The Education of a Coroner

Lessons in Investigating Death

De: John Bateson

Narrado por: Kirby Heyborne

Marin County, California is a study in contradictions. Its natural beauty attracts thousands of visitors every year, yet the county also is home to San Quentin Prison, one of the oldest and largest penitentiaries in the country. Marin ranks in the top one percent of counties nationwide in terms of affluence and overall health, yet it is far above the norm in drug overdoses and alcoholism, and comprises a large percentage of suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Ken Holmes worked in the Marin County Coroner's Office for 36 years, starting as a death investigator and ending as the three-term, elected coroner. As he grew into the job - which is different from what is depicted on television - Holmes learned a variety of skills, from finding hidden clues at death scenes, interviewing witnesses effectively, managing bystanders and reporters, preparing testimony for court, to notifying families of a death with sensitivity and compassion. He also learned about different kinds of firearms, all types of drugs - prescription and illegal - and about certain unexpected and potentially fatal phenomena such as autoeroticism.

©2017 John Bateson (P)2017 HighBridge, A Division of Recorded Books

a very enjoyable read

I found the story interesting and educational and I really enjoyed the performance. the reader had an interesting voice and I never found myself being annoyed by obvious mispronunciations. I think the only reason I didn't give the book five stars was the subject was just too good, too noble, too "right" I would have found it more interesting if the subject had made errors and let them truly be errors without blaming politics or whatever. I would recommend this book to others and I'll probably re-listen to it myself. I would also consider reading other books by the authors. same thing with the reader.

Perfect and educational!

I have listened to this multiple times and I'm sure I'm not done yet!

Fascinating and highly informative

Fascinating and highly informative book about the career of a county coroner. There are so many aspects to being a coroner that people aren’t aware of. This book talks about suicides so be aware.

Narrated

Voice of the narrator was to robotic for me. It seemed to monotone. I would have liked more personality.

Many Interesting details in this book

I enjoyed the story of how a coroner's office functioned. Very interesting. and informative narrative.

Great book, soulless narrator

The books is great and the stories are fun, but the narrator is horrible. He reads it in an emotionless monotone voice. Hell, even having the book narrated by an AI voice would be better.

Informative and engaging

I enjoyed listening to it. I always wondered how a coroner is related to law enforcement and their position during an investigation.

Fascinating

Both the life story, experiences, and composition of this book kept me enthralled. Very insightful and despite the sad topic, was relevant and applicable to end of life issues.

Well done

This is a a “can’t put it down book”. It is well written and to the point!

Riveting story!

The details of the exciting cases overseen by Ken are really captivating. I found this a good read, and would definitely recommend it.