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Medicine is described by some as part science and part art.

Author Jay Baruch believes that to be a successful Emergency Room doctor (and, perhaps, a doctor in any specialty), the doctor should stop and really listen to what the patient is saying or not saying. Don’t just rely on the science but learn to lean on the less tangible.

This isn’t the typical doctor’s discussion of what they treated during a patient’s emergency room visit, instead, while each vignette is patient centric, Dr Baruch discusses how he approaches the patient and his philosophy on the disease, his treatment, or what the patient’s actual problem was or could have been.

Tornado of Life would appeal to the reader of books on doctor’s perspectives on medicine but is looking for a bit more of the doctor’s philosophy concerning the art of medicine.

(Ironically, I had read a previous book by Dr Baruch, Fourteen Stories: Doctors, Patients, and Other Strangers, a collection of short stories that I had reviewed and didn’t really enjoy. At least I am enjoyed this book.)

4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

For some reason, I ended up reading the tenth book before reading the ninth. But in retrospect, I'm glad it worked out that way because while I wasn't thrilled with the tenth book I really really enjoyed the ninth endeavour.

This time, Lady Swift is checking out the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy, who is determined to make a "im"proper lady out of Ellie and get her married off to some proper gent.

During the soiree, a member of the royal family (18th in the line of succession) is murdered. Because this is a royal, a special team is assigned to investigate the murder, leaving Detective Inspector Hugh Seldon, the man that Ellie is smitten with out in the cold as far as his department investigating the murder. Ellie ends up working with Hugh to solve the murder.

This story is one that I had expected from the series, not the lackluster book that ended up being the 10th book.

There are so few medical history books that deserve five stars, but this is one book that I wish I could give more than five stars.

I first encountered Dr Fitzharris when she hosted “The Curious Life and Death of...” series on the Smithsonian Channel. When I found out she had a Twitter account (@DrLindseyFitz), I quickly followed her when she discussed the subject of her next book, the father of modern plastic surgery, Harold Gillies. Since I already knew something about Dr Gillies work, I was excited to read the book. And as you have guessed, I wasn’t disappointed. I was mesmerized.

Dr Fitzharris expertly weaves three separate paths: before and after World War I; surgeon Harold Gillies, the man who would give faces back to those who thought it was hopeless; and the patients themselves, who had suffered horrendous war injuries.

The author considers herself a storyteller and a teller of stories she is. While the focus of the book was on Dr Gillies, she skillfully explains the background to World War I and the absolute horror of war.

This book doesn’t flinch when it comes to demonstrating the horrors of war. If the verbal descriptions don’t shake the reader to the core, the photographs certainly will.

Given the fact that Dr Gillies was working in an era of surgery where penicillin and other antibiotics we’ve come to depend on won’t be available until the next World War, he does a remarkable job of reconstructing the faces destroyed by gunfire; many times, having to invent new techniques. While the photographs are difficult to look at even today, his work is remarkable.

This is not an easy book to read but read it you should, especially if you are a historian, interested in World War I, or fascinated with medical history.

When I saw this book being offered up on NetGalley, I was particularly interested in the subject, having majored in Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology in college. Besides, the Kreb’s Cycle (and my favorite organelle, the mighty mitochondria) is one of the most important processes in the human body, one that provides the energy that allows it to hum along.

Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane details the discovery of the Kreb’s and other cycles that contribute to the production of energy for the body. He brings to life the scientists who toiled in the laboratories to eke out the secrets that the energy cycles kept hidden. He also explores how the early organisms may have produced energy and how they may have led to the Kreb’s cycle.

I thought the best part of the book was how the author detailed the scientists’ quest to discover those elusive secrets. I also quite enjoyed the appendix and source material that he used. Rather than just a list of articles and books, the author took the time to review most of the research material in detail, giving the reader many starting points should they wish to further investigate the subject on their own.

Despite my praise of parts of the book, I found it a slow-going read, especially when the author detailed the Kreb’s and other cycles. I am the first one to admit that it is difficult to take a complex subject such as biochemistry and explain it in a text-heavy scholarly medium like a book. Despite the illustrations, which I don’t find all that compelling, it was still difficult to follow, and I had the advantage of already understanding how it all worked.

This brings me to ask the question: “For whom was this book written?” It’s not a book that a casual reader can pick up and merrily go on their way to understanding the complexity of the Kreb’s cycle. Conversely, I’m not sure if someone who is well-versed in the subject is going to enjoy it either, except for the history of the discoveries that the even a more learned reader may not have known.

I reluctantly rate this book 3.5/5. It’s really well-written and enjoyable in spots, but I found myself slogging through the rest. I wouldn’t say that this is a book in search of an audience, but the audience has to be carefully found.

Deciding that she had had enough of dead bodies and solving mysteries, Lady Eleanor packs up her house and rents a villa in France. Unfortunately for her, while taking inventory of the wine, her intrepid butler Clifford finds a dead body. When the local constabulary decides that since Clifford found the body, he must have done the deed. Not wanting her butler to spend the rest of his life in a French jail, Lady Eleanor reluctantly takes on the mission to find out whodunit.

