Unnatural Causes

By: Dr Richard Shepherd

Narrated by: Dr Richard Shepherd

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet the forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd, in the true crime book of the year - brought to you by Penguin.

'The dead do not hide the truth and they never lie. Through me the dead can speak....'

He solves the mysteries of unexplained or sudden death.

He has performed over 23,000 autopsies, including investigating 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 disasters, '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.

Written and narrated by Dr Richard Shepherd, 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.

©2018 Dr Richard Shepherd (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"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." (Obersver)

Interesting

The narration was fantastic, the information, while sometimes difficult, was well presented and easily understood for this lay person. I would recommend.

Give this one a chance

This book starts off very ho hum and I am an Osteologist. It does get much better and I am glad I stuck with it. You will be happy you did to!

Brilliant!

Beautifully written, captivating story, and I learned a lot about forensic pathology. Working in the world of critical care, we spend most of our time frantically attempting to save patients before they die, and pathology seems like a distant mysterious world. Having read this book, I am very happy to stay in critical care and my worst days seem like walking puppies through the park compared to a forensic pathologist’s worst days. Thank you Dr. Shepherd for being so vulnerable and informative in this book. Also thank you for caring to tell the story of the dead.

I liked it!! ☠️😊

as an amateur death investigator wanting to learn more about death, forensics, and the field as a whole I found "Unnatural Causes" an exciting and interesting read!!

A new favorite!

I loved this book! It is so very fascinating to hear peoples life stories, and this is one that one should truly hear! Even though I would not recommend it to those faint of heart, I would urge anyone like me - death positive, and fascinated by all things about death and science - to read/listen to this book. I never wanted it to end and I learned a great deal.
The performance was excellently executed by the good doctor himself. Thank you, Dr Shepard! I will buy the hardcover. It will make an excellent addition to my death themed book collection!

Great listen!

This doctor is both an interesting person and a dedicated physician. He pulls no punches either in his professional life nor his personal life. I find myself feeling sorry that his story of medicolegal journey won’t be going on due to what I find silly changes in the system. I’d listen to him reading anything

Must read for someone looking into forensics

I really enjoyed hearing his thoughts as he went through each step of learning and working in the field. Also grossed my bf out a good bit talking about parts of the autopsy bits.

Life, death and the human condition

A very good listen, although not for the faint of heart. Diving deep into the world of forensic pathology, the author takes us through his personal journey spanning his 40 year career.

unnatural causes

This book was interesting and helpful. The reading was decent and the story which is factual but has the feeling the real.

Well written and read.

This is now in a list of my favorite books. De Shepherd so eloquently articulates his experiences during his childhood, in his relationships, marriage and with his family. His ability to describe his career and all the intimate experiences he had made this book impossible to set aside. I feel like I’ve learned so much from this book. I didn’t even know what it was when I started it but I’m so pleased I stumbled across it. The narration was the cherry on top. Having the book read by the author bring yet another layer of attraction. My suggestion is, give it a try, it’s really wonderful!