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The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber (2014)

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber (2014)

A thorough true crime story about a prolific killer in the medical field.


Laura’s Rating: 3/5 Stars


Plot:  Nurse Charlie Cullen, dubbed the “Angel of Death” by the media, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. Despite his intelligence and seemingly harmless demeanor, Cullen murdered dozens of patients over his 16 year career. The book chronicles his known actions from the beginning based on police records, recordings, and interviews with those involved, including Charles Cullen himself.


Analysis: This book falls into the trap that many non-fiction narratives do of including way too much detail. I think that authors sometimes want to include every bit of information they’ve learned about a particular topic or event, which is understandable given the time and effort associated with their research. However, not every detail is important, and an overload of minutiae bogs down the book and can make it pretty dry. By about halfway through The Good Nurse I was wishing it was over, despite the interesting story. It just dragged on too long and became a bit boring. 


The post script was by far the most fascinating part of the book, which I found a bit strange. There was definitely an unexpected ending so it’s worth reading, but I wish it was part of the main story. The Good Nurse is a true crime story with little to no blood, gore, or disturbing methods. If you’re a bit squeamish but into crime, this may be good for you, but I thought it was pretty average.

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