A mesmerizing forensic thriller that thrusts the reader into the operating rooms, drawing rooms, and back alleys of 1889 Philadelphia, as a young doctor grapples with the principles of scientific process to track a daring killer In the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, a group of physicians open a coffin and uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away. Within days, one of them strongly suspects that he knows the woman's identity...and the horrifying events that led to her death. But in this richly atmospheric novel-an ingenious blend of history, suspense and early forensic science-the most compelling chapter is yet to come, as young Ephraim Carroll is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets and unimaginable crimes.... Dr. Ephraim Carroll came to Philadelphia to study with a leading professor, the brilliant William Osler, believing that he would gain the power to save countless lives. As America hurtles toward a new century, medicine is changing rapidly, in part due to the legalization of autopsy-a crime only a few years before. But Carroll and his mentor are at odds over what they glimpsed that morning in the hospital's Dead House. And when a second mysterious death is determined to have been a ruthless murder, Carroll can feel the darkness gathering around him-and he ignites an investigation of his own. Soon he is moving between the realm of elite medicine, Philadelphia high society, and a teeming badlands of criminality and sexual depravity along the city's fetid waterfront. With a wealthy, seductive woman clouding his vision, the controversial artist Thomas Eakins sowing scandal, and the secrets of the nation's powerful surgeons unraveling around him, Carroll is forced to confront an agonizing moral choice-between exposing a killer, undoing a wrong, and, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself....
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Anatomy of deception is a winner:
I wasn't familiar with the author, but was very pleased with the excellent writing, plot, and content. A well done historically and medically accurate story. Highly recommended reading about a little known part of our medical history.
absorbing read:
Let me first say that I do not look for "deeper meaning" in many of my fiction books. All my life, books have been and are a source of entertainment and enjoyment. Reading a book can be a "mini-vacation" if you will, taking you into a different world while you read it. I really must say I did enjoy this book. It was not spellbinding, but it was a good read and some parts of it were so compelling I had to read on past my appointed "quit time". Reading this will not be a waste of time for anyone.
Anatomy of Deception:
This novel falls into one of my favorite genres, historical fiction. That is, fiction that combines true elements of history within the narrative, fleshing out a period in time around characters that existed in real life. In Anatomy of Deception, Goldstone weaves a mystery into 1880s Philadelphia. Dr. Ephraim Carroll studies under the real-life Dr. William Osler, a pioneer of American surgery. Dr. Carroll quickly becomes embroiled in a mystery that seems to have no end of unexpected twists. Lawrence... more info
Halsted and Osler, what a team:
The fathers of modern day medicine as characters in a well done murder mystery. While this may be considered heresy by some, I found the book very well done and extremely accurate as to the period in which it took place. More compelling than the characters and the mystery itself was how well the writer created the dark and dreary times of Philadelphia and its interaction with the medical climate of the late 1800s. The writer cleverly used factual accounts of these individuals with such clarity as to... more info
