Aftershock is the second book in the Jessie Teska series (the first was First Cut), about a medical examiner who helps solve crimes in San Francisco. In this book, Leopold Haring, an architect, is found dead under a load of pipes at a construction site. The detective on the case believes his death is an industrial accident, but as soon as Jessie takes a look at the body, she realizes the pipes were not the cause of death. Her autopsy reveals the real cause—Haring was stabbed with something akin to an ice pick or screwdriver. So when a bloody screwdriver appears in the back of a construction union steward’s pickup, the detectives and district attorney believe they’ve found their man. However, the closer Jessie looks, the more she believes the wrong person has been arrested—but nobody will listen to her, and a major earthquake sends the city, and the medical examiner’s office, into an overdrive that makes it even harder for her to investigate the case.
If you’re looking for a truly authentic look at a murder investigation through the eyes of a medical examiner, this book (and this series) is for you. This isn’t an accident—one of the authors, Dr. Judy Melinek, is a medical examiner, and her expertise shows. In fact, consider this your warning—if you’re squeamish about autopsies and/or dead and decaying bodies, this series may not be for you. This book in particular pulls no punches—there are detailed scenes about how Teska has to deal with the victims of the earthquake (Melinek’s experience dealing with such situation again shows here—as she details in her non-fiction book Working Stiff, Melinek was one of the MEs who helped deal with the aftermath of 9/11 in Manhattan). But if you’re looking for those sorts of authentic details, particularly in a compelling story that shows how autopsy findings can lead investigators to the right conclusions, this book and series is a unique glimpse into that world.
While the authenticity is a huge draw for me, I also love Dr. Jessie Teska. She’s prickly, she has no filter, she makes mistakes in her personal life, and when you get right down to it, she probably shouldn’t be likeable—but she absolutely is. I relate to her, I sympathize with her, and I root for her. The way this chapter of her personal story wrapped up in the book made me smile and makes me look forward to finding out where that story goes from here.
The San Francisco setting is another draw for me—as a dedicated Bay Area dweller, I’ve had a lifelong love affair with The City, and always enjoy spending fictional time there, too. Jessie is still ambivalent about San Francisco, although she’s coming to love it—and that resonates with me, too, because I think it’s a very San Franciscan trait to both embrace the good and face the bad about San Francisco and the Bay Area as a whole.
So, if spending a little time following a San Francisco medical examiner sounds like fun, I highly recommend picking up Aftershock (or First Cut—but Aftershock stands on its own even if you haven’t read the first book) and getting to know Dr. Jessie Teska.
(I should mention that Hanover Square Press sent an advanced copy of Aftershock for me to review; however, that did not influence my review in any way—I purchased both First Cut and Working Stiff myself and loved them both, too.)
Happy Reading,
M.
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