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The Nature of Life and Death
- Every Body Leaves a Trace
- Narrated by: Patricia Wiltshire
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's summary
A riveting blend of science writing and true-crime narrative that explores the valuable but often shocking interface between crime and nature - and the secrets each can reveal about the other - from a pioneer in forensic ecology and a trailblazing female scientist.
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 the 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.
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Critic reviews
A New York Times Book Review New & Noteworthy Pick
One of Science News' Favorite Science Books of the 2019
"The Nature of Life and Death is one of those extraordinary books that will appeal to almost everyone. If you're a Mary Roach fan, fascinated by the macabre and grotesque, you'll get to follow Wiltshire into mortuaries and watch her pick apart cadavers. If you're a Lab Girl fan, inspired by stories of women blazing new trails in science, that's Wiltshire's entire career. If you're a gardener, you will love knowing how often botany has saved the day. And if you're a crime fiction fan - well, you've found your new favorite sleuth." (The Washington Post)
"Crabby, brilliant and brittle, but also quite tender when it comes to the loss and pain of grieving families, Ms. Wiltshire seems to come straight out of a British detective series. She's an eccentric who, after proving guilt in an Albanian gang murder, goes home, puts on her sweat pants, makes herself a dinner of beans and toast and cuddles with her cat. With a lead character like this, the science and crimes, while highly readable, are mainly stages and props for this engaging and enlightening one-woman show." (The Wall Street Journal)
“A British forensic ecologist, Wiltshire studies the natural world for clues to criminal activity: part Discovery Channel, part 'C.S.I.' Her autobiography will change the way you view your environment.” (The New York Times Book Review)
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Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story - they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe.
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Crime in other countries is not my cup of tea.
- By Brenda on 01-03-21
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Identity Crisis
- The Murder, the Mystery, and the Missing DNA
- By: Jefferson Bass
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1978, 56-year-old Leoma Patterson left a bar in Clinton, Tennessee, and was never seen again. Six months later, a female skeleton was found on a wooded lakeshore in a neighboring county. The bones were consistent with those of the missing woman, and one of Patterson's daughters recognized a ring found at the death scene as her mother's. The bones were buried, and six years later, a relative of Patterson's - one of the men she was last seen alive with - confessed to killing her. Case closed.
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Great true story.
- By A. Witf on 04-13-20
By: Jefferson Bass
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Unnatural Causes
- By: Dr Richard Shepherd
- Narrated by: Dr Richard Shepherd
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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As the country'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?
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Boring!
- By Zoesmydog on 06-21-19
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Lust Killer
- By: Ann Rule, Andy Stack
- Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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When young women begin mysteriously disappearing in Oregon, Police Lieutenant James Stovall leads a relentless search for a killer. With little evidence available, and the public screaming for answers, he must find a remorseless, brutal killer whose identity will shock them all....
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Great book on Brudos!
- By Ms.Bliss on 01-06-18
By: Ann Rule, and others
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The Dream House
- By: Craig Higginson
- Narrated by: Terry Lloyd-Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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A farmhouse is being reproduced a dozen times, with slight variations, throughout a valley. Three small graves have been dug in the front garden, the middle one lying empty. A woman in a wheelchair sorts through boxes while her husband clambers around the old demolished buildings, wondering where the animals have gone. A young woman – called ‘the barren one’ behind her back – dreams of love, while an ageing headmaster contemplates the end of his life.
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Brilliant Dream House Narration
- By Simon Griffiths on 05-05-21
By: Craig Higginson
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The Killer's Shadow
- The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer
- By: John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker
- Narrated by: Holt McCallany
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Worshippers stream out of an Midwestern synagogue after sabbath services, unaware that only a hundred yards away, an expert marksman and avowed racist, antisemite and member of the Ku Klux Klan, patiently awaits, his hunting rifle at the ready. A riveting, cautionary tale rooted in history that continues to echo today, The Killer's Shadow is a terrifying and essential exploration of the criminal personality in the vile grip of extremism and what happens when rage-filled speech evolves into deadly action and hatred of the “other" is allowed full reign.
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A relevant and important read.
- By Alyson on 12-25-20
By: John E. Douglas, and others
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My Life Among the Serial Killers
- Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderers
- By: Helen Morrison M.D., Harold Goldberg
- Narrated by: Helen Morrison
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Abridged
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Dr. Helen Morrison has profiled more than 80 serial killers around the world. What she has learned about them will shatter every assumption you've ever had about the most notorious killers known to man.
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Boring reader,boring writing
- By P. Minor on 02-03-08
By: Helen Morrison M.D., and others
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The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm
- Unraveling the History & Hauntings of a Serial Killer's Home
- By: Rich Estep, Robert Graves - with
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm provides detailed insights from the original criminal investigation as well as the perspectives of the man who survived Herb's attempt on his life. This chilling book also features actual supernatural evidence - from EVPs and psychic confirmations to first-hand accounts of the disembodied hands and voices that regularly manifest on the estate.
