspects foul play but no one believes him because of his behavior and history. He and his partner set out to prove the deaths are murder and Eitan ends up bing arrested himself.

It’s only the last few chapters that are remotely interesting with a well held twist. Aside from that, which earned a second star, this was a nasty read I could have done quite well without. Misleading publisher’s blurb, lots of foul language and unnecessary gay groping add to the smarmy feel. Definitely no recommendation from me 📚

Read and Reviewed from a NetGalley eARC via Kindle, with thanks

What you think about this book likely comes down to your taste in humor. I don’t find much humor in people who do outrageously stupid things over and over, as lead character Dr. Eitan Rose does in this book. The fact that he is bipolar, off his prescribed meds much of the time, and regularly huffing liquid cocaine disguised as antihistamine, doesn’t make it funnier for me. But the book is occasionally funny, and has its sharp and clever points about the bureaucratic idiocy of the hospital where Eitan is an unconventional but talented rheumatologist.

The book definitely improves once the first murder occurs—though it seems only Eitan believes it’s a murder, which leads to his doing a lot more stupid and even more outrageous things. The final chapters, in which the dangers and clues start mounting up, are engaging, and give me some optimism that the mystery genre might work out for Kay.

If you would like to read a top-rate comic murder mystery set in a hospital, I recommend Josh Bazell’s Beat the Reaper.

When I first started this book I didn't think I"d like it - the tone was too breezy and the main character, Eitan, is self-destructive and not always likeable. However, the more I got to know Eitan the more I wanted to root for him and to believe in him. Eitan is kind-hearted, with a tragic past and a mental illness that leads to him being underestimated and overly self-medicated and then impulsive at times. As an NHS rheumatologist, he is on observation - meaning he can't get in trouble any more or it's curtains for his career. But when a very handsome young hospital porter suggests shenanigans in Eitan's pompous, self-important boss' office a cascade of consequences follows - Eitan knows someone is behind this but who? A witty and endearing book that highlights the problems people with mental illness face, from friends and foes alike.

A deadly heart attack could be a result of someone’s health condition. But what if it doesn’t quite add up exactly? This is a fast-paced thriller with a doctor who decides to investigate not one but two murders.

While reading, there were parts I really enjoyed. Dr. Eitan Rose was a consultant rheumatologist at a hospital in London. I found it fascinating to follow him on rounds with patients although it left me with a lot of questions. It also had me thinking about certain types of heart attacks.

Dr. Rose was previously on leave to get help with his bipolar disorder. The hospital gave him time to rest and then with meds he would be okay to work with supervision. One medical professional in the story said that thousands of doctors are bipolar. I looked it up. Of course, there’s no evidence of this.

Yet, I just wanted to scream at times at Dr. Rose for things he said and actions he took which got him into trouble. He was gay with a romantic partner which fit the category of diversity. There were twists and turns but with the clues half way, I was able to figure out the mystery. The story was captivating with a satisfactory ending.

My thanks to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of September 16, 2025.

This quirky murder mystery is split into three parts (plus an epilogue), each told by a different narrator, and it’s as much about the eccentric characters as it is about the actual mystery killer.

Part 1 introduces us to Eitan, a hilariously unreliable bipolar gay rheumatologist who becomes convinced his horrible, cheating miserable boss was murdered. He launches the most endearingly inept inappropriate investigation imaginable. When a second doctor dies, it gets a bit more real for him.

Part 2 shifts to his hot hospital porter love interest, who not only joins in the sleuthing but also seems to be the only thing keeping Eitan’s life from completely unraveling.

Part 3 belongs to their office mate — a sweet but slightly unhinged cat lady — whose perspective adds a surprisingly tender touch.

The humor really shines through in the chapter titles (clever wordplays on beloved childhood books, Disney songs and pop culture) and in the author’s knack for comparisons. Some gems:
• “Password system insisted on both numbers and letters, upper case and lower case, and as many characters as Game of Thrones.”
• “Clearly nobody in Ocean’s Eleven had particularly bad IBS.”
• “Cock of the walk to coq au vin in a couple of months.”

While there are plenty of laughs and charming moments, the pacing occasionally drags, and the mystery isn’t hard to solve, there aren’t many red herrings, so it’s more about confirming your suspicions and uncovering the “why” than being shocked by the “who.” And seeing how far and inappropriate our Eitan will go to confirm suspicions.

Overall, this is a light, funny read with eccentric characters and witty writing

A Pariculary Nasty Case will slowly draw you in to the story and at times have you laughing out loud.

Dr Eitan Rose has returned to work after a relapse of his mental illness when two quesitonable and shocking deaths occur.

He takes it upon himself to solve the murder as he deals with his demons.

Eitan is not particularily likeable and is his own worst enemy but he does try.

The mystery isnt the hardest to solve but it is fun getting there.

It can be chaotic at times, the characters are life like and overall I thought it was a solid read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the opportunity to read and review A Particulary Nasty Case.

A Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay was a good mystery that I enjoyed.
I have read the author's memoirs and enjoyed the writers voice.

The mystery was dark and curious.

I enjoyed the character development and the story.

The first two chapters were pretty hard to get through, I had to keep reading a bit until I felt I had finally gotten to a point of the book where I understood what was going on. The main character really didn't become likable until half way through and even then i'm still not sure I ever liked him at all. I liked the central themes of the book and found the plot clever but I would rate this book 3.5 if I could.

