My favorite books by authors who have parlayed their professions into a book

Why am I passionate about this?

“You have such an interesting career.” “You should write a book.” Both are statements often heard by the co-authors of Crossing the Line. ‘Algor mortis’ is the postmortem cooling of the body and so when two board-certified forensic pathologists decide to write a book under a pseudonym, A.L. Gomortis is born. While our book is not based on actual autopsies we have performed, we draw upon our 40 plus years of experience working in six different jurisdictions. With our professional expertise and experience we are able to take real-world experiences and engineer a realistic novel.


I wrote...

Crossing the Line

By A.L. Gomortis,

Book cover of Crossing the Line

What is my book about?

Alex Thatcher is just settling into her new life in Southern Arizona and her dream job as a Border Patrol agent. She is working with a respected mentor (and a newbie who is fun to boss around), learning her way around the desert, and even making some friends. But when Alex observes something unusual while out on patrol, she and her colleagues must work with law enforcement agencies and the medical examiner's office to investigate a series of homicides.

Fascinating and suspenseful, Crossing the Line captures the complexity and ambiguity of the borderlands.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of Modern Weather Systems Science

A.L. Gomortis Why did I love this book?

As a long-time college friend of Jonathan Martin, I was witness to Jon’s passion of meteorology during his undergraduate studies. 

An example of his passion, prior to an intra-mural championship softball game, he stood watching a unique cloud formation instead of warming up for the game. To this day, nary an email or conversation is without a meteorologic reference. 

His biography of Reginald Sutcliffe not only details the math and science behind Sutcliffe’s professional life, but he also intertwines Sutcliffe’s personal life. 

Jon spent his sabbatical to interview Sutcliffe’s colleagues and family for the book.

By Jonathan E. Martin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of Modern Weather Systems Science as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Despite being perhaps the foremost British meteorologist of the twentieth century, Reginald Sutcliffe has been understudied and underappreciated. His impact continues to this day every time you check the weather forecast. Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of Modern Weather Systems Science not only details Sutcliffe's life and ideas, but it also illuminates the impact of social movements and the larger forces that propelled him on his consequential trajectory.

Less than a century ago, a forecast of the weather tomorrow was considered a practical impossibility. This book makes the case that three important advances guided the development of modern dynamic meteorology,…


Book cover of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils On Record: A Narrative Discography

A.L. Gomortis Why did I love this book?

Mike is another long-time college friend who relayed his passion of writing and music into a book. 

Mike has an encyclopedic knowledge of music and was well known for waking friends on birthday mornings playing a song he felt best reflected their persona.  Mike is a college professor by day and a music reviewer and a reggae disc jockey by night.

He took a personal connection to the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, a rock band rooted in Springfield, MO, a few hours southwest of where Mike is a lifelong residence and parlayed his love of writing and music into a discography.

By Michael Kuelker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ozark Mountain Daredevils On Record as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS ON RECORD: A NARRATIVE DISCOGRAPHY is the story of this beloved Americana band's music across the Daredevils' 50-years-and-running career. The book draws on more than 50 hours of new interviews author Michael Kuelker conducted with all six founding members and three dozen other band members and three dozen insiders. The result is a rich portrait of a band that went from convivial obscurity in Springfield, Missouri, an underrated music haven, to recording with uber-producer Glyn Johns. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils cut a series of well-regarded albums for A&M Records in the 1970s, spawning major hits like…


Book cover of Coma

A.L. Gomortis Why did I love this book?

Coma was probably the first medical mystery I read. 

Robin Cook parlayed his medical expertise into a medical thriller. Little did I know that when I read this as a high school student in the late 1970s, someday I would write my own mystery novel based on my medical expertise as a forensic pathologist.

By Robin Cook,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Coma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The blockbuster bestseller that kickstarted a new genre--the medical thriller--is now available in trade paperback for the first time.
They called it "minor surgery," but Nancy Greenly, Sean Berman and a dozen others--all admitted to Boston Memorial Hospital for routine procedures--were victims of the same inexplicable, hideous tragedy on the operating table. They never woke up.
Susan Wheeler is a third-year medical student working as a trainee at Boston Memorial Hospital. Two patients during her residency mysteriously go into comas immediately after their operations due to complications from anesthesia. Susan begins to investigate the causes behind both of these alarming…


Book cover of Postmortem

A.L. Gomortis Why did I love this book?

When I was in my Pathology residency at the University of Virginia, I had a two-week rotation at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. 

By coincidence, someone told me about Postmortem written by a former employee of the office, Patricia Cornwell. I went to the library to check it out and was offered the audio version on cassette. 

On my 90-minute drive to my first day of the rotation, I listened to this book and wanted to keep driving as I was hooked. I was glad I did stop as not only did I observe the spot-on descriptions of the office, but this rotation cemented my interest in forensic pathology.

By Patricia Cornwell,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Postmortem as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.

'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times

A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings.

So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig…


Book cover of The House of God

A.L. Gomortis Why did I love this book?

I first read this book after completing medical school and before starting residency and I recently reread it some 30 years later. 

Samuel Shem took his experiences as an intern to pen a sarcastic look at the life of a 1970s intern.  To the non-medical person, these experiences may come as a shock, but to those I have met who were residents in that era, they say it is closer to the truth than people want to believe.

By Samuel Shem,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The House of God as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By turns heartbreaking, hilarious, and utterly human, The House of God is a mesmerizing and provocative novel about what it really takes to become a doctor.

"The raunchy, troubling, and hilarious novel that turned into a cult phenomenon. Singularly compelling...brutally honest."-The New York Times

Struggling with grueling hours and sudden life-and-death responsibilities, Basch and his colleagues, under the leadership of their rule-breaking senior resident known only as the Fat Man, must learn not only how to be fine doctors but, eventually, good human beings.

A phenomenon ever since it was published, The House of God was the first unvarnished, unglorified,…


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Acquaintance

By Jeff Stookey,

Book cover of Acquaintance

Jeff Stookey Author Of Dangerous Medicine

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Historical fiction writer Gay male Reader History buff Curious human

Jeff's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

As a young doctor, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the death of his lover, a fellow officer. Back home after the War, he befriends a young jazz musician who he hopes will become a companion he can share his life with. But this is Oregon: the Ku Klux Klan is gaining influence, homosexual acts are illegal, and such a relationship will jeopardize Carl’s promising medical career.

Musician Jimmy Harper has his own dreams for the future and his own obstacles to overcome before he will allow himself to accept Carl’s love. More than a gay love story, Acquaintance is a deep dive into gay and lesbian history based on extensive period research of the 1920s.

Acquaintance

By Jeff Stookey,

What is this book about?

As a young surgeon, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the loss of his lover, a fellow officer. Back home after the war, he befriends a young jazz musician who he hopes will become a companion he can share his life with. But this is Oregon: the Ku Klux Klan is gaining influence, homosexual acts are illegal, and such a relationship will jeopardize Carl’s promising medical career. Musician Jimmy Harper has his own dreams for the future and his own obstacles to overcome before he will allow himself to accept Carl’s love.
Acquaintance is a…


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