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Eerily enthralling
- By PC on 02-19-20
By: Rich Estep, and others
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Crime on the Fens
- DI Nikki Galena, Book 1
- By: Joy Ellis
- Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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DI Nikki Galena: A police detective with nothing left to lose, she's seen a girl die in her arms, and her daughter will never leave the hospital again. She's gotten tough on the criminals she believes did this to her. Too tough. And now she's been given one final warning: make it work with her new sergeant, DS Joseph Easter, or she's out.
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Exxcellent British police procedural
- By Wayne on 12-24-16
By: Joy Ellis
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Dying for Daddy
- The True Story of a Family's Worst Nightmare
- By: Carlton Smith
- Narrated by: Dustin Tucker
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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On a picturesque street in Sacramento County, California, three healthy saplings stand side by side. But what they symbolize are the deaths of three innocent people - two of them children. The man who took their lives, then planted trees in their honor, was their own husband and father. Hearts went out to Jack Barron when his wife, Irene, died mysteriously in her sleep. Soon after, his two young children were also found dead in their beds. Barron claimed they suffered from the same rare genetic disorder as their mother.
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unbelievable
- By Anonymous User on 04-14-20
By: Carlton Smith
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Deadly Dose
- The Untold Story of a Homicide Investigator's Crusade for Truth and Justice
- By: Amanda Lamb
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The death of promising young pediatric AIDS researcher Eric Miller stunned the Raleigh, North Carolina, community, largely because of the horrific way he was killed. For months, Eric was slowly tortured as arsenic consumed his body. No one thought that Eric Miller's wife, Ann - an attractive, demure, educated scientist - could be capable of such a horrible crime. No one except for veteran homicide investigator Chris Morgan, a man in the twilight of his career. But from the moment Morgan saw the 30-year-old widow in the police department interview room, he knew he was seeing pure evil.
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Sleepy narration
- By bethany on 02-10-20
By: Amanda Lamb
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Alice & Gerald
- A Homicidal Love Story
- By: Ron Franscell
- Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1974, Alice, a desperate young mother in a gritty Wyoming boomtown, kills her husband and dumps his body where it will never be found, then slips away and starts a new life. But when her new man's ex-wife and two kids start demanding more of him, Alice delivers an ultimatum: fix the problem or lose her forever. With Alice's help, Gerald fixes the problem in an extraordinarily ghastly way...and they live happily ever after...that is, until 2013, almost 40 years later, when somebody finds a dead man's skeleton in a place where Alice thought he'd never be found.
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HORRIBLE narration!
- By gauzy on 09-25-19
By: Ron Franscell
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The Forest City Killer
- A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice
- By: Vanessa Brown
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster - or monsters - stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn’t stop searching until his death 40 years later.
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All Wrong
- By Merkavius on 11-02-19
By: Vanessa Brown
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In this exuberant collection, acclaimed historian Simon Sebag Montefiore takes us on a journey from ancient times to the 21st century. Some speeches are heroic and inspiring; some diabolical and atrocious. Some are exquisite and poignant; others cruel and chilling. The speakers themselves vary from empresses and conquerors to rock stars, novelists and sportsmen, dreamers and killers, from Churchill and Elizabeth I to Stalin and Genghis Khan, and from Michelle Obama and Cleopatra to Ronald Reagan, Nehru, and Muhammad Ali.
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The Story of More
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Hope Jahren is an award-winning scientist, a brilliant writer, a passionate teacher, and one of the seven billion people with whom we share this earth. In The Story of More, she illuminates the link between human habits and our imperiled planet. In concise chapters, she takes us through the science behind the key inventions—from electric power to large-scale farming to automobiles—that, even as they help us, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere like never before.
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Like Al Gore, stuck on the problem
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What listeners say about The Nature of Life and Death
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lorelei Norvell
- 05-12-23
Fascinating with excellent delivery
Contrary to some other reviews, I delighted in the soft slow delivery. I had previously read the print version and found the audible version just wonderful.
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 07-15-23
A FORENSIC'S LIFE
Patricia Wiltshire details the magic of forensic analysis while revealing the history of her life. Wiltshire bluntly and forthrightly reveals as much about her life as she does about the details of victims of crime. Her forensic analysis aids law enforcement in indicting and arresting murderers and rapists. Wiltshire explains her forensic evidence often leads to admissions of guilt or, at least, a trail of evidence for courts to judge.
Wiltshire’s gathering of evidence is gruesome and will be off-putting to some but, as she notes, the body is a chemical construct that lives, dies, and returns to the earth from which it came. Wiltshire’s belief is that there is no heaven or hell but only being and nothingness for a life that is either well or poorly lived. Wiltshire intersperses facts of her life that help one understand why she became a scientist who eschews God but appreciates life. The implied view Wiltshire has is that society is comprised of humans who think and act rationally and irrationally, with good and bad intent.
