The Nature of Life and Death: Every Body Leaves a Trace - Patricia Wiltshire

Written by Patricia Wiltshire
Read by Patricia Wiltshire
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Books on Tape
Release date: September 3, 2019
Duration: 10:32:12

From mud tracks on a quiet country road to dirt specks on the soles of walking boots, forensic ecologist Patricia Wiltshire uses her decades of scientific expertise to find often-overlooked clues left behind by criminal activity. She detects evidence and eliminates hypotheses armed with little more than a microscope, eventually developing a compelling thesis of who, what, how, and when of a crime. Wiltshire’s remarkable accuracy has made her one of the most in-demand police consultants in the world, and her curiosity, humility, and passion for the truth have guided her every step of the way.

A riveting blend of science writing and true-crime narrative, The Nature of Life and Death details Wiltshire’s unique journey from college professor to crime fighter: solving murders, locating corpses, and exonerating the falsely accused. Along the way, she introduces us to the unseen world all around us and underneath our feet: plants, animals, pollen, spores, fungi, and microbes that we move through every day. Her story is a testament to the power of persistence and reveals how our relationship with the vast natural world reaches far deeper than we might think.

She also does a bit of philosophizing about religion, life, death, and the after-life, which she does not believe in. Her 77 years at the time of this recording, does show a bit in her voice but does not distract.

“What is forensic ecology? Wiltshire, one of the founders of this science…. Wiltshire was a botany researcher at University College London when she got a call from Bill Bryden, an officer in Hertfordshire Constabulary. Bryden needed her help in the case of a Chinese Triad murder. The police had the body and the culprits, but they needed to prove the suspects were in the field where the body was dumped. Wiltshire was able to show that maize pollen in the car that transported the body matched the pollen in the field. And so a new career was born, one that involved investigating murders and rapes. … CSI fans will be enthralled.”—-Publishers Weekly