Coroner at Large by Thomas T. Noguchi, M.D. (with Joseph Dimona)

Coroner at Large
 America's most famous medical detective challenges the verdicts in the most controversial murders and deaths of our time

Coroner at Large
Rated 4 Bloody Knives

 "...the corpse with one testicle instead of two, and the wrong teeth, was not and could not be Adolf Hitler's. The Soviets had autopsied the wrong man."

The difference between Coroner at Large and most other true crime books is that it's a collection of different cases and opinions rather than a narrative nonfiction story or even a collection of stories ( i.e. Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors: Ann Rule's Crime Files Volume 16), but that doesn't make it boring.

Thomas T. Noguchi, as the former Chief Medical Examiner, Los Angeles County, dealt with celebrities. The only disappointing thing to most of us, is that his celebrities were undeniably dead; what they weren't, however, when he first laid eyes--or hands--on them, was designated a cause of death. 

In Coroner at Large, rather than going through his own celebrated autopsies, he tackles the controversial cases that continue to have so many unanswered questions, no one can agree on what really happened:

Claus Von Bulow, Jeffery MacDonald, Jean Harris, Buddy Jacobsen, Dorothy Dandridge, Sal Mineo, Freddie Prinze, Dorothy Stratten, Dennis Wilson, Elvis Presley, Custer, Napoleon, Jack the Ripper, and others.

Noguchi feels comfortable and easily explains facts about the death scene and all the circumstances surrounding that time period and location. He then lays out what went down after the cause of death was listed, usually a trial and conviction. 

Going a step further, Noguchi theorizes each point of the case from the death--and possible crime--scene to the body to the witnesses and he patiently shares his opinion to the conclusion of the star's last light's out.

Without giving anything away, there was one case that surprised us more than any other: the death of the infamous Scarsdale Diet doctor, Herman Tarnower, as this case was highly publicized. We couldn't imagine he could bring something "new" to the table. 

The book is an easy read, takes you to places only the wealthy get to be, and holds your attention. If there is a downfall (and there is), it's that in several included cases, Noguchi brings us toward the conclusion only to let us down by not committing to an answer-if that's the case, it should have been left out of the book. Whether his opinion is right or wrong, we're reading this to learn what a medical examiner sees that we couldn't possibly know. By purchasing this book, we're saying, "We want to know what you really think happened!"

Were any of these cases prior outcomes changed because of the Coroner at Large publication? You'll have to read to find out for yourself.

Coroner is the first book in the Coroner Series of two 
[so we are including it here first. However, keep in mind, we read Coroner at Large this week]

Scroll up for the second book, Coroner at Large.

Coroner at Large by Thomas T. Noguchi, M.D. with Joseph Dimona (RIP, 11.11.99) is the book I finished, but his first book, Coroner, is FREE IF you have Kindle Unlimited. The books are based on Dr. Noguchi's cases of extremely famous people, such as Kennedy and Monroe. The second book-the one I read-he shares insight into a few highly publicized cases (Elvis, Playboy's Stratton, and the Scarsdale Diet Doctor murder, for instance) in which he believes possibly the opposite of what the actual outcomes in court came to be. Easy to read, bite sized chunks of chapters, and believable.

Click for books by Thomsas T. Noguchi

Click for works by Joseph Dimona

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From Ashes Come... More Ashes - Then Beautiful Things GROW

My Dearest Victims of Violent Crime, Depression Sufferers, and All-Around Not-Sure-How-I-Got-This-Low-In-My-Life:

Dreaming is great, but ultimately, reality strikes us in the face and often. 

Look, you can dream, you can hope; you should. Without dreams and hopes of change, we couldn't possibly get better (well, there's luck, but not only is that a different story, but those of you suffering from some sort of chronic and serious debilitation or suffering, luck may not be your friend). Again: TO GET AHEAD AND TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS IN ALL WAYS YOU MUST DREAM AND HOPE AND NEVER EVER GIVE UP and maybe thrive on the little failures (ultimately, they'll be little, because you, Dear Reader, WILL come out on top).

But... from ashes come ashes. You first must be real. You always must greet reality with the same positiveness and open arms as you do your dreams. Reality is AWESOME even when it's been quite negative. 

In order to initiate change, things actually HAVE to be negative and maybe even harsh, that's what makes us want-NEED-change. Negative is a great motivator and often more so than positive.

The woman who inherited a great sense of business, a Stanford-Education, and a hundred million dollars can improve and use the greatness to CONTINUE her perceived greatness. Yet, the people who inspire us most are the Homeless-to-Harvard (the Liz Murray story) stories; the stories where the main character overcomes a negative obstacle.

Are you doubting me? Are you mocking me? Because guess what a good book or a good movie have in it? An antagonist and/or a horrible situation to get over. To overcome. To achieve. And we buy it (or at least those of us who can afford the books or movie tickets). In fact, if I even consider submitting a work of fiction (or narrative non-fiction) without some serious conflict to overcome... well, I'll be the owner of a rejection slip (if they consider replying at all).

Are you sifting through ashes now? It's okay. You will be okay. Things WILL get better. This IS temporary.

Find someone you can trust to talk to (counselor, doctor, friend, police, teacher, cousin, etc.) and try to make peace with the ashes because out of the ashes, dreams become reality. 

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Have you joined us for our Depression Wednesday chats? Let's keep the conversation going and get depression talked about. Facebook.

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