The Coroner

By: Jennifer Graeser Dornbush

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss

Summoned from her promising surgical career first to her estranged father's bedside and then to his post as medical examiner when his small town needs urgent help with a suspicious death, Emily Hartford discovers home is where the bodies are in this pitch-perfect mystery debut.

Recently engaged and deeply ensconced in her third year of surgical residency in Chicago, Emily Hartford gets a shock when she is called home to Freeport, Michigan, the small town she fled a decade ago after the death of her mother. Her estranged father, the local medical examiner, has had a massive heart attack, and Emily is needed urgently to help with his recovery.

Not sure what to expect, Emily races home, blowing the only stoplight at the center of town and getting pulled over by her former high school love, now sheriff, Nick Larson. At the hospital, she finds her father in near total denial of the seriousness of his condition. He insists that the best thing Emily can do to help him is to take on the autopsy of a senator's teen daughter whose sudden, unexplained death has just rocked the sleepy town.

Reluctantly agreeing to help her father and Nick, Emily gets down to work, only to discover that the girl was murdered. The autopsy reminds her of her many hours in the morgue with her father when she was a young teen - a time which inspired her love of medicine. Before she knows it, she is pulled deeper into the case and closer to her father and to Nick - much to the dismay of her big-city fiance.

When a threat is made to Emily herself, she must race to catch the killer before he strikes again.

The Coroner, expertly written and sharply plotted, is perfect for fans of Patricia Cornwell and Julia Spencer Fleming.

©2018 Jennifer Graeser Dornbush (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A good story.

This is an enjoyable book. Nothing magnificent, but worth a credit. I expect there are (or will be) sequels, and I will definitely purchase the next one when it comes out.

Perfect set up for a second book!

Great story!! Hurry with the next one! I loved the whole thing and the narrator was great.

Life is one big surprise!

law-enforcement, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship

Third year surgical resident Emily finished a stressful procedure, received an engagement ring, received a call that her estranged father has had a major heart attack, and drove exhausted from Chicago to small town Michigan. Once there, the surprises just keep on coming. Her high school sweet heart is the sheriff now and needs a Medical Examiner right now, but Emily's dad is on the critical list so the sheriff begs her to do the autopsy only to discover that the death was no accident. Lots of personal angst, determined sleuthing, plot twists and red herrings keep the reader glued to the action. A good read!
Sophie Amass performs the narration with aplomb.

Not the Murder Mystery/Romance I wanted!

There will be slight spoilers in this review for both this book and the sequel.

The book starts out good with Emily going about her day and being proposed to by a seemingly great guy only to find out her father has had a heart attack and she needs to rush home. She runs into her high school boyfriend who happens to be the sheriff and he leads her to the hospital and explains that they have had a murder. All this part is fine and started our with great potential but then plot holes start piling up.

When she goes to her father's house as she forgets to book a hotel, she goes though the house layout in her mind and discusses playing ping pong in the basement with her sister Anna. Well...she doesn't have any siblings, she's an only child! So you wonder if her sister died or something and that's part of the struggle... nope...she has no sister in the book one. She eventually finds out she does have a sister named Anna but not until the second book. So that part was weird.

The second book has similar plot holes..but I will leave that review on that book....

Then, let's talk about the romance between her and Nick...it's not existent. They don't have any stolen moments or moments of struggle where she's attracted to him but is still engaged to Brandon. He moves on to another girl and is with her for years but his feelings are really for Emily yet he doesn't come around or talk to her really...or even do unexpected nice gestures. It's like they just assume they will get together and that's kind of how it happens at the end. There is no suspense, no drama, no burn between them!

The mystery ending is lame too... the guy strangles her and she lays in the barn for 4 hours until Nick happens to find her still alive? And that's after the owner of the barn finds her phone but doesn't look around even though Nick finds her in 2 seconds? She laid there for hours and then has enough strength to tell him who did it?! I don't buy it!

And then the very ending...her dad is a doctor who understands medical need and neccessity procedures yet refuses to get a bypass surgery that people do every day? And the reasoning is because he doesn't deserve it or because he wants to make amends with Emily...well how can you do that? That's ridiculous... you can't make amends if you are dead. it doesn't make sense...

This book had some real potential. I liked the premise and the story but it was lacking in several areas.

Fantastic book

What awesome story! Kept me mesmerized!!!!
A must read!
Just so wonderful!
I would recommend this to everyone!

Rhe book was so great then the ending sucked

The book was so fantastic. Great story , great performance. Then as if rhe author was bored it ends leaving rhe audience feeling ripped off. Zero closure on many fronts. I was so pissed about the ending..

Coroner

Where is Anna the sister that was briefly mentioned? Is there going to be a second book? Cliff hanger and too many questions left unanswered.

love the book hate the end

needs a proper ending lots of unanswered questions other wise it would be a good 5 stars in my opinion

Ended abruptly

Really liked this story until it ended so abruptly without full closure on the romance angle and the protagonist’s future plans. Sad now as I do not see another book :-(

Excited For Another

I listen to cozy mysteries because I would rather avoid foul language and graphic sex. However, many cozies are too syrupy and seem to be written using the same outline. The Coroner was not. This book kept me involved until the end. I hope Jennifer Dornbush quickly finds time amid all her other pursuits to pen another novel.