Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd

39 reviews

eclecticreadswithash's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Wow! This book was thoroughly engrossing from start to finish. Dr. Shepherd is a masterful writer, who's clearly been passionate about his career from the beginning. With care, he recounts some of his most memorable cases and weaves into it the impact on family life. 

While not for the squeamish, it's important to note if you're curious about this book, that Dr. Shepherd isn't shy about sharing the nitty gritty details of his post-mortems. And for some his detached, scientific descriptions can be unsettling. 

For some reason, I find topics surrounding forensics, death and true crime really interesting. This was right up my alley! And a good pick for spooky season! 

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lucymaydavis's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0


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kira_dylan's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0


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xchloe_bxx's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective fast-paced

5.0


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rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

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dark informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5


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dale1997's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0


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murderousscottishgremlin's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

3.5

Didn’t enjoy the writing style but appreciated the insights into a forensic pathology career.

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literarylily's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad

5.0

I don't read a lot of non-fiction, so my enjoyment of this one really took me by surprise. It deals with many difficult subjects, but I feel that Dr Shepherd handled them well. I enjoyed how he delved into the science without leaving non-medical readers behind, and gave the historical basis of why certain causes of death were or were not commonly given at different times. 

I found it fascinating hearing about how the world of forensic pathology changed throughout the course of his career, how that impacted him and the field as a whole. He was very human in his recounting of various cases, being open about his struggles and failures. 

It is a well-balanced read, both between his personal life and work, and talking about famous and every-day cases. Other authors may have relied too heavily on the cases readers would recognise (such as Stephen Lawrence or the Marchionness disaster) but Dr Shepherd made the unknown cases just as interesting and really showed the full picture of his work. 

It is a difficult read at times, but so so worth it. This is a unique insight into a career that remains glamourised and mystified by modern tv shows, shedding light on what it is really like and the effects the career can have on those that stick with it. 

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sarahlreadseverything's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0


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louise_maw's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5


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