The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder

Graeber’s book is meticulously researched.It’s a compelling and terrifying read that is an alarming and cautionary tale about how evil can exist unchecked in plain sight in multiple hospitals and several states over a span of nearly two decades, wherever Charles Cullen was employed. Cullen was a seemingly dedicated nurse with experience in burn care, critical care and other specialties. He was initially amiable and willing to take on tedious tasks and extra shifts, always early, skilled and efficient. But as time progressed, a disturbing pattern emerged. Colleagues and supervisors began to notice odd, inexplicable behavior, missing drugs, medication mistakes and patient fatalities that could not be explained. Cullen would be monitored and sometimes terminated, but he would most often just bounce to another hospital, as his conduct and suspicious activities would not follow him on his references, only the verification of employment by his previous employer. Eventually, Cullen’s diabolical deeds are found and a former colleague agrees to go undercover for law enforcement, in an effort to catch Cullen and secure a murder confession.While reading the book, I was struck by several things. First, by the unabashed darkness that permeated Cullen. He relished injecting patients with drugs that could produce detrimental and fatal outcomes with their medical conditions and physiologies. He was detached and indifferent, but he waited to see who would die, as if playing a macabre game of roulette, all the while hiding his actions, which gave him an additional rush and sense of power. It’s utterly incomprehensible. We expect compassion and safety in a medical environment or facility. Yet, we know evil does exist. Perhaps it’s somehow worse because it occurs in a place where we least expect it. Secondly, the scope of Cullen’s crimes is staggering. Hundreds of deaths are suspected. Lastly, I’m equally stunned by the fact that some of the medical personnel seemed willing to turn a blind eye to Cullen’s deviousness, and those who seemed more concerned about protecting the hospital and stonewalling the criminal investigation. It’s impossible to read the book and not look at a hospital stay with perhaps some trepidation. I truly believe that the vast majority of nurses and hospitals sincerely want to help their patients and would never intentionally harm, as Cullen did. Unfortunately, there are some people in society with criminal intent, and subsequently, that dark impulse can exist in whatever area of life that person chooses, be it a profession or personal endeavor.Graeber’s book is an intelligent, gripping read that reads like a fictional, medical thriller, made all the more frightening because it’s actually true. It shines a necessary light on the crucial importance of medical safeguards and stringent policies to protect patients from threat and harm. The book also shines a light on the hidden strand of darkness that can exist within some individuals, and it’s imperative that we remain more vigilant and aware of the people in our lives.

I can immediately tell this story was carefully crafted with diligent interviewing and responsible research surrounding "The Angel of Death". The writing was excellent as if I was reading a story of fiction, but sadly this was stranger than fiction, it was real events. I was astounded by the number of hospitals whom vetted and hired Charles Cullen, given the disciplinary actions on his record, perhaps these hospitals were in dire need of nurses? Nevertheless, I felt the administrators and whomever played a role in hiring him should have faced some level of accountability. Sadly, he continued his murder spree in the most deceptively ambitious and unimaginative ways. I work in healthcare and I work with the elderly dementia population, and I understand the meaning and concept of quality of life. I tried convincing myself early on in the book that Charles Cullen was in some way a reincarnation of Jack Kevorkian, but after finishing I abandoned that idea and stopped putting thought and effort into this terminally dysfunctional wack-job.

Good Book, I remembered this news story way back when.This man has to be a narcissist and how anyone can do this over and over as a game and for the pure pleasures in it escapes me.

When hospitals choose to ignoreA nurse who is flawed to the core,His patients will pay with their lives til the dayThat a co-worker hollers, “No more.”#bookreviewsaslimericks

I have grown up in the Lehigh Valley and had no idea this took place! It’s unbelievable he got away with it at so many hospitals.

Phenomenal read. Fast paced and gripping. Very well done to get into the mind of this criminal and his friend Amy.

