The Nature of Life and Death

Every Body Leaves a Trace

By: Patricia Wiltshire

Narrated by: Patricia Wiltshire

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.

©2019 Patricia Wiltshire (P)2019 Penguin Audio

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)

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.

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.

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!

fascinating

easily the most interesting book i’ve listened to all year. being read in her voice is definitely the cherry on top

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.

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.

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.

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.

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