The Good Nurse

A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder

By: Charles Graeber

Narrated by: Will Collyer

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Coming to Netflix this fall starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain⁠—a “stunning book...that should and does bring to mind In Cold Blood” and takes you inside the mind of America's most prolific serial killer, whose 16-year long "nursing" career left as many as 400 dead. (New York Times)

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 favorite 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. When, in March of 2006, Charles Cullen was marched from his final sentencing in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, courthouse into a waiting police van, it seemed certain that the chilling secrets of his life, career, and capture would disappear with him. Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, journalist Charles Graeber presents the whole story for the first time. Based on hundreds of pages of previously unseen police records, interviews, wire-tap recordings and videotapes, as well as exclusive jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself and the confidential informant who helped bring him down, The Good Nurse weaves an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship, and betrayal.

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 a penetrating look inside America's medical system. Harrowing and irresistibly paced, this book will make you look at medicine, hospitals, and the people who work in them, in an entirely different way.

©2013 Charles Graeber (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Scary underbelly of healthcare exposed!

This was an excellent book that leaves you wondering how in the hell hospital administrators wear suits instead of scrubs! The suits will protect the money, the ones in scrubs will protect the patient. This would have never been made into a book if the suits would have actually cared more about caring for people than their pockets! Narrator was intriguing, she did a great job with the male voices as well. Can’t wait to see how Eddie Remayne portrays Charles!

Fascinating and Chilling

A good read of a haunting story about how demented people can be. It is hard to tell who is worse, the medical establishments or the mass murderer. If you like true-life murder mysteries, this is a good one.

LEGAL GUILT

"The Good Nurse" recounts a true story about guilt–the obvious legal guilt of a psychopathic murderer and, less obvious, self-assessment guilt; i.e. the guilt of hospital attorneys, doctors, owners, and administrators. Legal guilt is defined by a “court of law” as a criminal law violation determined by judge or jury. Self-assessment guilt is the guilt of violating parental or social expectation (defined by Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D).

A fundamental truth in life is that death is a surety; the only difference is in when you die and by what means. It may be death at the hand of a murderer like Cullen, but more ominously by someone in a doctor’s coat, a nurse’s uniform, a manager’s tie, or lawyer’s suit. There may be deaths without guilt but all unnatural deaths are deeply burdened with guilt. Cullen is guilty of murder but how many white coats, white uniforms, and suits in this case are also guilty? Were the Cullen murders a game of “Truth or Consequences” or “Monopoly” with “Get-Out-of-Jail-Free” cards?

A good warning

Since this was a true story, as a nurse it did set me back a little more than I had expected. Especially to realize how very long he managed to get by with this so easily and then for the hospital to hold back in giving up evidence to the authorities and being more concerned about how this would affect the hospital's reputation is appalling. Knowing this wasn't the only nurse to ever do this- it makes me wonder.

Engaging murder thriller.

The story is told through very clear and detailed descriptions.as a nurse, I was dismayed by this story. That a nurse is capable of such acts is very scary.

Don't forget the serial doctor

What made the experience of listening to The Good Nurse the most enjoyable?

It reminded me of James Stewart's Blind Eye

What did you like best about this story?

How hard it is to report and catch this kind of deviant and the risks some health care people take to stop their colleagues' actions.

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

He is a good neutral reader

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Cheaper by the dozen

Any additional comments?

Many reviewers apparently aren't familiar with Dr Swango. He killed many patients but not quite as many. He came across as crazy but was able to migrate even to different countries. The Africans figured him out sooner than the Americans.

Good book, scary topic....

Voice over artist should have done research as to the proper pronunciation of some of the medication names. ¨The passive way in which he said "okay" and "yeah" over and over again when recounting conversations was also somewhat distracting. Learning to "speak" with your hands more will lend greater credibility.

Captivating !

One of the best read stories I've heard the reader was amazing - story was Captivating didn't want the book to end !

Exceptional

What an awesome read! I just can't say enough good things about this book. Written so well and had me from the first chapter and I just could not get enough of it. Being s registered nurse in an ER, I must say the story is very disturbing, sad, unbelievable and gripping. The author did his homework. I would, without reservation, recommend this book to not only nurses, but anyone interested in reading an exceptionally great book.

Excellent narration

This book was fascinating and kept me listening well into the night.
Great narration, smooth, and perfect tone for the book.