The Anatomy of Deception : A Novel of Suspense

The year is 1889. In the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, physicians uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away. Within days, one doctor, Ephraim Carroll, strongly suspects that he knows the woman’s identity...and the horrifying events that led to her death.Dr. Carroll came to Philadelphia to study with a leading professor, the brilliant William Osler, believing that he would gain the power to save countless lives. But Carroll and his mentor are at odds over what they glimpsed that morning in the hospital’s Dead House. And when a second mysterious death is determined to have been a ruthless murder, Carroll can feel the darkness gathering around him—and he ignites an investigation of his own. Soon he is moving between the realm of elite medicine, Philadelphia high society, and a teeming badlands of criminality and sexual depravity along the city’s fetid waterfront. With a wealthy, seductive woman clouding his vision, the controversial artist Thomas Eakins sowing scandal, and the secrets of the nation’s powerful surgeons unraveling around him, Carroll is forced to confront an agonizing moral choice—between exposing a killer, undoing a wrong, and, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself.

a Mesmerizing Forensic Thriller That Thrusts The Reader Into The Operating Rooms, Drawing Rooms, And Back Alleys Of 1889 Philadelphia, As A Young Doctor Grapples With The Principles Of Scientific Process To Track A Daring Killer.

in The Morgue Of A Philadelphia Hospital, A Group Of Physicians Open A Coffin And Uncover The Corpse Of A Beautiful Young Woman. What They See Takes Their Breath Away. Within Days, One Of Them Strongly Suspects That He Knows The Woman S Identity And The Horrifying Events That Led To Her Death. But In This Richly Atmospheric Novel An Ingenious Blend Of History, Suspense And Early Forensic Science The Most Compelling Chapter Is Yet To Come, As Young Ephraim Carroll Is Plunged Into A Maze Of Murder, Secrets And Unimaginable Crimes....

dr. Ephraim Carroll Came To Philadelphia To Study With A Leading Professor, The Brilliant William Osler, Believing That He Would Gain The Power To Save Countless Lives. As America Hurtles Toward A New Century, Medicine Is...

publishers Weekly

goldstone, An Acclaimed Popular Historian (out Of The Flames; the Friar And The Cipher), Marks Out New Terrain With His Compelling Fiction Debut, A Medical Thriller Set In 1889 Philadelphia. The Narrator, Ephraim Carroll, A Young, Idealistic And Somewhat Naïve Doctor, Works Alongside The Real-life William Osler, Often Described As The Father Of Modern Medicine. Carroll Is Troubled When Osler, The Head Of Clinical Medicine At The University Of Pennsylvania Medical School, Forgoes An Autopsy Of A Woman Without Explanation. Carroll's Curiosity Is Further Piqued After George Turk, A Colleague Who Also Seemed Unsettled By Osler's Actions, Dies, Apparently Of Cholera. When Turk's Autopsy Reveals Trace Amounts Of Arsenic, Carroll's Suspicions Of Foul Play Are Confirmed. Goldstone Artfully Integrates A Manuscript The Actual Dr. Osler Wrote And Ordered Sealed For Half A Century After His Death. With This Top-notch Historical Page-turner And His Proven Versatility In Nonfiction, Goldstone Can Expect To Win Over Many New Fans. (feb.)

