Richard Shepherd was born in West London but grew up in Watford. He was introduced to a medical textbook smuggled into the classroom by a friend which opened his eyes to the world of crime and murder, setting him on a lifelong quest to understand death in its many forms. He trained as a doctor at St George's Hospital medical school at Hyde Park Corner, qualifying in 1977 and then completed his postgraduate training as a forensic pathologist in 1987. He immediately joined what was then the elite forensic department at Guy's Hospital.
He has been involved nationally and internationally in the forensic investigation of thousands of deaths from unnatural causes, from headline-making murders to mass natural disasters.
This sequel is more ruminative, more meditative . . . Full of sharp observations about what life and death do to the human bodyEnlightening, strangely uplifting . . . Shepherd's final chapter on death itself is a meditation of great beauty and light which puts all the darkness of the previous pages into perspectiveEach chapter is like
a finely crafted detective story in which he expands on the causes of death as revealed by the post mortem, or the hidden reasons that precipitated it. Some are ordinary, others extraordinary.
Shepherd writes beautifully, and despite its subject, the book is
very funny in partsDeeply insightful . . . Shepherd is unflinching in his self-dissectionFascinatingFascinating. He has the ability to examine himself and other people with the same forensic eye that he applies to corpses - one of the reasons why his books feel so life-enhancingGrippingly elegiac yet wonderfully life-affirming, full of pithy observations about the inexorability of death and the marvels of existencePraise for Dr Richard ShepherdOne of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put downHeart-wrenchingly honestGripping, grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twiceA deeply mesmerising memoir of forensic pathology. Human and fascinatingAn absolutely brilliant book. I really recommend it, I don't often say that but it's fascinatingPuts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpelFascinating, insightful, candid, compassionateHeart-wrenchingly honestThe heart-wrenchingly honest new book about life and death from forensic pathologist and bestselling author of UNNATURAL CAUSES, Dr Richard Shepherd
A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Deeply insightful. Unflinching' THE TIMES
'A finely-crafted detective story' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Enlightening, strangely uplifting' DAILY MAIL
'Fascinating' DAILY EXPRESS
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Dr Richard Shepherd, a medical detective and Britain's top forensic pathologist, shares twenty-four of his most intriguing, enlightening and never-before-told cases.
These autopsies, spanning the seven ages of human existence, uncover the secrets not only of how a person died, but also of how they lived.
From old to young, murder to misadventure, and illness to accidental death, each body has something to reveal - about its owner's life story, how we age, justice, society, the certainty of death.
And, above all, the wonderful marvel of life itself.
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Praise for Dr Richard Shepherd
'Gripping, grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twice' Evening Standard
'A deeply mesmerising memoir of forensic pathology. Human and fascinating' Nigella Lawson
'An absolutely brilliant book. I really recommend it, I don't often say that but it's fascinating' Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2
'Puts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel' Guardian
'Fascinating, gruesome yet engrossing' Richard and Judy, Daily Express
'Fascinating, insightful, candid, compassionate' Observer
