The Good Nurse - by Charles Graeber (Paperback)

About the Book

"After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed "The Angel of Death" by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favorite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. Cullen's murderous career in the world's most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. When, in March of 2006, Charles Cullen was marched from his final sentencing in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, courthouse into a waiting police van, it seemed certain that the chilling secrets of his life, career, and capture would disappear with him. Now, in this piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, the author, a journalist presents the whole story for the first time. This work does more than chronicle Cullen's deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him; it paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and offers a penetrating look inside America's medical system."--

Book Synopsis

The Netflix movie starring Academy Award-winners Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain--based on a "stunning book...that should and does bring to mind In Cold Blood"-- takes you inside the mind of America's most prolific serial killer, whose 16-year long "nursing" career left as many as 400 dead. (New York Times)

After his December 2003 arrest, nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed "The Angel of Death" by the media. But he was no mercy killer nor a simple monster. Cullen was, at times, a trusted colleague, a beloved father, and a best friend. He was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history, implicated in the deaths of as many as 400 patients.

Cullen's murderous career spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals. Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism, Charles Graeber uncovers how Cullen gamed the system, and tells the unbelievable true story of the confidential informant asked to risk her life and career to betray a friend and finally stop a serial killer. Based on extensive never-before-seen evidence and years of exclusive jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself, THE GOOD NURSE is a mesmerizing and irresistibly paced portrait of medicine and madness. This book will make you look at hospitals and the people who work in them in an entirely different way.

Review Quotes

"A gripping look into a killer's mind...THE GOOD NURSE is as suspenseful as any crime novel."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"A literary thriller with legs... Meticulously crafted... a book that demonstrates the transportive power of literary journalism while simultaneously helping to restore its credibility."--The Brooklyn Rail

"A remarkable new book...gripping and brilliantly written."--Healthcare Risk Management Review

"A standout true-crime book, one that doubles as both a thrilling horror story and a cautionary tale, and frightens and frustrates in equal measure."--The Boston Globe

"A stunning book...that should and does bring to mind In Cold Blood....the story appeals to prurient interests, as does any graphic tale of true crime. But THE GOOD NURSE succeeds in being about much more than Mr. Cullen's murderous kinks. The causes of his pathology are not interesting. But the eagerness of ambitious hospital administrators to cover up his misdeeds is revelatory. And the police investigation that brought him down is a thriller in every sense of that word."--Janet Maslin, New York Times

"A very scary book. It will reach out and grab you and not let you go. You will forgo food, talking, work, anything just to get to the climactic moment of this true crime story."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Absolutely frightening."--The Detroit News

"Alarming"--CNN.com

"Engrossing...hard-to-put-down.. On one level, The Good Nurse is an absorbing story of a serial killer operating within the walls of what most view as a trusted institution. On another, it's an intriguing detective story. And on another it's an indictment of the hospital industry."--The New Jersey Star-Ledger

"Fascinating and frightening... A scary page turner about one man's quiet reign of terror, those dedicated and brave enough to end it, and the dangers that can lurk in the places we may feel safest. "--BookReporter

"Graeber doesn't pull punches... A deeply unsettling addition to the true crime genre."--Publishers Weekly

"Put this one on the shelf next to Ann Rule's classic about Ted Bundy, The Stranger Beside Me - it's that good. Grade: A"--Entertainment Weekly

"Riveting"--People

"The most terrifying book published this year. It is also one of the most thoughtful.... From a long series of conversations with Cullen, the detectives who solved the case and Amy, a nurse who once was Cullen's best friend and eventually got him to confess, among many other sources, Graeber has crafted a book that is a revelation. THE GOOD NURSE is gripping, sad, suspenseful, rhythmic and beautifully documented (the endnotes to this book are impressive)."--Kirkus Reviews

"The story is consistently incredible, but credit it you must, for it is the truth... I couldn't put this book down."--PopMatters

About the Author

Charles Graeber has been honored with an Overseas Press Club award for Outstanding International Journalism, an Edgar nomination, and a citation of merit by the British Medical Association. He has contributed to publications including The New Yorker, New York Magazine, GQ, Bloomberg Businessweek, Vogue, The Cambodia Daily, The Phnom Penh Post, The Budapest Sun, The Nantucket Beacon, MIT Technology Review and The New York Times, and been anthologized in The Best American Crime Writing, The Best American Science Writing, The Best American Business Writing, The Best of 10 Years of National Geographic Adventure, The Best of 20 years of Wired and other collections. Born in Iowa, he now lives closer to saltwater.