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A mesmerizing forensic thriller that thrusts the reader into the operating rooms, drawing rooms, and back alleys of 1889 Philadelphia, as a young doctor grapples with the principles of scientific process to track a daring killer In the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, a group of physicians open a coffin and uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away. Within days, one of them strongly suspects that he knows the woman#8217;s identity#8230;and the horrifying events that led to her death. But in this richly atmospheric novel#8211;an ingenious blend of history, suspense and early forensic science#8211;the most compelling chapter is yet to come, as young Ephraim Carroll is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets and unimaginable crimes.... Dr. Ephraim Carroll came to Philadelphia to study with a leading professor, the brilliant William Osler, believing that he would gain the power to save countless lives. As America hurtles toward a new century, medicine is changing rapidly, in part due to the legalization of autopsy#8211;a crime only a few years before. But Carroll and his mentor are at odds over what they glimpsed that morning in the hospital#8217;s Dead House. And when a second mysterious death is determined to have been a ruthless murder, Carroll can feel the darkness gathering around him#8211;and he ignites an investigation of his own. Soon he is moving between the realm of elite medicine, Philadelphia high society, and a teeming badlands of criminality and sexual depravity along the city#8217;s fetid waterfront. With a wealthy, seductive woman clouding his vision, the controversial artist Thomas Eakins sowing scandal, and the secrets of the nation#8217;s powerful surgeons unraveling around him, Carroll is forced to confront an agonizing moral choice#8211;between exposing a killer, undoing a wrong, and, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself#8230; A mesmerizing forensic thriller that thrusts the reader into the operating rooms, drawing rooms, and back alleys of 1889 Philadelphia, as a young doctor grapples with the principles of scientific process to track a daring killerIn the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, a group of physicians open a coffin and uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away. Within days, one of them strongly suspects that he knows the woman's identity...and the horrifying events that led to her death. But in this richly atmospheric novel--an ingenious blend of history, suspense and early forensic science--the most compelling chapter is yet to come, as young Ephraim Carroll is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets and unimaginable crimes....Dr. Ephraim Carroll came to Philadelphia to study with a leading professor, the brilliant William Osler, believing that he would gain the power to save countless lives. As America hurtles toward a new century, medicine is changing rapidly, in part due to the legalization of autopsy--a crime only a few years before. But Carroll and his mentor are at odds over what they glimpsed that morning in the hospital's Dead House. And when a second mysterious death is determined to have been a ruthless murder, Carroll can feel the darkness gathering around him--and he ignites an investigation of his own.Soon he is moving between the realm of elite medicine, Philadelphia high society, and a teeming badlands of criminality and sexual depravity along the city's fetid waterfront. With a wealthy, seductive woman clouding his vision, the controversial artist Thomas Eakins sowing scandal, and the secrets of the nation's powerful surgeons unraveling around him, Carroll is forced to confront an agonizing moral choice--between exposing a killer, undoing a wrong, and, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself....From the Hardcover edition. In the morgue of a Philadelphia hospital, a group of physicians open a coffin and uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away. Within days, one of them strongly suspects that he knows the woman's identity ... and the horrifying events that led to her death. But in this richly atmospheric novel -- an ingenious blend of history, suspense and early forensic science -- the most compelling chapter is yet to come, as young Ephraim Carroll is plunged into a maze of murder, secrets and unimaginable crimes ... Dr. Ephraim Carroll came to Philadelphia to study with a leading professor, the brilliant William Osler, believing that he would gain the power to save countless lives. As America hurtles toward a new century, medicine is changing rapidly, in part due to the legalization of autopsy -- a crime only a few years before. But Carroll and his mentor are at odds over what they glimpsed that morning in the hospital's Dead House. And when a second mysterious death is determined to have been a ruthless murder, Carroll can feel the darkness gathering around him -- and he ignites an investigation of his own "Philadelphia, 1889. In the morgue of the city hospital, physicians uncover the corpse of a beautiful young woman. What they see takes their breath away." "Within days, one of the surgeons, Ephraim Carroll, strongly suspects that he knows the woman's identity. His investigations take him from the bloody and brutal medical world in which he practises and into the drawing rooms of Philadelphia's high society, where he soon learns that nothing - and no one - is what it seems." "Plunged into a maze of deception and deadly secrets, Carroll is forced to choose between exposing a killer, undoing a terrible wrong, and, quite possibly, protecting the future of medicine itself."--Back cover Young doctor Ephraim Carroll came to study under William Osler of Philadelphia. Autopsies have just been legalized and Ephraim starts his own investigation when a second murder victim ends up at their morgue Nineteenth-century Philadelphia physician Ephraim Carroll draws on the new techniques of forensic medicine to investigate the brutal murder of a beautiful young woman and the horror that led to her death.