Most patients go to hospitals when they are extremely ill. They hope to get better and be treated by competent and caring staff. Nurses, especially, are in the front and center of patient care. It is ironic, then, that Charlie Cullen, a board licensed nurse was a serial killer, preying on the sick and dying at nine different hospitals for years. Estimates of his victims hover around 300 patients. He is one of the worst serial killers known. It is also astounding that he got fired or was asked to resign from each of these hospitals and all but one never even reported him to the nursing board.Charlie Cullen failed at many things that he tried. He got into a lot of trouble in the navy and was afraid he'd get a dishonorable discharge, had his marriage fall apart, and was a loner without friends. People found him weird and unlikable. He had a criminal record for stalking and breaking and entering. He was a raving alcoholic who would hole himself up in the basement and consume large amounts of alcohol. If alcohol wasn't available he'd use Listerine or some other compound containing alcohol. He had a history of killing animals and it's even probable that he poisoned his sister's abusive boyfriend when he was still a teenager.His modus operandi was to inject patients with insulin or digoxin or other lethal medications and wait till they died. Sometimes he'd steal drugs from the medicine closets in the hospitals and not even use them. It was as if he was calling for help and no one came. He had a history of multiple suicide attempts or gestures. He liked the ride in the ambulance to the emergency room and having people take care of him. He spent months in psychiatric hospitals for depression, alcoholism and various other psychiatric problems.Charlie's affect never seemed to be concomitant with the crimes he committed. When confronted, he showed no remorse or guilt. He acted like he didn't even care. He was even able to pass lie detector tests with an uncanny ability.As a former psychotherapist, I read this book with both horror and fascination. Charlie appeared to have a borderline personality along with being a sociopath. He needed someone to care for him or he acted out by killing patients or making suicidal gestures. He'd enter relationships with women quickly and then they would fizzle out. Charlie would then resort to calling them repeatedly into all hours of the night, sending anonymous presents that were unwanted and, on at least one occasion, breaking into the woman's home and watching her while she was asleep.The book terrified me. I was recently in the hospital and had the most wonderful care. In fact, most nurses and doctors are caring, wonderful professionals. However, when there is a bad seed like Charlie, there is no one more vulnerable than the sick or the dying. Charlie was a monster who was caught and tried only because of a dedicated confidential informant who worked a long time to get him put away. Most hospitals and their lawyers and risk assessment departments just turned the other cheek and let him go to do his killings somewhere else.As a therapist for my local hospital, I've seen them turn the other cheek. Doctors or nurses are fired or asked to resign but their licensing boards are not contacted. They are let loose to do damage somewhere else. Like this book indicates, the system is broken somewhere and needs to be fixed. Even when a licensing board is contacted, they often are very ineffectual. This book does not provide any answers nor can I. However, if you read about Charlie Cullen, be prepared to have your skin crawl.

Looking forward to the series but the author did an incredible job taking you through this complicated journey

Dreadful writing. No structure whatsoever. It was just like a boring chore reading it. Most disappointed. Would'nt recommend.

Not a long book but plodded along and amateurish writing sadly. Will wait for Netflix adaptation as the story itself is very interesting.

I usually enjoy this kind of book and was looking forward to reading it based on previous reviews, however I was very disappointed and cannot believe I read the same book! I found it to be very repetitive and poorly written in parts. I was interested in how the perpetrator had obtained the drugs etc but felt that it was very poorly explained and I feel none the wiser as to how he got away with it for so long. The hospital and police investigations had the potential to be fascinating but weren't dealt with in much depth at all. I appreciate that the murders took place over a long time span so there was a lot to cover but the book felt rushed and vague and could have been so much better.

This book was so well written, couldn't put it down & disappointed when I finished it. Seems almost unbelievable that there are nurses that are able to move from hospital to hospital with ease and no questions asked about history. The reputation of hospitals appears more important to to management than the safety of patients & many people should feel responsible that a nurse has got away with so many murders.

As a nurse, I found this book quite disturbing, especially the ease with which he found jobs, despite management finding his practice questionable . It was somewhat dull reading despite the storyline, quite repetitive in the way each chapter was written.