Unnatural Causes: Dr Richard Shepherd Bestseller

Thoughtful, revealing, chilling and always unputdownable, Unnatural Causes is the true crime book of the year. If you liked This is Going to Hurt, War Doctor and All That Remains you'll love this.

'One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down' The Times
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Meet the forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd. A detective in his own right, he must solve the mystery of sudden and unexplained deaths.

He has performed over 23,000 autopsies, including 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 disaster, '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.

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. 
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'Gripping, grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twice' Evening Standard

Included in The Times Books of the Year

'Puts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel' Guardian 

'Fascinating, gruesome yet engrossing' Richard and Judy, Daily Express

'Heart-wrenchingly honest' Professor Sue Black, author of All That Remains

'Fascinating, insightful, candid, compassionate' Observer

Product details

Review

Unnatural Causes gives a sense of the toll that dealing with so many dead bodies takes. It's a very human book that looks at the cases he has been involved with, from the Hungerford massacre to the murder of Stephen Lawrence (The Times (Books of the Year, 2018))

One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down (The Times)

Fabulous . . . The UK's top pathologist investigating high-profile deaths such as that of Diana, Princess of Wales (The Sunday Post)

Puts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel (Guardian)

Insightful, candid and compassionate (Observer)

Fascinating, gruesome yet engrossing (Richard and Judy, Daily Express)

Heart-wrenchingly honest (Professor Sue Black, author of All That Remains)

Darkly fascinating (Daily Mirror)

Partly an autobiography, but also a love letter to pathology. It's dignified and graceful and painfully honest about the human and emotional cost of so much time with the dead. Insightful, moving and mesmerising (Marylebone Journal)

This book holds within its pages the story of a life told with honesty, and this is partly why it is such a pleasure to read. A fascinating autobiography. Unputdownable. (Live Ribble Valley)

About the Author

Richard Shepherd was born in West London but grew up in Watford. At the local grammar school 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, and many sudden and unexplained deaths that his investigations showed were from natural causes or due to accidents. His skills and expertise still remain in demand around the world.