Exquisitely readable and surprisingly relatable, OCME Life in America's Top Forensic Medical Center is a book I read in a single sitting. Despite needing sleep, I was unable to put this book down.

Author Bruce Goldfarb brings readers along with him for a detailed look at what life is really like in the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Think this book would be too macabre to read? You would be massively wrong. OCME does NOT rely on the glorification of blood and guts to sell books. It is so interesting that it simply doesn't need to.

Full of eye-opening facts and fascinating details, OCME will open the eyes of its readers to the ridiculousness of red tape in any and every bureaucracy; even the bureaucracy of death itself.

Although this might not have been the author’s goal, he has nevertheless succeeded in bringing to light the horrific statistics surrounding many of the most concerning ways in which people have died over the past decade. Granted, the statistics used in this book only represent the state of Maryland, however, these are the same issues faced by most other states and cities in North America. For example, the author highlights the alarming number of people who have died due to the Opiod Epidemic.

This book will open people's eyes to the importance of having skilled and highly trained medical examiners. The result of this will hopefully be that both taxpayers and politicians will allocate more money in their budgets to the OCME in their respective jurisdictions.

Some of the most shocking, and frankly disturbing, information contained within the pages of this book are the following facts:

[ ] "About half of the US population is under the jurisdiction of coroners and lacks access to qualified forensic pathologists..."

[ ] "In states including Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Idaho, Georgia, Colorado, and Nevada, elected coroners aren’t required to have ANY medical or legal training before they can certify the cause and manner of death."

[ ] In Missouri, to serve as a coroner, the requirements are minimal. You only have to be 21 or older, and have to get more votes than anyone else. There is absolutely NO MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY. That is ridiculous. "If a person is elected coroner, they can crack open a beer and start signing death certificates."

I rate OCME as 5 out of 5 Stars
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ and I recommend this book not only to fans of True Crime, but also to everyone who wants to be more informed about Public Health, Politics, and/or general nonfiction enthusiasts.

Reading this book and spreading the word about it could be the difference between a murderer being caught or going free. It just might be the reason a killer is caught and the lives of future potential victims are saved.

*** Thank you to #NetGalley and #Edelweiss for providing me with a free advance review copy of this book. ***

Thank you for the advanced copy.

Really enjoyed this, finished it in one sitting. Very well written, well put together. Really helped clear up what you see in 99% of the TV shows.

Highly recommended

This was an interesting insight into Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. It challenged narratives created by police and crime dramas and I found the crisis OCME went through during COVID-19 particularly interesting. At points the author repeated statistics in multiple chapters, which could be repetitive, but this did not detract from what was an interesting read.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for sending me this arc. I will be posting this review on my Goodreads and Storygraph accounts.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/57438368-georgie
Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/gfairs’

This was wonderfully informative and compelling. The insider look into forensics and pathology was so intriguing. If you are interested on forensics get this book now!

Bruce is the executive assistant to the Official Chief Medical Examiner for Maryland, US. It was fascinating to get an inside view of what goes on and to hear the history of how the forensic investigation and pathology departments have developed over time.
This helped dispel a lot of myths that have been sown by TV drama shows but was still interesting and eye opening, Bruce told the story of the OCME in a way that was understandable and informative without being boring.
I was particularly struck by the crisis that the OCME and others like it is going through especially after the Covid 19 pandemic.

An education and insightful look at one of our most vital public services.

Vividly told, such an interesting and easily readable story! Incredible! Great writing. I sped through this book because it was so interesting !! Thank you NetGalley!