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The Fragrance Shed by a Violet: Murder in the Medical Center

Lin Wilder (Goodreads Author)

4.36 · Rating details · 566 ratings · 17 reviews

After her series of articles is awarded three Pulitzer Prizes, investigative reporter Kate Townsend is haunted by the knowledge that her new-found fame has been purchased at too high a price. She is certain that McCall, an internationally acclaimed cardiologist, researcher, and a 2002 nominee for the Nobel Prize for Medicine, is not guilty.
Texas governor Greg Bell hires f ...more

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Paperback, 2nd, 486 pages

Published October 27th 2015 by Wilder Books (first published July 8th 2014)

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· 566 ratings · 17 reviews

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Sep 16, 2016 Linda Strong rated it it was amazing

Shelves: wordslinger, read-in-2016

Where oh where to begin? This is such a terrific book that touches on so many social issues, emotions, dysfunctional families, and painful journeys to forgiveness.

Dr. Lindsey McCall is a resident in the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. She was found guilty of murdering her own mother by injecting her with an untested drug that she had worked on for her entire life.

Investigative Kate Townsend finds herself looking into this strange case .... winding up winning not one, but three Pul ...more

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Feb 01, 2016 Carole rated it it was amazing

Thank you Goodreads for a free copy. I was excited to win this book . Fragrance Shed by a Violet is about many things. There is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, a Nobel Prize nominee and famous cardiologist, and a defense attorney whose lives all intersect at a state prison. The reporter won the Pulitzer writing about Dr. McCall, who has been imprisoned for murder. The attorney is an ex-cop who had agreed to help the Texas governor clean up problems within the prison. Now the reporter, Kate To ...more

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Oct 09, 2016 Shirley T.Heathcock rated it really liked it

This author is a PhD (nurse) who knows of which she speaks. If you are in the medical world in Houston, Texas you probably are as proud of her as I am.

Her good friend and admirer.

Shirley Heathcock R.N. (retired)

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May 02, 2017 N.N. Light rated it it was amazing

Shelves: medical-thriller, mystery, reviews-by-mrs-n, suspense, thriller

I’m a recent fan of medical mysteries, even though it’s been a popular genre for years. In The Fragrance Shed by a Violet, Lin Wilder takes us deep inside medical research and one doctor’s actions that reverberates throughout the community. Dr. Lindsay McCall is tried and convicted for intentional murder. As she sits in jail, guilt and shame her companions in the cell, investigative reporter Kate Townsend is confident Dr. McCall didn’t do it. She investigates and what she uncovers, shakes the me ...more

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Nov 16, 2015 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads

The Fragrance Shed by a Violet is a medical mystery that explores the lives of two sisters, Lindsey and Paula, as part of an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of their mother. Along the way, the book provides a window into the world of medical research. It was a page=turner that was hard to put down.

I received a free review copy of The Fragrance Shed by a Violet through Goodreads Giveaways.

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Sep 07, 2014 Sheelah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a very well written book with a very timely story line. It is clear that the author understands her subject. The story line flowed very well.

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Sep 14, 2017 Matt McAvoy rated it liked it

When you read Lin Wilder, you pretty much know what you are going to get: writing of the highest quality, from an incredibly learned professional author, and “The Fragrance Shed By A Violet…” falls firmly into this category. I’ve recently read this and its sequel “Do you Solemnly Swear? A Nation of Law: The Dark Side”, albeit in the wrong order, and have, on both occasions, been awestruck by the depth of Wilder’s knowledge.

Though, if I am to be ruthlessly honest, I have to admit that I found thi When you read Lin Wilder, you pretty much know what you are going to get: writing of the highest quality, from an incredibly learned professional author, and “The Fragrance Shed By A Violet…” falls firmly into this category. I’ve recently read this and its sequel “Do you Solemnly Swear? A Nation of Law: The Dark Side”, albeit in the wrong order, and have, on both occasions, been awestruck by the depth of Wilder’s knowledge.

Though, if I am to be ruthlessly honest, I have to admit that I found this book an incredibly difficult one to read, and had a truly tough time completing it. The fact is that it was really not for me – I found it incredibly wordy, and a real slow-burner, which required a huge amount of discipline to bond with.

“The Fragrance Shed By a Violet…” is something of a fact-infused creative case study, which may be intended to read as a journalistic exposé in parts; this latter point, I think, is where I start to struggle with it. The tale focuses on a cardiology scientist imprisoned for murdering her mother by administering an experimental drug, and the efforts of a journalist and a prison governor to clear her name. The corporate nature of this tale is one which renders it overly officious at times, yet in my opinion it is definitely at its most engrossing when it focuses on the real lives of, and connections between, the primary characters of the tale: namely the McCall family and Rich Jansen, the governor. Unfortunately there is nowhere near enough of this poignancy, in my view - this aspect of the book does not really kick in until the second half; when it does, I have to say that the book moves along at a much more satisfying pace. To be truthful, I would even go as far as to suggest that the whole idea of a news story and the intrepid reporter pursuing it could have been cut in its entirety, in order to create a much more affecting and touching tale – there are more than enough words in the first half to remove Kate Townsend and her investigation, and in my opinion the book would benefit immensely. I realize, of course, that it was Lin’s objective to create this kind of report, but I consider this a shame, and feel the book would have been improved had she instead opted to pen a heartfelt family drama.

