Sometimes People Die: A Novel

by Simon Stephenson

Overview

*A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick*
*The Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month*
*A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book of Fall*

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335429254
Publisher:	Hanover Square Press
Publication date:	09/20/2022
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	168,938
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Simon Stephenson is a former Pixar screenwriter and an author based in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

07/18/2022

After opioid addiction costs the unnamed 29-year-old narrator of this enjoyable if uneven novel from Stephenson (Set My Heart to Five) his job in a Scottish hospital, he finds work at the desperate, understaffed St. Luke’s in London, where he struggles to cope with the onslaught of poverty-stricken patients with “Victorian ailments” and “obscure exotic diseases.” When an older patient dies unexpectedly, her barrister daughter’s questions prompt a police investigation, which shows an alarming number of unexpected deaths at St. Luke’s. The narrator, hauled in for questioning, worries that he’s going to be arrested as suspicious deaths continue with no clear pattern of victim or method. When his roommate, an affable orthopedic surgeon, dies by suicide in the hospital parking lot, the narrator relapses. The police arrest a suspect, and the novel’s tone shifts from dread to suspense as the narrator turns amateur sleuth when the facts don’t seem to add up. Stephenson’s sardonic wit and the farce of hapless, overconfident police work prop up the meandering, overlong plot. Most readers will wish the novel cut to the chase a bit more. Stephenson has done better. Agent: Mollie Glick, Creative Artists. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

The witty writing, quirky protagonist, and anecdotal descriptions of real-life medical villains combine to make Sometimes People Die a delightful read. I loved it.”—Kathy Reichs

"Sometimes People Die blew me away and cost me a night's sleep as I read it on tenterhooks. Both a revelatory glimpse into the rigors and strains of medicine and a thrilling piece of entertainment, this astounding novel announces the arrival of a new Michael Crichton for the zeitgeist."—Ken Bruen, author of The Guards


"Simon Stephenson gives us a medical thriller that echoes Robin Cook by way of Edgar Allan Poe, with a lying, cowardly, mediocre doctor as our guide to St. Luke's Hospital, where the staff have lives in their hands and death under their thumbs. As the mystery spirals and the bodies pile, his cynical charm and black humor will draw you in. You'll trust him to get you through it. But should you?"—Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell, New York Times bestselling authors of Working Stiff and First Cut


"This timely novel has it all: it's a chilling literary thriller, an emotional dive into the joys and stresses of our health care workers, and a genre-bending story with a perfect dose of gallows humor. I loved this book.. and never want to visit a hospital again!"—Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

"Dark and haunting, powerful and propulsive, Sometimes People Die is a smart, cinematic, tour de force written by an exceptional talent. Simon Stephenson’s novel is simply unputdownable."—Lara Prescott, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept

“A highly satisfying tale that is at once relevant, moving, and eye-opening."—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Omega Factor

"Enjoyable...the novel’s tone shifts from dread to suspense as the narrator turns amateur sleuth when the facts don’t seem to add up."—Publishers Weekly

“This is a fine medical thriller that should be recommended to Robin Cook fans.”—Booklist


"Simon Stephenson’s diabolical and quick-witted medical thriller is not to be missed."—CrimeReads

"If you need something pleasurably distinctive, 'Sometimes People Die' is the book to find next time."—CNHI News

"Engrossing."—The Guardian

"Authoritative, unsparing... deliciously wry."—New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher