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The Good Nurse

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The Good Nurse

By: Charles Graeber
Narrated by: Will Collyer
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About this listen

After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed 'The Angel of Death' by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favourite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver.

Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. Cullen's murderous career in the world's most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Investigative journalist Charles Graeber's portrait of Cullen depicts a surprisingly intelligent and complicated young man whose promising career was overwhelmed by his compulsion to kill, and whose shy demeanor masked a twisted interior life hidden even to his family and friends.

Were it not for the hardboiled, unrelenting work of two former Newark homicide detectives racing to put together the pieces of Cullen's professional past, and a fellow nurse willing to put everything at risk, including her job and the safety of her children, there's no telling how many more lives could have been lost.

In the tradition of In Cold Blood, The Good Nurse does more than chronicle Cullen's deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him; it paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and offers an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship and betrayal.

©2013 Charles Graeber (P)2013 Audible Ltd Medical Murder Professionals & Academics True Crime Exciting Scary Pennsylvania Hospital

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Critic reviews

"A stunning book... It should and does bring to mind In Cold Blood... The Good Nurse succeeds in being about much more than Mr Cullen s murderous kinks...the eagerness of ambitious hospital administrators to cover up his misdeeds is revelatory. And the police investigation that brought him down is a thriller in every sense of that word." (New York Times)
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I had heard of 'angels of death' and they have occurred in the UK, but this book is about someone who took his mission to the extreme. Whatever problems and horrific situations he went through as a child, even he did not use to justify his killings. He couldn't even remember who he had killed and at various times, just laced IV bags without knowing who they were for.
Sounds awful, and yet it made for a fascinating listen. The narrator was excellent.
This was a man who was described by most of his colleagues as a "good, caring, nurse".
What made it even worse was that suspicions were raised in his early career, but he was able to continue practicing.
Not a Feel Good book, or one to read when you are down.

How titles can mislead!

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

should be written in action story style not a slow never ending drone

What other book might you compare The Good Nurse to, and why?

Never heard a book read so flat. So would not like to compare

What does Will Collyer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

a droning mind sapping

Was The Good Nurse worth the listening time?

very good story, I should have read the book and would have finished days ago.

Any additional comments?

Will Collyer may be better on other books but held this one back

Hard work but worth it

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If you could sum up The Good Nurse in three words, what would they be?

shocking, cover-up, true

What did you like best about this story?

The author thoroughly research the story very well and written it without displaying the suspect as the monster but also pointing out that if he would have been stopped a lot of death would heave been prevented. It shows a clever mind manipulating others, overcoming/cheating computer systems and the suppressed whistle blowing cover-ups of companies who in order to keep their good name let death tolls rise. Keeping in mind this is a true story the author managed well to keep the listener interested without making the subject a 'hero' by glorifying anything and kept me wanting to listen till the end without pausing.

Have you listened to any of Will Collyer’s other performances? How does this one compare?

It was my first time listening to Will Colleyr. I did read a few reviews where he was a little criticised. I really enjoyed listening to his voice and found he read it with the right speed and tone of voice keeping it up throughout.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but it would be unfair to future listeners to point these out.

Any additional comments?

Only to recommended.

Incredibly shocking, unbelievable and so true

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Found this book very interesting and difficult at times to read. So much more detail and interested and the series on Netflix.

Being a nurse myself it's quite disturbing to think this Happened

Could not put this down

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Fantastic and shocking story, that occasionally strayed a little too close to a Harlen Coben nicer for this listener. Nevertheless a fascinating real life story of a twisted mind.

Could have been better…

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Would you listen to The Good Nurse again? Why?

yes as i enjoyed it so much

What did you like best about this story?

the twists and turns of the story and the events that happened

What three words best describe Will Collyer’s voice?

i found his voice annoying

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

this was not my ususal genre of book I usually listen however reviews made me curious . I really enjoyed the story and can hardly believe that Charlie got away with it for so long what is it with these USA hospitals? i found the narrator annoying to listen to at times which kind of spoilt the story but not withstanding that it was a very good story which i enjoyed and would probably listen to again

thought provoking

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Did not like the way dialogues were read , huge gaps between words , made me loose my interest

Great story

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Loved the writing style of the book. Fascinating and horrifying story - I can't believe I've never heard about it before. Really liked the narrator, although the female voices were occasionally a little cringy. Fantastically researched and the courtroom section was not overly long - detailed enough to be interesting but not blow by blow. Would recommend.

Compelling

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ive yet to watch the netflix version of this shocking tale, but if this book is anything to go by, its going to be good. well written and well read. condolences to the many victims friends and families involved.

very detailed

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