so the booming sound a body makes when it hits the ground after a high fall is actually sound of the organs exploding? spectacular. look inside for a lot of other interesting tidbits in this memoir that captures barbara butcher’s experience with being a first-responder, a death investigator. it was sufficiently interesting and also incredibly personal and also a fair share of morbid: while i understand the need for sarcasm and wit to cushion oneself against the gruesomeness of dealing with dead bodies (murders, suicides, homicides, accidents, naturals), her dark humour caught me off guard at times, though i do have a grudging respect for the way she navigated her profession and personal life. there’s a lot to learn from this, more than just crime scene investigation, it’s a concise portrayal of emotion, compassion, responsibility as learned through her job. i enjoyed it, but i did not enjoy her odd affinity for cops, though that is a personal conviction more than anything. definitely worth a read.

(i skimmed the reviews and i think a lot of people have been misled by the title to think that this is about true crime or science, when it in fact has been about butcher’s journey with self and life through her job that just happens to be interesting and otherwise unconventional, rooted in the realm of true crime. but that’s not what this book is about primarily. it is about her.)