This is a dark literary thriller. There is a lot of dark humour in this book. The pace is great. Not for you if you aren’t comfortable with hospitals. A great premise.

Full review was delayed due to reviewer illness. I'll need to re-read the book to provide a full review, but star rating is accurate.

With a title like this, I think most people would be intrigued. I’ll admit that I didn’t know a lot about the book before going in but I was very much along for the ride.

At the turn of the millennium, a disgraced young doctor takes the only job that will have him, as a senior house officer in a godforsaken East London hospital. Fresh from suspension after being caught stealing opioids, our protagonist realises that a lot of the patients are dying. Too many. Can he get to the bottom of the mystery and can he be believed?

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book centred on medical murders before. The bleakness of the hospital was captured so well in this book and it caused me to see them in a new light. They are places of both great joy and great tragedy but throughout my time with this book, I could only see them as incredibly creepy, hopeless places. I finished it convinced that a lot goes on in hospitals that no one ever discovers, making them very sinister places indeed.

St Luke’s seems to be a place that takes on doctors that struggle to get jobs elsewhere. The narrator tells us that it’s very much a place for medical professionals with blots on their records, which is why he apparently fits right in. The only exception seems to be the perfect Amelia and I was confused as to why she was there. As the story progressed, that became clearer and I loved trying to figure out that mystery.

Our narrator has a slight vibe of ‘the hunted’ about him. Although I never doubted that he was innocent, the investigators didn’t see it that way and he was a suspect for a good chunk of the book. I don’t really know what it was about him that made me confident of his innocence but I trusted his judgement and wanted him to find out what had happened. I was rooting for him but I can’t pinpoint the reason!

George was a character who I absolutely adored. I’d describe him as a puppy personified. My mood instantly lifted when he appeared and I was fearful that something would happen to him. I loved that our narrator seemed to take to him too, despite them seeming to be unlikely friends which was really lovely to watch.

I really loved the author’s snarky brand of wit and I laughed out loud several times. The humour, like the narrative, is dark but it fits the whole atmosphere of the book so well. Without these little sparks of comedy, it would have a very dense, depressing abyss to read my way out of.

I also really loved the chapters that visited true cases of medical murder. I think Harold Shipman was the only one I’d heard of before but they were all fascinating. Murders by caring professionals tend to have an extra chill factor to them and that’s definitely the case of several of the killers mentioned in this book. These stories within stories weren’t necessary to the book but I really appreciated them and it transformed the book into an already unique mystery into a thorough exploration of medical murder.

Sometimes People Die is a thriller that you won’t forget in a hurry. The twists were saved until the end and I really didn’t see either of the big ones coming. It delves into a topic that is rarely explored in fiction but has so much scope for pitch-black crime stories by writers who are well-versed in the medical world.

A great page turning piece of fiction - only problem is that sometimes it is written a bit too much like fact.

Sometimes People Die is a phenomenal original thriller that will hook readers from the start. A true serial killer thriller. The chapters are short making this a relatively easy read if you aren't counting the subject material. If you enjoy serial killer books, do not miss out on Sometimes People Die. Highly recommended!

While the premise is good the execution could be better. You have to keep reminding yourself that this is fiction and not autobiography. If you like reading about serial killers then this might be your thing but otherwise I think you may struggle with it. Those who like the genre will like it.

Just superb. Like Adam Kay if he stumbled across a serial killer, SOMETIMES PEOPLE DIE is a genuine page-turner with with a killer reveal. Totally loved it and would highly recommend.

Really unique concept for a story. Loved the short little chapters about famous health care killers. The main character was both funny and dark and the plot kept me guessing till the end. Really enjoyed this!

I read this book and it felt like it was a true to life memoir of a doctor, for that reason I stuck with it however reviewing the details after I realised this was fiction and wish I hadn't bothered as it really dragged as a story and a lot was massively irrelevant!

Whilst I enjoyed this book overall, it took me a bit of time to get into it. I had to double check that it was a novel, rather than an autobiography due to the way it was written. I also flicked past the history of serial killers chapters. The narrator isn't a likeable character but I did get into the swing of things and enjoyed the way the story panned out and ended

i really enjoyed this book and loved the characters and the setting of this book, many thanks to publisher and netgalley for my copy of this book

Sometimes People Die
by Simon Stephenson

This is a great book that I couldn't put down.
A Scottish junior doctor is back after suspension for stealing opioids and starts work at a rather run down hospital in London. After one of his patients dies the matter is investigated and declared a murder. There have been too many deaths in the hospital and everyone is under suspicion.
This is an interesting, gripping and amusing thriller, written like a memoir and interspersed with real life stories of healthcare murderers. It's one of the most original books I have read in a long time and highly recommend it.

