Sometimes People Die: A SUNDAY TIMES Crime Book of the Month and NEW YORK TIMES Editor Pick

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A triumph, Sometimes People Die wouldn’t be the easiest book to transfer to the screen, but I’m hoping Stephenson himself will accept the challenge. The year is 1999. Returning to practice after a suspension for stealing opioids, a young Scottish doctor takes the only job he can find: a post as a senior house officer in the struggling east London hospital of St Luke’s. Our unnamed lead character is a Scottish doctor. He's recently returned to medicine after serving a suspension for stealing opioids from his previous hospital. The only job he can find is at St Luke's Hospital in London; a struggling place, which is understaffed with overworked medics. It's a place that welcomes any doctor, no matter what's happened in their past. There is a grit to this novel as well as a thread of dark humour as these doctors and medical professionals try to get through their shifts in a profession I know I could never be in and have utter respect for.

I’m not sure there is a lot more I can say without giving away spoilers. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It’s unique – reading almost like the protagonist’s diary if makes sense. I thoroughly enjoyed this - despite the trauma of a trip down memory lane from having worked in British hospitals myself only a few years before the time it’s set. The writing is brilliant, and the observations astute - only actual doctors know the pressures that distort your thinking to the point where incarceration can seem preferable to going to work: “I found myself inevitably thinking again about what my life in prison might be like. I did not seem likely to do well there, but consoled myself that perhaps I could ingratiate myself to the other inmates by providing them medical care. Beyond that, the sole upside I could think of was that I would at least no longer have to work nights.” A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Hanover Square Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! *** I have written two other books. ‘ ‘Set My Heart To Five’’ came out in 2020. The Washington Post review said that I might be ‘Vonnegut’s first true protege’. You’d better believe I have been dining out on that ever since, and will be for the rest of my days. Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, the author and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*An unnamed Scottish narrator takes a job as a junior doctor at St. Luke's Hospital in London, which is the only place he can find work after being suspended for stealing opioids. The hospital is severely understaffed, making it easy for suspicious deaths to slip under the radar until one woman dies under our narrator's care, revealing a serial killer is practicing in the hospital. What I especially loved is how medically heavy it was. Such a great change of pace! The Scottish narrator was also a dream. Love the authors bio here on GR as well. This is not for everyone. If you liked MASH (dark medical humor) you will like this one. Because its voice is BETTER than the dialogue of those doctor to doctor situations. Very sharp, crux, savvy writing. And he knows grief. From nearly all views, he does. My new novel, ‘Sometimes People Die’ will be published in September 2022. It's a literary thriller set in a hospital in east London around the turn of the millenium.

The suggestion that a clever killer could operate in a busy hospital is all too believable and the novel is a riveting read, interspersed with intelligent reflections on what might drive a physician to kill.’Our narrator is unsparing when it comes to admitting his own weaknesses, meaning the reader never loses sympathy with him even during his most serious lapses and expecially when he finds himself under suspicion of involvement in what turns out to be a case of murder. His compassion and dedication to his patients is never in doubt, unless of course you agree with the detectives assigned to the case that’s he’s the obvious culprit. I particularly loved his friendship with the affable George whose offer of a room allows him to escape from his previous accommodation, aka Stalag Motorsport.

The Sunday Times - Crime and Thriller Book of the Month ‘Stephenson was a doctor before he was a writer, and the best part of this moody thriller, a slow-burning investigation into a spate of unexplained deaths at an underfunded London hospital, is its authoritative, unsparing account of what it’s like to work in such a place.’ This book was expertly written and had the perfect pace. I loved all the details and how accurate the medical knowledge was . The twist was one I could not see coming and was quite floored.

I’d not read any of Simon Stephenson’s previous books so I didn’t know what to expect. The premise however intrigued me so I was eager to get started. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration He also intersperses the tale with real reports of healthcare professionals who have turned to murder, reminding us how powerful those who – in some cases literally – hold our lives in their hands really are. Let Not the Waves Of the Sea’, my memoir about losing my brother came out in 2012. It won Best First Book at the Scottish Book Awards, and was serialized on BBC Radio 4.