My dual obsessions

As a writer will tell you, all authors need other hobbies to keep them level. Mine is a possibly unhealthy obsession with all things medical drama. If you take a medical drama from the last 30 years, then I’ve probably seen it. This is why when looking for something a little different to read, Simon Stephenson’s Sometimes People Die, seemed like the perfect combination of my two favourite things.



Hospital related deaths are something that I’ve also been aware of due to my criminology degree. One of the things we looked at in that course was the statistical anomaly of murder and the fascination with murderers like Shipman, mentioned by the author. Shipman is only one example given by Stephenson, but it shows how easily murders can occur and the many different ways that they can be hidden from the public. Just look at the number of people he was suspected of killing. Taking this in mind, plus the level of medical detail within, explaining how the murders may have occurred, shows his skill. This tells me why this book works so well. The lifestyle details in the long construction of this 12.5 hour novel and a story that runs over many years, give the space for the kind of character detail, like a rugby playing orthopod, that I’ve enjoyed in the tv form. This was done really well.



The clues were there, but were well hidden within the detail within this book. You really did have to listen to every word to get the clues. I must admit, I didn’t really pick up on many of the clues that lead to the end of the story, apart from maybe the last one. I really enjoyed being able to combine my interests in reading this book. I’ll definitely be reading more books by Stephenson.








https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sometimes-People-Die-Audiobook/B0B3G56NLC?ref_pageloadid=Xj4lg0EWB0ZgQybm&ref=a_library_t_c5_libItem_B0B3G56NLC_2&pf_rd_p=7e7340a8-8768-4798-a0ce-83f879c09110&pf_rd_r=GYGSHSFYNG7S3ZTZSVQV&pageLoadId=HEluXIMkhyTnqcbC&creativeId=14d6a1c2-a3f8-499b-900a-1ae788c317b1