Sometimes People Die
Table of Contents
Sometimes People Die
Sometimes People Die is the latest novel to be checked off my continuously growing to be read list. I’m working on making a dent in it and sharing it all with you, my dear readers.
I loved the title and the premise of this book. It sounds so mysterious, because it seems easy enough to hide murders in hospitals versus anywhere else, and definitely not unheard of, that’s for sure. People die in hospitals every single day. So this should be an exciting read, right?
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Have you read Sometimes People Die yet? Come on in and let me tell you about it!
About Sometimes People Die
When too many patients die under his watch, a troubled young doctor suspects murder. But are his instincts to be trusted?
Returning to practice after a suspension for stealing opioids, a young doctor takes the only job he can find: a post as a physician at the struggling St. Luke’s Hospital in east London. Amid the maelstrom of sick patients, overworked staff and underfunded wards, a more insidious secret soon declares itself: too many patients are dying. And a murderer may be lurking in plain sight.
Drawing on his experiences as a physician, Simon Stephenson takes readers into the dark heart of life as a hospitalist to ask the question: Who are the people we gift the power of life and death, and what does it do to them?
As beautifully written and witty as it is propulsive, Sometimes People Die is an unforgettable thriller that will haunt you long after you turn the last page.
Thoughts on Sometimes People Die
The first thing I noticed in starting this novel is how incredibly obvious it is that Simon Stephenson isn’t from the United States. I sometimes forget that there’s other slang terms for things, and it is odd. I had to look up “knackered” to figure out what it meant. Also had to Google celsius versus fahrenheit measurements. 40 degrees celsius is 104 degrees fahrenheit, if you are curious. It felt like I needed an urban dictionary to read this book.
There’s a whole other list of strange words that I didn’t understand in this book, but I’ll skip boring you with them. But I’m glad I was sitting at my desk so I could stop and look them up as I went.
Because I had to stop and look words up as I read this, it was a painfully slow read, with nothing terribly exciting to keep me reading. I do have a firm belief that once I start a book, I’m going to finish it because I always have high hopes that it’ll get better and I may miss out on something great.
But this one was dreadfully slow. Like the elderly people with walkers in the hospital our main character was working at likely moved faster than this story. It was that bad for me. Reading shouldn’t be a chore, in my opinion, and reading Sometimes People Die definitely felt like a chore to me.
Final Thoughts on Sometimes People Die
If you are from the United Kingdom, this book will likely make a lot more sense to you, and you won’t have the same struggle I did with reading it.
I really wanted to like this book, and I’m actually really disappointed that it simply didn’t click for me the way I wanted it to. The concept is excellent, but the way it was written simply didn’t make me want to keep reading.
I always encourage readers to check out the books I review for themselves because sometimes the most hated books turn out to be amazing, they just have to be found by the right readers, and that’s how I feel about this one. It wasn’t for me, but that certainly doesn’t mean it won’t be for you. Give it a try and let me know what you think! I always hope books I dislike will be loved by the next reader.
Discussion
Have you read Sometimes People Die or any other writing from author Simon Stephenson? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
Hello!
I am from Edinburgh in Scotland, but live now in Los Angeles. I have had stopovers along the way in London and San Francisco.
I’m a writer and screenwriter, and before I became a full-time writer I was a physician.
My new novel, ‘Sometimes People Die’ will be published in September 2022.
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 am going to be dining out on that for the rest of my life.
‘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.
I’ve worked as a writer on various films including Pixar’s Luca, Paddington 2, and my own The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. Like every other screenwriter in Hollywood, I have a bottom drawer full of unproduced scripts and forgotten promises. So it goes.
Purchasing Sometimes People Die
If you are interested in buying the hardback version of Sometimes People Die, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
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