No Deadly Drug [Hardcover]

John D. MacDONALD (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday (1958)
• ASIN: B000OS9WEI
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best True Crime Ever!, August 23, 2005

By 

Marcus Carrell - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Deadly Drug (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read "No Deadly Drug" by John D. MacDonald when it came out in paperback in 1985. I have never read a better true crime book during the last 30 years; nor have I read any courtroom trial book, fiction or non-fiction, that comes close.

The book focuses on the murder trials of Dr. Carl Coppolino for the killing of his anestheologist wife, Dr. Carmen Coppolino. His lawyer is F. Lee Bailey at his most brilliant. Most of Bailey's examinations and arguments are completely reproduced.

The twists and turns of the case leave the reader changing his or her mind about Coppoino's guilt and there is extensive information on crime scene investigation and undetectable deadly poisons for CSI fans.

You won't be able to turn the pages fast enough!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Laborious stuff, April 12, 2008

By 

S. G. Fortosis "Amazon author&seeyourselfinpr... (North Port, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Deadly Drug (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a huge fan of MacDonald so I was surprised and disappointed by No Deadly Drug. I've read many true crime books and thus had many to compare to this one. I realize Macdonald was trying to be the first to present a high-profile court case totally from start to finish, but was it worth it? I believe the answer is no. Everyone knows how in a complex crime case, the witnesses are questioned ad infinitum on every conceivable detail, relevant or not, and then some. MacDonald records everything but largely leaves out all the fascinating stuff about the backgrounds of the victims and the accused, the plotting of the crime, the physical injuries and cold-hearted act itself. Actually, much of this didn't even exist since the alleged victims had few marks and the insipid case may not even have been murder. If you're into endless lawyer interrogations and sterile "murder" scenes, then maybe you will find the book interesting. I could only read the first fifty pages or so, and flipped to the back for the lackluster, open-ended close.
It is interesting that a writer who writes surprisingly brief, succinct novels would find it necessary to write a laborious true crime book of about 650 pages.