I really enjoyed this book. So many books about law/police work/etc. stress that it isn't like you see it on TV - but don't actually say what it is like. I enjoyed Dr. Melinek's stories of her two years in the Office of the Medical Examiner - both in forensic pathology and her second year rotation.

That it takes months for tox screens and how hard it can be to establish cause and manner of death was insightful. It has to be hard to have so many of the facts yet not be able to put it all together. Also the parents of those killed for whom she doesn't have an answer.

I found myself attached to Dr. Hirsch even before he used his 9/11 wounds as a teaching moment. What a humanization of 9/11 and the people involved. I felt for her friend who reported to a hospital to wait to treat the injured-and none came.

I also enjoyed the side stories: how her career changed from surgery as well as how her career affected her family. Autopsies over dinner: no thanks! A good, readable book on a topic not often covered in memoirs.