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A review by angieinbooks
Gallows Humor by Carolyn Elizabeth
4.0
I read Gallows Humor months ago and have yet to review it because I’m not sure what to say about it except: “OMG, I LOVED IT SO MUCH!” with some embarrassing heart eyes and pleads that Carolyn Elizabeth write more novels. But this novel deserves more than that, so I will make an attempt at a proper review (after a re-read to ensure I did it due diligence).
Corey Curtis is a forensic pathologist and seems to be more comfortable dealing with the dead than the living. Maybe that’s not entirely fair. She has a solid group of friends at her MMA gym and a good working relationship with her co-worker, a forensic anthropology PhD student, and she’s respected for the work she does, but she’s not what you’d classify as cuddly. The medical students and nurses in the hospital in which she works are a bit scared of her and even have a special nickname they use for her. Her track record with the ladies isn’t as great. I mean, they like her, but she hasn’t found anyone who really excites or challenges her.
Thayer Reynolds has a lot going for her. She’s the recipient of a fellowship in the emergency department at the hospital where Corey works, where she has the entire staff in love with her, and only part of it is because she’s so beautiful. She’s also witty as hell.
Intrigued by the lore surrounding the resident forensic pathologist, Thayer crashes an instructional session for new residents under Corey’s care. Corey certainly makes an impression, sporting a black eye and definitely too-casually dressed for the occasion, but this seems to amuse Thayer more than it should. I didn’t actually see the sparks fly between them when they made eye contact, but they were certainly there—a grand and disruptive entrance, a smirk and raised eyebrow, a self-deprecating smile, stares that go on a little too long. Yeah, those sparks are there in spades.
This isn’t a story of insta-love, but rather instant attraction/interest. And it’s built up well. In terms of pages, it takes a long time to get to a kiss and, for its genre, a really long time for the stuff beyond that kiss. But it’s definitely not a slow burn either. Elizabeth is really able to balance that interest/sexual tension throughout the novel. She allows her protagonists to get to know each other beyond their mutual and instant attraction. They make mistakes. They have to adjust to new information/new circumstance. So that when we finally get that delicious pay off, it’s earned.
She accomplishes that payoff because the story also focuses on a plot that exists outside of the love story. Through the course of her work, Corey stumbles upon a suspicious death that she chooses to investigate more than she probably should, as it’s definitely not in her job scope. And that takes a literal physical toll that is impediment on their ability to explore a relationship. But the mystery is intriguing in its own right, and the suspense kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.
This novel is filled with an assortment of interesting characters that were remarkable on their own and really added to the world of the novel, and I could easily spend a lot more time with Rachel and Cinnamon and Dana and Collier. But they did their job of added depth to Corey and Thayer as well.
I didn’t give this novel 5 stars, but it came close. There were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me. First, the description of the bad guy felt predictable and convenient and although the “why” of the crime isn’t predictable, the “who” is. Maybe that was the intention, but given the overall cleverness of the writing, this felt a little subpar. Second, I just can’t with the name Thayer. A person’s name is their name, and I get that, but I wish in f-f fic, names were less unusual. I’m just thankful the reasoning behind the name in addressed in the text, but it was so distracting that it took me out of the story for a good while.
But I’m not kidding. I want more. More of this story, yes! And definitely more from this author.
Corey Curtis is a forensic pathologist and seems to be more comfortable dealing with the dead than the living. Maybe that’s not entirely fair. She has a solid group of friends at her MMA gym and a good working relationship with her co-worker, a forensic anthropology PhD student, and she’s respected for the work she does, but she’s not what you’d classify as cuddly. The medical students and nurses in the hospital in which she works are a bit scared of her and even have a special nickname they use for her. Her track record with the ladies isn’t as great. I mean, they like her, but she hasn’t found anyone who really excites or challenges her.
Thayer Reynolds has a lot going for her. She’s the recipient of a fellowship in the emergency department at the hospital where Corey works, where she has the entire staff in love with her, and only part of it is because she’s so beautiful. She’s also witty as hell.
Intrigued by the lore surrounding the resident forensic pathologist, Thayer crashes an instructional session for new residents under Corey’s care. Corey certainly makes an impression, sporting a black eye and definitely too-casually dressed for the occasion, but this seems to amuse Thayer more than it should. I didn’t actually see the sparks fly between them when they made eye contact, but they were certainly there—a grand and disruptive entrance, a smirk and raised eyebrow, a self-deprecating smile, stares that go on a little too long. Yeah, those sparks are there in spades.
This isn’t a story of insta-love, but rather instant attraction/interest. And it’s built up well. In terms of pages, it takes a long time to get to a kiss and, for its genre, a really long time for the stuff beyond that kiss. But it’s definitely not a slow burn either. Elizabeth is really able to balance that interest/sexual tension throughout the novel. She allows her protagonists to get to know each other beyond their mutual and instant attraction. They make mistakes. They have to adjust to new information/new circumstance. So that when we finally get that delicious pay off, it’s earned.
She accomplishes that payoff because the story also focuses on a plot that exists outside of the love story. Through the course of her work, Corey stumbles upon a suspicious death that she chooses to investigate more than she probably should, as it’s definitely not in her job scope. And that takes a literal physical toll that is impediment on their ability to explore a relationship. But the mystery is intriguing in its own right, and the suspense kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.
This novel is filled with an assortment of interesting characters that were remarkable on their own and really added to the world of the novel, and I could easily spend a lot more time with Rachel and Cinnamon and Dana and Collier. But they did their job of added depth to Corey and Thayer as well.
I didn’t give this novel 5 stars, but it came close. There were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me. First, the description of the bad guy felt predictable and convenient and although the “why” of the crime isn’t predictable, the “who” is. Maybe that was the intention, but given the overall cleverness of the writing, this felt a little subpar. Second, I just can’t with the name Thayer. A person’s name is their name, and I get that, but I wish in f-f fic, names were less unusual. I’m just thankful the reasoning behind the name in addressed in the text, but it was so distracting that it took me out of the story for a good while.
But I’m not kidding. I want more. More of this story, yes! And definitely more from this author.