Wilshire’s biographic notes help explain how she is able to cope with life and an important profession. Her story may not be every book-listener’s cup of tea, but it clearly explains how forensic science is a valuable tool in the search for truth, and hopefully, justice.
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- R. Westfall
- 08-01-22
Lovely!
Absolutely, fascinating!! Loved learning about forensic ecology and the processes used to unconventionally solve crimes. I also throughly enjoyed listening to the author read her own story, highly recommended!
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- ej
- 09-30-24
fascinating
easily the most interesting book i’ve listened to all year. being read in her voice is definitely the cherry on top
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- Teethnclaws
- 12-02-21
Fascinating Book; Hushed, Slow Narration
I'm really enjoying this book (information-wise), written and read by Patricia Wiltshire. I'm intrigued by how people get into any sort of crime-fighting forensic field. Her accent is lovely and the writing is well done. However, she speaks in low, near-whispering, breathy, drawn-out measures. I strain to hear what she is saying most of the time. I have to listen both faster and louder which is off-putting and ruins the overall experience. I think they should have hired a professional narrator. The breathiness and hushed utterances made me abandon the book several times and it is taking far longer for me to finish it. Normally, I would complete one like this in a couple of days. Instead, I've been chipping away at it over the last couple of months (coming back to it after a few days break at a time). Nothing wrong with being shy, mousy, and learned, but that doesn't help when it comes to an audio presentation. Narration is not in her wheelhouse, so I had to give a poor score for performance.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Linda Hammtu
- 11-12-19
Fasinating book on the natural world
I was in awe of the author’s knowledge on so many subjects. Even though she did not seem to be religious or believe in God I came away with a greater belief in the brilliant God and creator of our world and the many aspects of plants and fungus and how we as humans are affected by them and how they are part of our life.
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- Kirby C.
- 01-16-20
Fascinating Welsh granny
I had a bit of a rough start w/ this audiobook because the author's voice isn't especially dynamic at the beginning, but the story is exceedingly interesting and pulled me in relatively quickly.
Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic palynologist and a pioneer in her field, and The Nature of Life and Death: Every Body Leaves a Trace is part science, part memoir, and part true crime. Wiltshire discusses her childhood and the factors that led her to become a palynologist. There are two chapters that are essentially entirely autobiographical, and the final chapter is filled w/ acknowledgements, but the majority of the book discusses what palynology is and how Wiltshire was able to assist with many crime investigations using her knowledge and skills.
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook very much and feel like I learned a lot about something I never would have thought about had I not read this book. The author is incredibly intelligent and highly accomplished. If I'm ever murdered, I want this lady on the case. Every body truly does leave a trace, and nature leaves its trace on all of us every day as we go about our lives. It's amazing how Wiltshire is able to find an exact place at the edge of a field or in a wood by the pollen and spores captured in samples from the soil.
I would recommend The Nature of Life and Death if you aren't squeamish because there are vivid descriptions of police investigations, crime scenes, murdered corpses, and the natural sequence of decay. Wiltshire talks about how victims died and in what condition their bodies were found. It's funny to think of someone w/ a Welsh granny voice - soft and soothing - investigating grisly crime scenes and testifying in court.
The author does repeatedly show her age by using outdated language and phrases like "news on the wireless." She also tends to go off on tangents that meander eventually back to the original case she was discussing. It was something I definitely noticed but not something that was overly bothersome to me. I didn't mind a stroll through additional detail here and there. Many of the crime scene descriptions are repetitive as much of her work described in the book takes place in the UK, which means that many of the gravesites are much the same, but it was fascinating that the smallest different pollen grain or fungal spore could differentiate one crime scene from any other.
Overall, however, her world view is pretty modern, and she is firmly an atheist. The topic is especially well-researched, and Wiltshire quite literally was instrumental in creating the standard operating procedures and best practices that make up the field of forensic palynology.
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- Mary Beth
- 02-11-20
Why the anti-religious “rants”?
While I found the author’s description of forensic ecology very educational in well-told narrative, I found her interjections of anti-religious sentiment misplaced, unnecessary and off putting. She is a talented author and scientist. Her vast knowledge acquired over decades of study and experience stand on their merits. I didn’t appreciate being assaulted with views totally unsupportive of her story telling.
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- D Fernandes
- 07-29-23
laborious, unnecessary proselytization
Wish the author stuck to the forensic aspects of her investigations instead of the endless speil about everything else but.. there is more here about her die-hard commitment to atheism, her self proclaimed genius and her (pretty boring) personal life than there is about the cases she actually contributed to. In hindsight, I would have rather mopped the floor and done the dishes than listen to this book. however, the forensic data is interesting and I would recommend just doing a Google search and reading about all of her cases online .. you save more time and save yourself an audible credit too.. just my $0.02
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