The Nature of Life and Death

Patricia Wiltshire has worked on over 200 criminal cases across the UK, including some of the most high-profile cases in the past two decades. She works closely with the police on investigations in which outside elements are linked heavily with victims and suspects - and examines the flora and fauna of crime scenes in search of the truth. From hedgegrows to tyre arches; mud tracks to the soles of walking boots - Patricia has an expert eye for spotting discrepencies in outside elements and her career in the field of forensic botany is truly unique. Wonderfully empirical in her pursuit of the facts, Patricia breaks down a crime scene into the minute components, eliminating theories flower by flower and microbe by microbe, until she comes to a realistic and compelling thesis on how a crime was committed and how a crime scene came to be. Her story touches on biology, physics, chemistry, geography, botany, psychology, micrology and criminology, and how our interaction with nature leaves an indelible mark on who we are and how we interact.This brilliant and original memoir will out-grow its true crime roots, connecting with those interested a unique life in a fascinating field, and those interested our inherent connections with the outside world. With echoes of John Lewis-Stempel's The Running Hare, Henry Marsh's Do No Harm and Mark Vanhoenacker's Skyfaring, this is a thoughtful, unique and rewarding book on the universal themes of life, death and one's indelible link with nature.