I didn't find this story as compelling as previous adventures and I'm thinking that the lack of Lady E swooning over her beau may have had something to do with it.

Not a bad book, just not one of the best in the series.

This is the third book in the series of stories featuring Mrs Kaplan and Ida, our intrepid narrator.

Mrs Kaplan is requested to investigate the death of one of the residents of the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors by the decedent's sister. The sister believes that Vera Gold was poisoned and given that Vera was a serious pain in the backside for many of the residents, there are plenty of suspects.

This is a light-hearted, very New York and Jewish mystery -- which is fine by me because it reminds me of home.

When I saw this book being offered up on NetGalley, I was particularly interested in the subject, having majored in Biology/Human Anatomy and Physiology in college. Besides, the Kreb’s Cycle (and my favorite organelle, the mighty mitochondria) is one of the most important processes in the human body, one that provides the energy that allows it to hum along.

Evolutionary biochemist Nick Lane details the discovery of the Kreb’s and other cycles that contribute to the production of energy for the body. He brings to life the scientists who toiled in the laboratories to eke out the secrets that the energy cycles kept hidden. He also explores how the early organisms may have produced energy and how they may have led to the Kreb’s cycle.

I thought the best part of the book was how the author detailed the scientists’ quest to discover those elusive secrets. I also quite enjoyed the appendix and source material that he used. Rather than just a list of articles and books, the author took the time to review most of the research material in detail, giving the reader many starting points should they wish to further investigate the subject on their own.

Despite my praise of parts of the book, I found it a slow-going read, especially when the author detailed the Kreb’s and other cycles. I am the first one to admit that it is difficult to take a complex subject such as biochemistry and explain it in a text-heavy scholarly medium like a book. Despite the illustrations, which I don’t find all that compelling, it was still difficult to follow, and I had the advantage of already understanding how it all worked.

This brings me to ask the question: “For whom was this book written?” It’s not a book that a casual reader can pick up and merrily go on their way to understanding the complexity of the Kreb’s cycle. Conversely, I’m not sure if someone who is well-versed in the subject is going to enjoy it either, except for the history of the discoveries that the even a more learned reader may not have known.

I reluctantly rate this book 3.5/5. It’s really well-written and enjoyable in spots, but I found myself slogging through the rest. I wouldn’t say that this is a book in search of an audience, but the audience has to be carefully found.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

I have read many medical history books, but this was the first one where the emphasis was more on the history than the medicine and I found it refreshing.

“Spare Parts” is a journey through the history of transplants from the earliest nose transplants to the latest full-face transplants. As I mentioned, the focus was on the history surrounding the transplants, giving the reader (especially myself as I don’t consider myself a historian of any kind) a full understanding of how the medicine (in this case, transplants) came about and how they fit into society.

Whereas most of the book is written with the history as the focus, the last chapter of the book didn’t quite have the same historical texture as the previous chapters, perhaps because the history of other transplants (bone marrow, face, etc.) were too “new” and the history still being written.

As someone who has read many medical history texts, I was surprised that the author, when discussing Dr Hermann Boerhaave didn’t mention his eponymous description of Boerhaave’s syndrome -- the spontaneous esophageal rupture of the esophagus. I admit that I read the first half of the book while my husband was undergoing cancer surgery so it’s possible, I may have missed it.

Despite this, the book is an excellent read and I very much appreciated how author Craddock was able to present such a detailed historical background to the medical investigations and implementations. I would caution readers that some of the experiments are a bit on the gory side and even I was taken aback at some of the details.

I would recommend this book to both history enthusiasts as well as medical history fans as it is totally worth the read.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

Siobhán O’Sullivan and Macdaras Flannery are finally about to get married when Siobhán's brother James, appearing quite disheveled interrupts the proceedings with the announcement that he's found a skeleton.

Because both Siobhán and Mac are Garda, they quickly postpone the wedding to investigate the matter. The skeleton was found at the farmhouse that Mac had purchased as a wedding present for Siobhán making this matter quite personal for the both of them.

Another great entry in the series that had me guessing as to whodunit and I highly recommend it to anyone who has read the series up until now. If you are intrigued but haven't read the series, I would suggest starting with the first book so you don't miss the romance of Siobhán and Mac.

I was intrigued by the title of this book and surprised when I found that I really enjoyed the authors’ journey through the history of the world one body part at a time. Each chapter is devoted to one body part and can stand alone; no need to read the chapters in order (but if you are like me, you want to read them in order).

Each history of the body part is thoroughly investigated with plenty of sidenotes. The writing is very readable and sometimes a bit snarky, which is totally in keeping with the subject matter at hand.

This book would appeal to the casual reader who is nominally interested in history. It will definitely appeal to the science or medical nerds out there who enjoy their history with a bit of snark.

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

I love cats which is why I picked up this book (and I'd read other Marian Babson books previously and enjoyed them).

Yes, there are cat(s) featured in story, but as much as I have enjoyed other mysteries featuring cats, I wasn't all that thrilled with this one, mostly because I really didn't like the protagonist Annabel Hinchby-Smythe despite her concern with the cats.

The plot is simple, eccentric billionaire is killed and leaves fortune to his kitty.

3.5 stars