I love reading a big genre of books. It gives me so many ways to find new authors to enjoy. This week I got involved in a upcoming new release for review that was a medical murder mystery. You’ll need a tough gut to devour this one!
A different twist and an engaging story. Read my review below.
FIRST CUT by Judy Mitchell & TJ Melinek
Publisher: Hanover Square Press; Original edition (January 7, 2020)
ISBN-13: 978-1335008305
ABOUT:
A hard-nosed medical examiner. A suspicious case. An underworld plot only she saw coming.
San Francisco’s newest medical examiner, Dr. Jessie Teska, has made a chilling discovery. A suspected overdose case contains hints of something more sinister: a drug lord’s attempt at a murderous cover-up. But as Jessie digs deeper, she faces unexpected pushback from her superiors—and pressure to stay in her lane, close the case and move on.
For Jessie, San Francisco was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to escape her troublesome past in Los Angeles. Instead she finds herself overworked and underpaid, working in a dingy morgue and living under the fog in a cramped converted cable car. Now, despite warnings from her colleagues and threats from her boss, she is determined to find the truth.
As more bodies land on her autopsy table, Jessie uncovers a constellation of deaths that point to a plot involving opioid traffickers and San Francisco’s shifting terrain of tech start-ups. Autopsy means “see for yourself,” and Jessie Teska won’t stop until she has seen it all—even if it means the next corpse on the slab could be her own.
FIRST CUT by Judy Mitchell & TJ Melinek Review
The story comes from a different view where the main character is a SF city medical examiner. In a city that big you know there are plenty of areas for intriguing investigations.
Jessie comes across a case that is extremely similar to another case that she had prior in another department. It nags her and bugs her so she decides to start digging a little bit deeper than a normal investigation. She runs across many interesting twists and coincidences that are hard to pass by. Was it accidental or was it murder?
The story is written in a different manner than what we normally expect. It comes from a medical coroner point of view and that could be disconcerting to some. It’s very graphic but written matter-of-fact so while there is the element of gore and death, it’s in a more clinical point of view.
The author did a fabulous job blending in many different tangents to the story. After all she is a forensic pathologist and co-wrote this with her husband! So we will get all of the dirt.
We get to know a medical examiner that has a few skeletons of her own in her closet. Jessie has a quirky sense of humor and a taste for doing what is right regardless of how it can affect her later down the line. This action packed crime and medical mystery is fast paced and full of cringe-worthy detail that will keep you reading half the night!
The twist and turns in this story prove to hold up through most of the book and the ending gives us a nice surprise too!
Perfect for those that love true crime, medical mystery, and complete realism in their books, First Cut by Judy Mitchell & TJ Melinek is a great choice for that weekend read!
Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free ebook so she could evaluate and use it for this post. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.