Unnatural Causes by Doctor Richard Shepherd

Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 5 days

Pages - 442

Publisher - Penguin

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Meet the forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd. A detective in his own right, he must solve the mystery of sudden and unexplained deaths.

He has performed over 23,000 autopsies, including some of the most high-profile cases of recent times; the Hungerford Massacre, the Princess Diana inquiry, and 9/11.

He has faced serial killers, natural disaster, 'perfect murders' and freak accidents.

His evidence has put killers behind bars, freed the innocent, and turned open-and-shut cases on their heads.

Yet all this has come at a huge personal cost.

Unnatural Causes tells the story of not only the cases and bodies that have haunted him the most, but also how to live a life steeped in death.


My Review

Forensic Pathologist Doctor Richard Shepherd, you may recognise the name as the guy who goes over the autopsies of the celebrities on the tv program. In this book we get an insight into his personal life as well as (and the main focus) his job as a forensic pathologist.

Some of the cases are very high profile and you will recognise them, even if you hadn’t been born, they have been so publicised in the news you can’t help but know of them. The book is pretty brutal, honest and in depth which some readers may find upsetting or stomach turning.

There are three chapters that cover children’s deaths and I know this is an upsetting topic for some people, I took note of it but left the book at home. I will update this when I get back to include the chapters so readers can skip them but still get to read the book as they are confined to those chapters only.

It is a very interesting read, how he got into forensic pathology, before and after, the impact it had on him, his family and when he came under fire from the public. The stress the job can have and impact on him and his life as a result. It is a very honest read, informative and there was one case that I remember public outrage and hearing from the victim’s families. I had no idea he was the pathologist nor had I really thought about their role in what happened so it was interesting to hear his side and how it impacted on him. Emotive, hard hitting and I would absolutely read more in this vein or by this author, had life not gotten in the way I would have finished it much quicker, 4.5/5 for me this time.

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