Adam Kay does a fantastic job in writing this mystery novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed getting into this genre. The overall storyline was what I was hoping for and enjoyed the twists and turns in this, it was engaging and thought the characters were so well written and worked in this setting. I was invested in what was going on and am excited to read more from Adam Kay.

This is a dark, twisted, and sometimes funny tale of not just one but two mysterious deaths of hospital staff and a colleagues plan to solve them as he thinks they are murdered.

I wanted to keep reading if not just for the crazy path that Dr. Eitan Rose is going down, he too having just returned from a mental health break and dealing with his own demons.

The secondary characters play well
Into his downward spiral.

I have really enjoyed Adam Kay’s memoirs, so I was excited to get an ARC of this book. It was, as expected, darkly humorous. If you're familiar with and enjoy his brand of humor, you’ll probably think it’s pretty funny in many areas. While the characters are pretty unlikable, it didn’t bother me as much as it does in some books I’ve read. It was a little all over the place sometimes, but not difficult to follow. Overall it was a fun book, if you aren’t looking for a “serious mystery”.

I’ve read and enjoyed Adam Kay’s memoirs, so I was very excited to be offered an advance copy of his new novel to read and review.

It was very funny, as expected if you’re familiar with Kay’s writing. I had some complicated feelings about the main character (Eitan). I found him a very unlikeable person, although he had bipolar disorder and some past trauma which contributed to his behaviors and decisions.

In this book, a series of unexpected deaths take place, which Eitan believes are murder. He attempts to figure out who might be committing these murders, while continuously threatening his own job with his repeated egregious behaviors.

Overall, the book was entertaining and I did enjoy it. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story started off slowly for me. I found myself rereading the first chapter several times due to my confusion about the plot. As I mentioned, it was indeed a slow burn, but once the action picked up, it became fast-paced and intense, and I couldn't get enough of it. There were a handful of pages I needed to go over again because I struggled to grasp what was happening, but in the end, I genuinely enjoyed this book. It offered some comedic moments and seemed to resolve most, if not all, of the plot points. The characters were both endearing and exasperating. I would rate it a solid 3.75.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.

I feel like this would be a 3.5 star read if I had the choice. I get the vibe of the book, however I do not think it was for me. I felt the writing to be pretentious majority of the time and I loathe pretentious writing. Was it funny? It was at times. But the authors writing as a whole was not a fit for me. There were a lot of moments that felt like they were dragging. But, I am happy I got to read it.

Thank you to Mulholland Books and Netgalley for an early electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

A dr returning to work post mental health break becomes embroiled in a double murder and several instantaneous hookups. And drug deals. And another mental health break. More drugs. And more mentions of mental health. Lots of witty banter but it loss its glow when it's mentioned that the dr. is in a mania phase.

There is a lot going on here that is serious, wrapped up in a funny guy's riffs on his profession (health), drugs being doled out by the resident pharmacist, and then the evil corporate boss. I kinda started to lose the funny vibe when our protagonist, Eitan, seems consumed to destroy himself with his erratic behaviors. Eitan has suffered a terrible loss at one point so seems to suffer PTSD, he's gay without parental acceptance, he's bipolar and has had suicidal ideologies and appears to be in a manic stage through much of the book. It was hard to laugh at the destructive behaviors for me.

Overall, I would have liked PNC to have taken a stronger line to mental health in health care workers. Or, rely less on that serious issue and focus more on the funny. Even the murders took a backseat to the ping ponging of the main character's shenanigans.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is about a bipolar, drug-addict doctor named Eitan who is his own worst enemy - and has absolutely no business being in hold of an active license.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I felt so indifferent — about /everything/. I wasn’t particularly attached to Eitan. I didn’t wish him well; I didn’t wish him ill. I didn’t hate him; I didn’t like him. There wasn’t a point while reading when I was happy, upset, angry, curious, concerned, scared, amused — nothing.

It tried so incredibly hard to be funny and quirky, that all I could do sometimes was just stare into the invisible camera. The murder mystery is glaringly obvious almost from the moment the person is introduced. I think I lost count on how many times I sighed each time Eitan was playing right into their hands. It was too on the nose.

I’m actually floored about how nothing really intrigued me or completely put me off of the book - although the casual drug use left a sour taste in my mouth. I can recite this book from start to finish, so it wasn’t a matter of not comprehending or paying attention to what I read. But there’s not a single emotion I can attach to any of it. I had half a mind to reread it to see if I felt differently a second time, but there mere idea of doing so was the only point in which I felt /anything/ towards this book other than apathy.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC. The story revolves around a darkly funny murder mystery in a hospital. I enjoyed countless hysterical moments in this story between the characters, dialogue and situations that were pretty resonating and unforgettable. The story is told from three points of view as the story moves along. I would consider this to be a mix of plot and character based and the characters were well developed. . I especially liked the ending. I will read more novels from this author.

While I did find this to be pretty funny, my biggest problem with this book was the unlikeable characters. And not in a "oh this character is a terrible person but that makes them interesting" way, but more in a "these characters are dumb and I have little motivation to read about them" way. As a mystery it was all over the place, but at least there was a satisfying conclusion that actually made sense, so that's a plus. Not the worst book you could grab for a late summer beach read.

Eitan Rose's life is a mess, and it gets even messier when he becomes convinced that two of his fellow doctors were murdered.
Between strained family, friend and coworker relationships, he conducts a slightly comedic, totally frantic and unrealistic investigation.
After all that, I was still rooting for Eitan, and wasn't disappointed in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown for the ARC.