This was a good true crime read. Solid narrative, interesting investigation, and a really interesting case. I had never heard of him before so it was fascinating to learn about him. The writing style was a little too fiction-like for my tastes. Like, it read more like a mystery than an actual true crime book at points. Overall though it was a really good read for those interested in serial killers, especially of the killer nurse variety.

I might expand on this review more tomorrow but I'm beat and my head is killing me. So that's all for now.

A lovely true crime read for my lunch break. It's okay so far, curious to see when the crimes start. This guy definitely reads like a serial killer. 

While the first third or so of the Charlie Cullen story read like a typical true crime retrospective, as the story unravelled, I found this book to be a surprisingly interesting case study of both individual and institutional morality. Cullen's actions defy any "normal" expectations for this type of a killer. However, the hospital's actions (or lack thereof) are consistent with what has been seen before:

They called these killers Angels of Death. All of those cases shared a simple but disturbing pattern; each time, the doctors treated the rash of crashing patients like a disease to be studied, while the administration and the lawyers treated them as a potential lawsuit. The institution dragged its feet before calling in the cops. And while they dragged, people died.

The detectives, and the CI nurse make for great characters and give the reader a sense of how mind-boggling it is to try to make sense of someone like Cullen in order to make their case. There's not too much I can say without giving the story away, but if you're looking for a fast, interesting read it might be worth your while. The legal procedural elements at the hospital "paired nicely" with [b:Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital|17704902|Five Days at Memorial Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital|Sheri Fink|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1380120962s/17704902.jpg|24752264]. Likewise, it's an interesting portrait of human "conscience" - finding some intriguing overlap with [b:Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience|562714|Into That Darkness An Examination of Conscience|Gitta Sereny|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320530779s/562714.jpg|2605252].