Unnatural Causes
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-26 06:55:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Richard Shepherd
- ISBN：1405923539
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
As the UK's top forensic pathologist， Dr Richard Shepherd has spent a lifetime uncovering the secrets of the dead。 When death is sudden or unexplained， it falls to Shepherd to establish the cause。 Each post-mortem is a detective story in its own right - and Shepherd has performed over 23，000 of them。 Through his skill， dedication and insight， Dr Shepherd solves the puzzle to answer our most pressing question: how did this person die？
From serial killer to natural disaster， 'perfect murder' to freak accident， Shepherd takes nothing for granted in pursuit of truth。 And while he's been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of recent times， it's often the less well known encounters that prove the most perplexing， intriguing and even bizarre。 In or out of the public eye， his evidence has put killers behind bars， freed the innocent and turned open-and-shut cases on their heads。
But a life in death， bearing witness to some of humanity's darkest corners， exacts a price and Shepherd doesn't flinch from counting the cost to him and his family。
From serial killer to natural disaster， 'perfect murder' to freak accident， Shepherd takes nothing for granted in pursuit of truth。 And while he's been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of recent times， it's often the less well known encounters that prove the most perplexing， intriguing and even bizarre。 In or out of the public eye， his evidence has put killers behind bars， freed the innocent and turned open-and-shut cases on their heads。
But a life in death， bearing witness to some of humanity's darkest corners， exacts a price and Shepherd doesn't flinch from counting the cost to him and his family。
Reviews
Fiza
，
A well written book which provides surprising and informative insight into the life of a pathologist。 The author lets the reader in not only to his work but also his thoughts and hardships which are monumental。
Sera
，
“I had watched quite a few post-mortems at the mortuary and had half anticipated， half dreaded the time when it would be my turn to take up the scalpel here。”-Unnatural Causes details the life and work of Dr Richard Shepard， a world renowned forensic pathologist， who worked primarily in London from the 80’s onwards。 He shows the beginning of his career in the world of forensic pathology， how he had to fit caring for two young children， and managing a failing marriage alongside it。 It is a consta “I had watched quite a few post-mortems at the mortuary and had half anticipated， half dreaded the time when it would be my turn to take up the scalpel here。”-Unnatural Causes details the life and work of Dr Richard Shepard， a world renowned forensic pathologist， who worked primarily in London from the 80’s onwards。 He shows the beginning of his career in the world of forensic pathology， how he had to fit caring for two young children， and managing a failing marriage alongside it。 It is a constant battle between wanting to bring justice and truth to the lives of the people he worked on， while also providing the care needed for his family。 -440ish pages of medical terminology and details of human remains。 My kind of book。 This book made me rethink my want to work with living people and instead move to non-living people。 Whether my thoughts on this are just post-book bliss or actual real life aspirations is up for debate。 As with any book that is long， it dragged in places， especially when speaking about his family。 I tend to find the more personal stuff a bit harder to get through… could be the ASD。 🤷🏼♀️The details of the post-mortems and how they lead to the truth in court cases was super interesting。 I found myself losing myself to the pages and before I knew it， the book was over。 Dr Shepard is writing his second book which should be released in September this year and you can bet I’ll be reading it。 。。。more
Alison S
，
This was a fascinating exploration of the world of the forensic pathologist。 The author has worked on some very high profile cases including Stephen Lawrence and Hungerford， and I found his accounts of his working life so interesting。 I was less interested when he was talking about his personal life， and there were several times where there was too much self- congratulation or justification for my liking。 Overall， definitely worth a read， and I learned a lot about forensic pathology。
Rachael Malligan
，
The subject matter for me was so interesting。 A beautifully written first hand account。 I love how richard also talks about his home life as well as his work life and the difference between the two。
Agnieska Ieva Banaite
，
Unnatural causes by Dr Richard Shepherd is one of the fascinating books I have read this year。 A book I could not put down。 As a medical professional myself， I recommend this book not only to the general public but to other medics too。 The book is written uniquely and is a mix of the personal and professional lives of forensic pathologists， and it was heart-wrenchingly honest。
