This is really a 1.5 star book. It is an interesting subject but the book has no meat to it.

I like my books to have a definite beginning, middle and satisfying conclusion. This book is very disturbing to read because it starts off defining and defending the role of the forensic nurse, detailing how she has to fight for acceptance in the various health and legal disciplines she works in and illustrates this with short anecdotes (the only interesting bits) but it never gets beyond this defining and defending. You could easily swap the middle and end chapters and not realise it; there is no progression to the book at all. The slight, journalistic style of writing is ideally suited to a career manual but doesn't have the depth that would make a book interesting.

Really, it would be better condensed and reissued as a series of pamphlets for would-be nurses looking at the various career specialities open to them.

Recommended to people interested in a nursing career who have a strong interest in the legal - or criminal - side of how someone ended up in medical care. It's a well-paid career and sounds to be a very interesting one indeed.

Read in 2008, found, skimmed through and reviewed in 2012 ( )

This book could have been so much better. Yes, there was some really good stuff in there, some interesting cases and some insight into the court system and how it works. Mindblowing statistics thrown in. What to do if you are the victim of a sexual assault. Profiles of the nurses involved, how they heard about forensic nursing, what obstacles they faced.

But wow, the writing was SO BAD! She just repeats everything OVER AND OVER. I get it. Forensic nurses are the bomb. They are so much better than doctors. They are better than cops. They make good coroners. Fine. Quit telling me that. I heard you the first seven times. And I don't want to hear the details about what's involved in a sexual assault exam a dozen times. Three is the maximum I'm willing to put up with. I skimmed over so much that I finished this book in no time. It could have been a quarter of the size. Where was your editor? How did this get published the way it is?

I really can't recommend this one. Yes, it was an interesting glimpse at a hidden group in the legal system. But ultimately, it wasn't worth it. There must be better books on the subject. Skip this one. I'm giving it back to the thrift store. ( )