What do You think about Coroner's Journal: Stalking Death In Louisiana (2006)?
I picked this one up on impulse. I'm a fan on forensic science, I'm very fond of reading about the Louisiana bayou and its outskirts, and love a good true crime novel, so it looked promising, but the writing was rough in the beginning and only got worse from there. The narrator offered a lot of opinions without creating enough of a personal rapport with the reader, so he comes off as bossy and unlikable. The only things we really end up knowing about him, on a personal level, are the names of his wife and kid, and that his grandparents spent their years spouting, nonstop, the most cliche'd statements ever. There are other resources about the Baton Rouge serial killer and coroner's work out there. Pass on this one.
—Veronica Noechel
couldn't read it fast enough.I was surprised at the emotion and honesty the author had. I expected the book to have a more sterile feel than it did. There was an incredible amount of sympathy for his...uhm....clients? I am always fascinated by serial killers and the coroner's perspective gave it a new twist. One part that stood out for me was him explaining the need for humor in jobs so morbid. He tells a story of joking with paramedics at a gruesome crime scene. The idea of having to remain detached enough to be able to do your job the best you can came up again and again in the book. There was a wonderful balance of science and sympathy. This book is about so much more than just death and autopsies. I found it quite lovely.
—Mandi Martin
I have to say, I really should be more careful about the order of my reading material. This wasn't the best book to read almost directly after Dead Man Walking. It's hard to maintain deep thoughts regarding whether the death penalty is right or wrong when I'm reading about the horrendous murders Cataldie has witnessed in his career.This is a wonderfully written book. It reminds me of Ann Rule's true crime books, where she has four or five stories in one novel. My biggest complaint about true crime is there's too damn much detail. I don't want to know what size shoe the victim wore, or how much she paid for coffee the day she died. Stop telling me the First Responder's life story. Tell me the crime, tell me who dunnit, tell me the trial. And shut up.With this, we got tidbits of so many cases. The opening chapter, about Hurricane Katrina, hurt quite a lot. The stories involving children, especially the four year old shot by his aunt's estranged husband, brought me to tears with one sentence. The two children caught in the house fire? Don't get me started. I read this at work. A serious mistake.I have very real respect for Dr. Cataldie. If I were to be murdered, I want someone to call him to investigate, over an hour from his jurisdiction. The heart and strength he puts into his job is apparent through each chapter. He doesn't get overly sentimental, but he lets his emotions show through from case to case, whether it's anger at the killer, or sorrow at the survivors' pain.
—Bunny
