Health & Fitness
Some great reads you may have missed this year
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber (2013)
Nurse Charlie Cullen was arrested in 2003 for poisoning patients under his care with IV drugs and is thought to have killed over 300 critical care patients. This true account pieces together Cullen’s eighteen years of mostly under-the-radar killings and describes the subsequent investigation and trial that ultimately earned him the title, “The Angel of Death.” In the years since Cullen was arrested, states around the country have reformed reporting practices to help avoid serial killings by nurses and doctors. Fans of medical thrillers and true crime will find this book especially engaging. ~ Recommended by Rebekah
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman (2013)
Following the lead of Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days”, Nellie Bly from New York’s World newspaper and Elizabeth Bisland from New York’s Cosmopolitan magazine were sent to travel around the world in 79 days or less. One traveled east and the other west. One was very willing, the other held great trepidation. This was in 1889, with steamships and steam engines. Telegraphs were used to report progress. This is a fabulous book. Not only does the author tell the tale of each woman’s trip, he relays information about society and culture of the times. I learned so much about that time period, it was amazing. The tone of the book is very readable, almost chatty in its approach. ~ Highly recommend by Sue
One hundred years ago on a remote peninsula in the Lakes District of England, a young woman was murdered. Her face was bashed beyond recognition and a piece of woven cloth was laid over the victim's head. Five years ago another brutal murder took place with the same modus operandi. Now it is present day, with a grand Halloween party at the very location of the two deaths. Since the first murder was never solved, and the other taken place not so long ago, the chief topic of conversation at the gathering is, of course, “the murders”. There is even a legend of a ghost who wants revenge. There are many suspicious characters and more motives to rattle the best detective. But DCI Hannah Scarlett and her (hopeful) love interest, historian Daniel Kind, are the trackers of this multiple-murder mystery. Author Martin Edwards has a collection of Lake District mystery stories. This was the latest, and a very fun read. ~ Recommended by Connie
