The Good Nurse

A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder

De: Charles Graeber

Narrado por: Will Collyer

This New York Times bestselling book is the mesmerizing basis for the movie starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain that takes you inside the mind of America's most prolific serial killer, whose 16-year long "nursing" career left hundreds dead.

“The best book(s) I read this year” (top ten books, EW) —Stephen King

Registered nurse Charlie Cullen was dubbed "The Angel of Death" by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 400 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, Charles Graeber gives us the unbelievable true story.

The Good Nurse weaves an urgent and terrifying tale of madness, humanity and heroism, utilizing previously unseen police records, wire-trap recordings, interviews, and jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself—all provided by the homicide detectives who worked around the clock, and the nurse who had to choose between protecting her colleague and stopping a potential serial killer.

For years Cullen continued to work and kill, shielded by a hospital system that, by accident or design, successfully protected the institution while failing to protect patients. The Good Nurse is a searing indictment of a crushing and dehumanizing for-profit medical system, and an inspiring human story of the previously unknown individuals who chose to risk their jobs and lives to do the right thing.

Mesmerizing and irresistibly paced, this book will make you look at hospitals and the people who work in them in an entirely different way.

Edgar Award Nomination, Mystery Writers of America BBC (Top Ten Books of the Year)

“The Best Journalism of the Year." —The Daily Beast

“The most terrifying book published this year. It is also one of the most thoughtful ... call it literary true crime ...” —Kirkus Reviews ("Best Books of the year")

Nurse Charlie Cullen filled a cemetery!

Any additional comments?

This is the most disturbing book I have read in years...since Coma. This is a true crime story and I barely got thru the first couple of chapters because of the graphic details of a burn ward.
After finishing this book, I kept wondering about how many other nurses, aids and doctors are out there killing patients and when caught or suspected, receive walking papers with a good or neutral recommendation for their next job.
Charlie Cullen obsessed with killing himself with attention seeking suicide attempts found a way to satisfy his driving need for self harm by proxy. He killed patients with a roulette type system of infusing glucose bags with deadly doses of insulin. He also directly injected patients with a drug that makes the heart stop...for good. New Jersey Poison Control Center detectives are the people that cared enough to go after this man and stop him permanently. It is estimated that Charlie killed around 400 people (conservative number) during his career. Hospital administrators and their attorneys are responsible for Charlie's 16 year long career of killing people. He should have been stopped YEARS ago! I can't help but be cynical and paranoid when walking into a hospital now.

Engaging

Good read to listen to. Surprising it's a real life story, which made it that more intriguing.

Exceptional

Draws you in and keeps you there for the whole book. Leaves the reader in a weird sense of amazement that this is a reality for all the families/people this 1 person stole by taking their love ones life. It would be even more interesting to hear how the life of "The Good Nurse" turned out in prison?

Excellent

What did you love best about The Good Nurse?

That it is based on fact.

What did you like best about this story?

The conflict surrounding the ethical decison of whether or not to allow Charlie Cullen to donate a kidney.

What about Will Collyer’s performance did you like?

Good job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Repeated mispronounciation of a drug was a bit irritating. Other than that, excellent.

Bad Narrator

The story was interesting and shocking, but the narrator was CRINGE. The buildup to catching the serial killer was super slow and even got boring, I guess I didn't see what all of the "hype" was about.

Chilling

First half of the book wears you down, listening to what he did and how he did it. When it gets to part 2 you'll be glad you made it through.

Gripping

This was my third book on audible and my second purchased one. After listening to this book I thought to myself finally I found one that deserves four stars this book was gripping and grabbed my attention, the narration was excellent, and I breezed through it in a matter of days I couldn't stop listening it was a great book!

Be Afraid! A Chilling Tale

Would you listen to The Good Nurse again? Why?

I WILL listen to The Good Nurse again! This story is as frightening as any other about a serial killer - don't be taken in by the fact that this man was a nurse. He is very scary! The most frightening thing about Charlie Cullen is his disconnection with humanity and his ability to hide behind his professional persona. I am a nurse and I almost didn't purchase this book because I didn't want to "know". But, now I'm glad I did, Charlie's crimes have fascinated me in twisted way and I may never be the same again.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The narrative spoke in a direct, assertive style. He was the "anti-charlie" and the contrast between him and the main character created a stark tension right from the start! I don't think I would have felt this contrast so strongly just by reading the written text. The narrator really picked up some nuances that helped move this story of deception along the road to it's conclusion.

Have you listened to any of Will Collyer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I wouldn't mind hearing him again.

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

Like an injection of ice in your veins!

Sad story

This story is true which makes it even more horrifying. Well written and detailed. A character study.

Fascinating story.

Horrifying and sad, this story was well told and the voice performance was great. Definitely recommend for those who like true crime.