Loved this book.

I was gripped from the start.

Set in a fictional hospital. a great story, cleverly written

This was such an interesting, compelling puzzle of a book which I enjoyed immensely. Half a murder mystery set in a fictional hospital in London, half a memoir about addiction, this story intersperses the histories of real life ‘angels of death’ with the puzzle of finding one. It is funny, confounding and asks some deep philosophical questions about life. Highly recommend

Unpredictable Suspense…
A clutch of unaccountable deaths in a hospital already under extreme pressure may reveal dark undercurrents in this edgy, unpredictable suspense. Our narrator is, indeed, unreliable and the narrative reads almost factually as the tale progresses with a raw edge of dark humour and a well crafted cast. Trust no one, suspect everyone.

The year is 1999. Returning to practice after a suspension for stealing opioids, a young Scottish doctor takes the only job he can find: a post as a senior house officer in the struggling east London hospital of St Luke’s.

Amid the maelstrom of sick patients, over-worked staff and underfunded wards a darker secret soon declares itself: too many patients are dying.

Which of the medical professionals our protagonist has encountered is behind the murders? And can our unnamed narrator’s version of the events be trusted?

The narrative grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let you breathe until the end… I read this book in one sitting.

Loved loved loved it! It holds the tension and mystery until the very end, and really enjoyed the narrator’s voice and complex character background. Such an interesting and thought provoking topic as well.

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Sometimes People Die is a really good book by a former doctor, turned author and screenwriter. When first reading it I had to keep reminding myself it was a novel, as it reads exactly like a junior doctor’s hospital memoirs. It contains stories that are funny and sad, reflect the shortcomings of the health service and how hard the junior doctors have to work and how mistakes can be made and overlooked in busy hospital departments. It then leads into what is more clearly (hopefully!) a work of fiction where the slightly hopeless protagonist, a failing junior doctor struggling with an opiates addiction, tries to avoid being the main suspect in the murder investigation that is launched at St Luke’s Hospital where he works. Will our narrator avoid the clutches of the detectives or will there be a wrongful conviction?
An excellent novel, that I would highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I 10/10 loved this book. A comment that those of you who have read Set My Heart to Five, also by this author, will understand. If you haven't then I do recommend you look it up!
So... we have an unnamed narrator who, for the purposes of this review I will just call Doc. He has had a bit of a past, being suspended for stealing and taking opioids and has only just been cleared back to practice when we first catch up to him in 1999. He has taken the only job going, one which apparently no one else wants, that of a senior house officer in a downtrodden area of east London. A far cry from where he came from in Scotland. But, needs must. And he is determined to turn it all around.
So Doc starts his work in earnest, understaffed and with what staff they do have not always being the cream, it is challenging to say the least. But he cracks on. And is doing OK. Until that is he is called to a suspected heart attack crash incident of a patient who had been doing OK, but who subsequently dies, There's an inquest and the fingers start to point his way due to his past...
And so begins the start of a spiral which, well, to be honest I am not going to spoil by saying anything more about. But I will say that this incident opens up a right can of "serial killer in the medical profession" worms... Big juicy worms...
Interestingly though, peppered throughout the narrative, all the way through, the author includes historical accounts of previous medical killers. Some I had heard of, others new to me. Although a tad distracting, I did find these fascinating and did bookmark a few miscreants for further reading!
Obviously being from that world, the author has made the whole "hospital experience" very true to life. I found some of the scenes intriguing and his explanations interesting. I also blooming love the title cos, of course, it's the truth and fits the book perfectly.
Oh and there's also quite a lot of humour to be found in amongst all the shenanigans. Some quite black, but it keeps the book on an even keel.
Characters were great - I took to Doc straight away. Love me a flawed character chasing redemption! But I also had a soft spot for Felix. You'll see why, maybe.
And the ending - didn't see that coming...
All in all, a cracking book which I thoroughly recommend to fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.