Angela
，
This was a fascinating look into a profession that you would need a strong stomach to do。 Really enjoyed this well written book and would highly recommend if you have an interest。
Lisa
，
An interesting account from one of Britain’s top pathologists， particularly interesting when it comes to the evolving thinking around SIDS and deaths while in restraint， as well as the mental toll that such work has on a person。
Liralen
，
Infanticide is manslaughter， and so carries a far lighter sentence than murder。 It was introduced in 1922 for the prosecution of mothers who killed newborns under thirty-five days old。 Back then， killing a baby was not considered such a terrible offence as killing an adult。 It was believed that no baby could suffer like an adult victim and no baby would be missed like an adult member of the family。 And it was well understood that one possible motive was shame at illegitimacy。 （101）Shepherd has s Infanticide is manslaughter， and so carries a far lighter sentence than murder。 It was introduced in 1922 for the prosecution of mothers who killed newborns under thirty-five days old。 Back then， killing a baby was not considered such a terrible offence as killing an adult。 It was believed that no baby could suffer like an adult victim and no baby would be missed like an adult member of the family。 And it was well understood that one possible motive was shame at illegitimacy。 （101）Shepherd has spent his career examining bodies， determining cause of death and providing information to help the courts decide—when necessary to do so—what happened and who （if anyone） is responsible。 He describes a shifting landscape of pathology， a career spanning enough time to see changes from walking around crime scenes in street clothes to being asked to wear gloves to standard crime-scene gear involving full， hooded protective suits。In times I found the book a bit slow （it's probably three and a half stars for me in terms of how well it held my interest）， but Shepherd has worked on some fascinating （if， often， terribly sad） cases。 It's also worth noting that he calls particular attention to institutional racism and the role such racism has played in prosecution （or lack thereof） of cases involving people of colour。 This was written before the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests， but it feels particularly timely in the wake of those。 。。。more
Katlyn May
，
Fantastic book！ Really really insightful。 Honestly when I picked the book up I was expecting more of a case by case book not a book about a man who has to face incredibly horrible things each day and still manages to do his job。 This book was honest， brilliant and truly a heartwarming read。 Would highly recommend！
Marisa
，
Fascinating revelations about the world of forensic pathology！
Charlott Stenberg
，
Väldigt intressant！
Anu
，
This is an amazing book。 I've got immense respect for people in this profession after reading this book。 Richard Shepard's career sounded like something out of a fiction， it's insane how many high profile cases he delt with 。 Highly recommended this book。 This is an amazing book。 I've got immense respect for people in this profession after reading this book。 Richard Shepard's career sounded like something out of a fiction， it's insane how many high profile cases he delt with 。 Highly recommended this book。 。。。more
Anastasia Arinushkina
，
Автор занимается судмедэкспертизой и параллельно пытается разрешить экзистенциальные вопросы。 К сожалению， вопросов в книге оказалось больше， чем ответов на них， а также больше， чем судмедэкспертизы。 Наверное， мне не хватило «хлеба и зрелищ»。 И сбивало с толку， когда автор начинал какую-то историю/размышление， но так и не заканчивал。
Charlotte
，
Full review will be in my books and bargains July wrap up
Amelia
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An eye-opening book which gives an insight into a forensic pathologist's life who was been been directly and indirectly involved in many high profile murders and cases such as the murder of Rachel Nickell， the Marchioness disaster and 911。 Each case is a unique puzzle， many myths about forensics are debunked， and overall a very didactic and interesting book that I could not put down。 An eye-opening book which gives an insight into a forensic pathologist's life who was been been directly and indirectly involved in many high profile murders and cases such as the murder of Rachel Nickell， the Marchioness disaster and 911。 Each case is a unique puzzle， many myths about forensics are debunked， and overall a very didactic and interesting book that I could not put down。 。。。more
Dalila54
，
Un buen libro de forense te hacen comprender lo que dicen los muertos y sus tecnicas para llegar a ello。
Macjude
，
An incredible career。 Absolutely loved reading about this inspirational man。
Pers3phonee
，
[audiobook]
Dan Lovelady
，