Additionally, I must admit, I did struggle somewhat to garner Townsend’s enthusiasm for the (certain) Pulitzer prize her story would gain her; I do feel this is an example of a lot of implausible gloss, which detracts the reader’s experience to some extent – for example, the unrelenting use of superlatives to describe simply everything do grow more than a touch tiresome, and are so prevalent as to almost launch the book into the realm of fantasy; food isn’t just good, it is “outstanding”, characters aren’t just good at their jobs, they are at the very top, they aren’t just wealthy, they are in the elite, not just attractive, but “stunning” - the jaw-dropping adjectives and inter-character flattery never stop, and I think they are distracting, and unnecessary. Lin wilder does not write pulp – she is far, far too good an author for that.

I’ll be honest, I did mull quite deeply over the star-rating I wished to award this book, and in the end I did decide that although the book wasn’t really for me, I simply could not overlook the sheer quality of Wilder - she is hard-working, meticulous, and she has either gleaned a vast cross-section of procedural knowledge in her professional life, or is an incredibly dedicated researcher (or, more likely, both) – either way, she deserves enormous praise, and it would simply be wrong of me not to congratulate her work ethic as an author. Her language and grammar is of top quality – Wilder is clearly an academic - and for all I know she could be inventing every instance of procedural terminology… yet I know that she isn’t; whether she is an expert or not, I wouldn’t know, but I trust completely in the integrity of her every word.

To summarize, “The Fragrance Shed By A Violet…” is not a book I enjoyed, though that is not to say that you won’t - if you like procedural based corporate drama in the Grisham vein, give it a try. Lin Wilder, on the other hand, is a gem.
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Oct 16, 2019 Jeannell Ingram rated it really liked it

Such a well written book, my first book from this author, and she is smart. I can tell because she makes a complicated story with lots of medical and legal jargon easy for me to understand. There are quotes from famous people (some of whose names I actually recognized - Aeschylus, Proust, St Francis, Ecclesiastes, Dante, and Lewis Carroll - but most I did not recognize) at the beginning of each of the 29 chapters which relate directly to what happens in that chapter. Nice touch. I especially enj ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Deborah Gebhardt rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 20, 2020 Jamie rated it it was amazing

This book has all the feels! Everything from day to day life to dysfunctional family. You could not read a better book that touches on everything and puts into perspective that even doctors are human. Great book you will not regret reading it.

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Aug 19, 2018 G Lane rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, mystery

I'm really torn by this book. The story was good. However, it was wordy. Unnecessarily overly descriptive. This is somewhat of a mystery, but more a book about a dysfunctional family, substance abuse, and friendship with a sprinkle of religion and love.

Overall, it's a worthwhile read. ...more

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Jul 08, 2016 Stuart rated it really liked it

Medical murders have become more prominent in fiction in recent years and Lin Wilder does it right in 'The Fragrance Shed by a Violet: Murder in the Medical Center.' From nurses and doctors murdering for wealth or to ease the suffering of those who are too sick there are a slew of reasons that can be used for the basis of these books and in this one we see a Doctor who is thought of as a genius in the field being in jail for a crime no one can believe she would commit.

Only, she's blocked any of ...more

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Jun 30, 2016 Sandra rated it it was amazing

I thought the title of this novel was very intriguing, and that is what initially attracted me to the novel. “The Fragrance Shed by a Violet” is an interesting and fairly well written novel, with an intriguing storyline. The narrative is easy to follow, and focuses on several different characters, so you feel like you get to know the main characters quite well. The opening prologue sets the story up well, and the reveal/twist at the end of the prologue compelled me to read on. The pacing of the ...more

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Aug 23, 2016 Cynthia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery, romance, womens-fiction

I won this book from Goodreads giveaways. I first I thought why would a doctor kill her own mother who had been sick for so many years and the research work you were doing was on the affects of the drug she had been taking, and you were trying to find a better drug to help people with the same problems. You hear how much big pharm makes from drugs but you don't always get to understand some of the reasons some of the drugs are made. But reading the story about a doctor who was tried for murder a ...more

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Apr 15, 2015 Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley-arc

You can find more reviews Mademoisellesnow Blog

I felt that this story has a really long time line, some times I felt it hard to concentrate with the story and keep me interested in reading this. I enjoyed the plot line overall but as parts of it left me uninterested this book lost some points there. The overall writing was pretty good and solid, which made the plot flow quite well. ...more

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Sep 20, 2016 Glenda Bixler rated it it was amazing

This remarkable book is now up on my blog with excerpts, music...

http://gabixlerreviews-bookreadershea... ...more

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Oct 18, 2016 Ann Williams marked it as to-read

have not read yet...

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About Lin Wilder

Lin Wilder

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Lin Wilder is the author of the Lindsey McCall
medical mystery series, which includes The Fragrance Shed By A Violet, Do You Solemnly Swear? A Price for Genius and Malthus Revisited. Her latest books are,
I Claudia- A Novel of the Ancient World and My Name is Saul- A Novel of the Ancient World.
Her memoir, Finding the Narrow Path, recounts her journey away from God and back again.

She is the recipient ...more