Customer Reviews

The Anatomy of Deception

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lawrence Goldstone's "The Anatomy of Deception" opens in 1889. As the nineteenth century is drawing to a close, physicians are employing the principles of analytic detection to make diagnoses and heal sickness. In addition, the world is on the brink of a number of thrilling discoveries that will save many lives. The first chapter is set in the Blockley Dead House, a morgue at the University Hospital in West Philadelphia, described by the author as "a squat, solitary brick building [and] a fetid vault filled with cadavers in various states of putrefaction." In this grim edifice, Dr. William Osler, head of Clinical Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, teaches his students morbid anatomy. Among his acolytes is Dr. Ephraim Carroll, who left his private practice in Chicago to learn from "the Professor." To Carroll and his colleagues, Osler is a "modern-day Hippocrates," an astounding man with a tremendous breadth of knowledge and a willingness to share his expertise with the next generation of doctors. Some vocal protesters still oppose autopsy, which they consider to be a ghoulish and unholy practice. Osler is forced to bribe a morgue attendant to absent himself when a fresh supply of cadavers becomes available for dissection.

One day, a session in the morgue ends abruptly when Osler opens up an ice chest containing the corpse of a young, light-haired and once beautiful female whose body had been abandoned in the street. Both Osler and a disreputable medical student named Turk are visibly shocked when they see her, and the Professor quickly slams the lid shut. Ephraim will soon find himself knee deep in a puzzle involving this woman: Who was she? Who or what killed her? When, shortly thereafter, one of his acquaintances dies unexpectedly, Carroll decides to pursue the matter. By the time he learns the shocking truth about this case, Carroll will lose many of his illusions about the integrity and moral values of so-called "honorable" men.

Goldstone skillfully recreates the giddy excitement that forward-looking scientists felt as they faced a new century filled with seemingly unlimited possibilities. Surgical techniques that could reduce shock and infection were no longer pipe dreams. This richly detailed book is filled with fascinating information about the pioneers of medicine during this transitional decade. The author smoothly incorporates historical figures into his narrative. In addition to the aforementioned William Osler, both the famed surgeon, William Stewart Halstead, and the great American painter, Thomas Eakins, play key roles. Osler is unquestionably brilliant, but is he also venal and overly ambitious? Halstead is rumored to be a drug addict. Is there any foundation to the destructive gossip that threatens to destroy his reputation? Also worth noting: Abigail Benedict, a lovely and wealthy bohemian who wins Ephraim's heart but hesitates to give hers in return; Mary Simpson, a courageous doctor who is dedicated not only to healing the sick but also to helping women in trouble; and Jonas Lachtmann, an affluent and influential individual who threatens to destroy Carroll if his investigation takes him down the wrong path. There are also nicely drawn minor players including women of ill-repute, a tenacious Pinkerton detective, a burly henchman, and a detective named Borst, who is none too pleased with Ephraim's interference.

This is an absorbing work that brings a bygone era to life; it is also a suspenseful and engrossing thriller. The author explores a number of themes that intersect seamlessly: the dilemma of whether to follow one's conscience when doing so might not serve the greater good; the limited choices open to women who are treated as men's private possessions; the close-mindedness that makes scientific progress an uphill battle; and the impossibility of achieving perfect justice in an inequitable world. Goldstone's stylish prose, engaging dialogue, and riveting plot combine to make this a first-rate novel.

This is a good, solid effort, and it works very well in giving a sense of time and place in Philadelphia in 1889 and of a medical profession in transition. Goldstone successfully intertwines the lives of real and fictional people--Eakins, Halstead, and Osler (and others) with a fictional protagonist. Medical treatment could be a mixed bag: invasive surgical procedures could be done relatively safely, or could be done in horribly septic conditions. The upper crust of Philadelphia and the lower crust sometimes had much closer connections than you might have thought.

Goldstone has a flair for writing--this becomes evident after just a few pages in the book. The historical flavor is fine. But I was not always convinced about the characters. Carroll (the protagonist) comes to Philadelphia from working in slum areas in Chicago: I would expect him to be much more comfortable, more at ease, in the seedier areas of Philadelphia. Drugs and illegal operations would not surprise him. At the same time, there were many strong social conventions in place. This was, after all the time of the Four Hundred in New York. Being a good physician or surgeon was one thing, but that didn't open all doors.

This is also a book about moral choices, choices made by Carroll and others. The decisions that are made may not always seem right, but these are, after all, individual human choices. It's a satisfying and enjoyable novel, and hopefully just the first of more novels to come by the author.

Philadelphia in the late 1800s is the setting for this interesting historical mystery novel, which follows the adventures of Ephraim Carroll as he tries to figure out who has killed one of his classmates, a doctor studying with him under William Ohsler, one of the great physicians of the 19th century. Ohsler was a real figure in history, as are several of the other characters in the story, and they provide color for the narrative.

Carroll is an unsophisticated country boy who is somewhat overwhelmed by Philadelphia. At the beginning of the book he's befriended by one of his classmates, a more worldly character named Turk. Turk later turns up dead, and Carroll swiftly makes the deduction that he's been poisoned. When this proves true, Carroll must find out who the killer is and why he did it. As things progress, the plot gets murkier and moral questions arise, some of which don't appear to have a real answer.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. The author does a very good job with the characters and the sense of place. At times it almost seems as if Philadelphia from more than a hundred years ago is real. I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it.

A fabulous page-turner of historical fiction! I couldn't put it down. Once you get past the first autopsies and some rather graphic details, the story will grab hold of you. the author has loaded the book with great details about the history of medicine and about the painter Thomas Eakins.
The author is well-known for his non-fiction writing. I hope that he will continue to write more fiction after this wonderful book.

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 Goldstone's first attempt at fiction is well-researched and well-written. The pace was slow at times, but I never lost interest in the characters. I would recommend this book to fans of the genre. If you like this, you should definitely check out Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City and Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club.

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 create believable roles by these famous physicians in crimes those of us who have read historical facts of these two great men could never imagine. But he does it convincingly and kudos for that.

While not as well written or as good, this book reminded me of Caleb Carr's excellent (and one of my favorite books) - The Alienist.

If you are not familiar with Halsted and Osler, I recommend a little historical search about both before delving into this book as to understand these two men prior to reading this book makes the book all the more interesting.

I've never read anything to do with medicine before. Therefore, a lot of the historical aspect was lost on me, and I actually was disappointed by that. Reading this book made me want to do some digging into the history of medicine (if I could only find the time!) I feel I missed out on something, that this book would have been much more satisfying had I been familar with the historical background and terminology, BUT that being said, it was still a fabulous book. The main character learns much about himself in the process of unraveling the mystery of the woman in the morgue, meeting some colorful characters along the way. It was very entertaining, a page-turner that I found difficult to put down.

This doesn't have the ironic wit of The Interpretation of Murder, but it seems underrated based on the reviews I've seen. The novel is filled with interesting historical detail about surgical practices of the period and while it doesn't overwhelm with atmosphere, it feels of it's time and has a quaint Booth Tarkington flavor.

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.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story for a number of reasons. I spent 2 1/2 years at the old Philadelphia General Hospital and am amazed at the author's wide knowledge of Philadelphia in the late 19th century. In addition to this, one of the emeritus professors in my medical school trained at Hopkins with Halsted, and this man's eldest son, who eventually became professor of medicine at my medical school, was named after Halsted. Even though I was at P.G.H. about 50 years later than the time of the novel, reading it brought back a lot of memories.