“This well-plotted page-turner is guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of anyone anticipating a hospital stay anytime in the near future.”

“Sheard provides realistic details of hospital routine and budget-cutting politics. Other bonuses are polished prose and elements of warmth and humor. Strongly recommended for most mystery collections.”

“How many times, as a grievance investigation unfolds, have you thought, “This would make a great novel”? Rejoice! Here is one that you won’t be able to put down...What an opportunity—to close the door, order lunch and dinner, use the phone. Lenny calls it “just a little joke.” But minutes later, a young woman with red hair turns up lying on the bed, dead...The reader’s appetite for the specific is fully satisfied as we learn [End Page 130] both about medical procedures, and the relationships between workers, Lenny as a steward, and the various levels of management. And there is plenty of subliminal critique of our health-care industry throughout. This is a book that could be used to introduce people to the feel and culture of a unionized workplace. Sheard never says “Weingarten rights” or “disciplinary interview” or even “bargaining unit,” but the essential framework of a workplace that has an active union is never out of sight. It is also full of examples of the bad things that happen when people are personally or professionally disrespected, and the good things that happen when they all stick together, as Lenny urges them to...”

“If your pulse quickens for ER on Thursday nights, you’ll want a dose of Timothy Sheard’s medicine in Some Cuts Never Heal. The well-meaning, hard-working hospital folks will warm your heart,  while the cold realities of modern medical care will raise your blood pressure and keep you turning the pages.”

“If you’re a devotee of TV’s “ER,” you’ll devour Some Cuts Never Heal...The earthy dialogue of the staff humanizes the hospital’s workday...This is a really good yarn, if that isn’t too old-fashioned a phrase.”

“Sheard... has done a fine job of bringing alive those numerous men and women we never see—from dietary to laundry to maintenance who do the hospital’s invisible work. I look forward to more Lenny Moss mysteries.”

“There are a few working class detectives, like Barbara Neely’s Blanche White, and Lenny Moss is one of them. He is a hospital janitor, but the catch is that he is also a union steward. He utilizes all his union skills to both solve the mystery and help his fellow employees. This is overall a medical mystery. There is a lot of plot revolving around various drugs and procedures. Lenny though is a thoroughly likeable fellow, which makes him such a good union rep. It was an enjoyable book, though, like most mysteries, you don’t get to figure out what happens until the final chapter. No spoilers here. If you like mysteries, particularly medical mysteries, check it out. Thanks to Paul for passing this one along to me.”

“The characters could be a bit more 3 dimensional, but their hearts are in the right place. Captures the feel of life in a down-at-the-heels hospital where the docs have too much ego and too much authority.”

“...The variety of amateur detectives out there seems endless: socialites, retirees, authors, used bookshop owners, quilters, historians, etc etc. There are even (at least) two mystery series featuring detectives who are cats. It’s incredible to think that Sheard may be the first author to feature a detective who is a janitor. Of course, Lenny Moss is more than a hospital janitor. He is also a union shop steward. Which makes him the perfect amateur detective. Who better to move unnoticed through the various departments of a hospital than a janitor? And who better to run a informal investigation than a shop steward, someone who already has a network of confidantes and a knack for questioning people?...”

“As a physician of forty years experience, I can tell you that the description of the setting and characters in this mystery that takes place in a big city hospital rings true from beginning to end. The only really stereotyped characters are the bad guys, which is one of the conventions of mystery writing, and perfectly acceptable to most readers. What’s more, the main characters are hospital workers who do things like housekeeping, nursing, transporting patients, taking x-rays, delivering meals and the like. They are portrayed in loving and apt detail, humanizing the people who really make a big hospital run. Much is made of the stressing working conditions of hospital employees, certainly a big issue in these days of Corporate Medicine. The mystery is solved, neatly dispatched by our main character, Lenny Moss, a custodian and union rep in the hospital. He’s a really good guy with both heart and brains. I really look forward to reading more ‘Lenny Moss’ books by author Timothy Sheard, himself a critical care nurse. Recommended.”

“...His writing draws you in, and you just keep turning pages. If, in the end, the plot doesn’t really hang together, or the explanation of Colleen’s death doesn’t make much sense—well, who cares? The book is entertaining and it works. Although author Sheard is described as a veteran critical care nurse, he shows some lapses in his description of medical practices and terminology. Still, if you can read this book without taking it too seriously, you will enjoy it.”