This is an interesting book although the author always gave me an uneasy feeling. He made many local TV appearances over the years. This book solidifies many of the impressions Noguchi gave to many people as an attention seeker. At 250 pages, this is a fast read on a subject most would not find palatable.
Noguchi covers several famous Los Angeles cases which he was involved with: Sharon Tate, the SLA shootout, Janis Joplin, Robert Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, John Belushi, William Holden. He also talks about the building of the Coroner’s building when they moved the Coroner’s office out of the basement of the Hall of Justice. I have never been inside the Coroner’s office but they now have an official merchandise shop inside which some think tactless. Most of the book is promoting the science and technological advances of forensic investigation techniques. At least it claims to be so from Noguchi’s point of view.
I have a copy of the Warren Commission’s findings but Noguchi claims that the Secret Service took John F Kennedy’s body from the Dallas hospital to do their own autopsy. Noguchi claims that he insisted on jurisdiction over Robert Kennedy’s autopsy. Even then there was still question about what was the cause of death for Robert Kennedy (he says there were two shooters). The whole purpose of an autopsy is to determine the cause of death given the state of remains and not necessarily how the death occurred. Noguchi constantly burrs the lines on this point which makes all of his claims somewhat suspect. Often I have seen death certificates where the cause of death are attributed to multiple factors. Years ago when I worked with document verification I saw the certificate for Marilyn Monroe. It was replacement copy as the original had removed or stolen. There were a few alterations made even on that hard photocopy. Noguchi’s book makes it clear that political factors were almost always operative in his work and in his press comments. This is very dispiriting to read in print because not all LA County people work so unprofessionally while Noguchi gave the impression that they did.
Among tragic Los Angeles personalities, this is a book to read for those interested. The subject is very, very macabre. Noguchi tries to make it seem as if he is solely interested in the case but always quickly subsumes that into how he can publicize himself in the process.
The funniest part of the book is when he is threatened with dismissal and all kinds of phony charges are used as reasons. In the old days, it was almost impossible to get fired from government jobs. They were low paying but job security was the enhancement that made it worthwhile. The only way to get rid of someone was to dream up a horrendous list of stuff and make it easy for the employee leave quietly. The assumption being that the claims were true, but the government was willing to not publicize it if the maligned person simply moved on. Nowadays, government workers get huge salaries, unheard of benefits and still retain the job security they all originally had. This was due first to Gray Davis but continues even now. The case for Noguchi being threatened with firing shows that he rubbed many people the wrong way and/or left them on the hook for his many ambiguous or misstated public remarks as Coroner. Now, every governmental entity or organization has a public relations person who handles this duty full time.

In Thomas T. Noguchi's memoir, Coroner, the former Chief Medical Examiner of Los Angeles County and the "coroner to the stars", reveals the full evidence behind the headline-making deaths of Robert F. Kennedy, Janis Joplin, Sharon Tate, Marilyn Monroe and others - the shocking and surprising facts can now be released in this stunning memoir.

I had wanted to read this book ever since reading the sequel back in September and was excited when I received this book in the mail last week. It was very interesting reading certainly, but I'm glad to have finished it when I did - I think that it was just a tad too long for me. Definitely not boring at all, just longer and a little more involved than I had expected the book would be when I first started it. I would certainly recommend Coroner to anyone who likes to read about true crime and give this book an A! ( )

I was drawn to this book due to my love for the TV show Quincy, M.E., which was based on real-life L.A. coroner Dr. Noguchi. The tales of the famous cases Dr. Noguchi worked on would intrigue any mystery fan or classic Hollywood buff. His work irequired him to be part scientist, part detective, and to remain true to himself in political and media frenzies that surrounded these high-profile cases. In today's climate of over-hyped forensic and crime shows, this is a compelling read. ( )

Rated: C ( )