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A review by cyireadbooks
The Nurse: Inside Denmark's Most Sensational Criminal Trial by Kristian Corfixen
4.0
Medical Ward M130 treats the hospital’s most seriously ill patients. On that ward, Cristina Aistrup Hansen is the lead nurse. Cristina gained a reputation as a take charge person and was often portrayed as the Nurse Nightingale of that floor. However, statistics would prove othewise.
In 2010, Cristina would complete her first year working in Ward M130. That year, 87 patients were declared dead. An unusually high number. In 2011, a startling 95 patients were declared dead. As the death toll climbed, Cristina’s colleagues became increasingly wary of the sinister statistics, which lead to Cristina being accused of poisoning her patients in 2012.
Though only three deaths and an attempted murder were linked to Cristina, speculation was that there were dozens more. But there wasn’t enough evidence to link the dozens of more deaths to Cristina. Even the four that were linked were circumstantial. But with the evidence on hand, Cristina was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of three people and the attempted murder on one person.
Cristina appealed and based on updated evidence, Cristina’s sentence got reduced to 12 years with credit for time served. Cristina is slated for parole in March 2023.
The Nurse is a mild true crime novel as it doesn’t contain a lot of gory details. There’s a lot of facts and figures that can get overwhelming, but I found it interesting. Some of the terminology can be a speed bump in the reading flow, but there are footnotes and references to help along the way.
I enjoyed the bulk of the novel and found Corfixen’s details highly interesting. Added to her details is the fact that Corfixen manages to include the updates on Cristina’s appeal and parole status. What didn’t appeal to me is the tangential narrative about Health Care Serial Killers. It didn’t add much and I just found it a distraction to the true crime story at hand.
Overall, The Nurse is an engaging read if you enjoy the true crime genre. It would be interesting to learn what other true crime novels Corfixen has in store for us. Four stars.
I received a digital copy of the book from Podium Publishing through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
In 2010, Cristina would complete her first year working in Ward M130. That year, 87 patients were declared dead. An unusually high number. In 2011, a startling 95 patients were declared dead. As the death toll climbed, Cristina’s colleagues became increasingly wary of the sinister statistics, which lead to Cristina being accused of poisoning her patients in 2012.
Though only three deaths and an attempted murder were linked to Cristina, speculation was that there were dozens more. But there wasn’t enough evidence to link the dozens of more deaths to Cristina. Even the four that were linked were circumstantial. But with the evidence on hand, Cristina was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of three people and the attempted murder on one person.
Cristina appealed and based on updated evidence, Cristina’s sentence got reduced to 12 years with credit for time served. Cristina is slated for parole in March 2023.
The Nurse is a mild true crime novel as it doesn’t contain a lot of gory details. There’s a lot of facts and figures that can get overwhelming, but I found it interesting. Some of the terminology can be a speed bump in the reading flow, but there are footnotes and references to help along the way.
I enjoyed the bulk of the novel and found Corfixen’s details highly interesting. Added to her details is the fact that Corfixen manages to include the updates on Cristina’s appeal and parole status. What didn’t appeal to me is the tangential narrative about Health Care Serial Killers. It didn’t add much and I just found it a distraction to the true crime story at hand.
Overall, The Nurse is an engaging read if you enjoy the true crime genre. It would be interesting to learn what other true crime novels Corfixen has in store for us. Four stars.
I received a digital copy of the book from Podium Publishing through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.