Enjoyed it from start to finish。 The details， personal life， honesty and the amount of new things I have learn about this type of work is the reason why it deserves five starts。
Natalia Kozłowska
，
Uwielbiam książki medyczne i ta mi się bardzo podobała。 Muszę jednak jednak zaznaczyć， że historie w niej przedstawione nie są opisane w jakiś charyzmatyczny sposób。 Mamy tutaj raczej dokładne， czasami długie i szczegółowe opisy przeprowadzanych autopsji。 Jeśli ktoś nie interesuje takim tematem， to ta książka na pewno nie przypadnie mu do gustu i będzie się męczył w trakcie jej czytania。 W książce tej mamy wręcz kronikarskie przedstawienie związku autora i medycyny sądowej。 Zaczynając od młodzie Uwielbiam książki medyczne i ta mi się bardzo podobała。 Muszę jednak jednak zaznaczyć， że historie w niej przedstawione nie są opisane w jakiś charyzmatyczny sposób。 Mamy tutaj raczej dokładne， czasami długie i szczegółowe opisy przeprowadzanych autopsji。 Jeśli ktoś nie interesuje takim tematem， to ta książka na pewno nie przypadnie mu do gustu i będzie się męczył w trakcie jej czytania。 W książce tej mamy wręcz kronikarskie przedstawienie związku autora i medycyny sądowej。 Zaczynając od młodzieńczych lat， przez studia， pierwsze samodzielne autopsje， aż po koniec jego kariery zawodowej。 W książce autor przedstawił również wpływ swojej pracy na życie prywatne。 。。。more
Izzy
，
I could not put this book down， I found the writing style along side the anecdotes interesting。 I liked the ‘personal’ moments shown by R。Shepherd as it made the non-fiction aspect appealing in my opinion。 I am most likely biased to this book as I am aiming to enter the forensic science career path。
Anna-Maria Tuominen-Reini
，
Richard Shepherd kertoo urastaan ja kokemuksistaan patologin työssä ja eritapauksista。 Erittäin mielenkiintoinen！ 🤩🤩🤩
April Scrattish
，
This is a really well written book。 That said， it’s pretty dark in many places and I had to read it in chunks over several days。 If you listen you learn a lot， but I suggest making sure you’re in a good place when you start because several of the cases he describes show a really dark side of humanity。
Madita
，
I did not expect to like this book this much。 I think Dr。 Shepherd did an great job writing this book。 It was on one hand very interesting and entertaining but on the other hand also extremely honest and real which was sometimes hard but made realistic。 The only negative point about this book was for me， that it was a little bit slow in the beginning。 In the first 100 pages there was a lot of personal story and very little pathology story but after that I think it was nicely balanced between bot I did not expect to like this book this much。 I think Dr。 Shepherd did an great job writing this book。 It was on one hand very interesting and entertaining but on the other hand also extremely honest and real which was sometimes hard but made realistic。 The only negative point about this book was for me， that it was a little bit slow in the beginning。 In the first 100 pages there was a lot of personal story and very little pathology story but after that I think it was nicely balanced between both。 Overall an awesome read and I can defiantly recommend this book if someone is interested in medical stuff。 。。。more
Jenny L
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Completely absorbing and fascinating。 One of the most superb books I have read in a while。 It is also heart wrenching， especially when you realise the toll it takes to do this sort of work， and the pressures you face。
Hannah Nankervis
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A really interesting side to medicine that I know very little about。 A beautifully written and incredibly honest account of life and death。 The best book I’ve read in a long time。
Heather
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sometimes scary and very detailed。 I learnt a lot about death and killing。
Sophie Chuter
，
Insightful and really interesting account of a forensic pathologist。
Rebecca
，
DNF at 20ish%。 Don't let the blurb mislead you。 I thought this would be more geared towards the science and details of forensic pathology， not some self-indulgent life story。 From the little I managed to get through， he started to come across as pompous， self-important and remarkably tiresome。 I couldn't stand another second of it。 DNF at 20ish%。 Don't let the blurb mislead you。 I thought this would be more geared towards the science and details of forensic pathology， not some self-indulgent life story。 From the little I managed to get through， he started to come across as pompous， self-important and remarkably tiresome。 I couldn't stand another second of it。 。。。more
Klaudia
，
Można z niej naprawdę sporo wyciągnąć。 Zawiera sporo faktów， które są bardzo przyjemnie opisane i przedstawione 🌝
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Unnatural Causes
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Unnatural Causes&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Unnatural Causes&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0