Traces
Patricia Wiltshire
23 July 2020
9781788700634304 pages
Synopsis
'ASTONISHING AND ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING' - LYNDA LA PLANTE
'Engrossing, emotionally honest and forensically fascinating' - Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes
EVERY BODY LEAVES A MARK
In Traces, Professor Patricia Wiltshire will take you on a journey through the fascinating edgeland where nature and crime are intertwined. She'll take you searching for bodies of loved ones - through woodlands and plantations, along hedgerows and field-edges, from ditches to living rooms - solving time since death and how remains were disposed of. She will show you how pollen from a jacket led to a confession and how two pairs of trainers, a car and a garden fork led to the location of a murdered girl. She will give you glimpses of her own history: her loves, her losses, and the narrow little valley in Wales where she first woke up to the wonders of the natural world.
From flowers, fungi, tree trunks to walking boots, carpets and corpses' hair, Traces is a fascinating and unique book on life, death, and one's indelible link with nature.
'Engrossing, emotionally honest and forensically fascinating' - Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes
EVERY BODY LEAVES A MARK
In Traces, Professor Patricia Wiltshire will take you on a journey through the fascinating edgeland where nature and crime are intertwined. She'll take you searching for bodies of loved ones - through woodlands and plantations, along hedgerows and field-edges, from ditches to living rooms - solving time since death and how remains were disposed of. She will show you how pollen from a jacket led to a confession and how two pairs of trainers, a car and a garden fork led to the location of a murdered girl. She will give you glimpses of her own history: her loves, her losses, and the narrow little valley in Wales where she first woke up to the wonders of the natural world.
From flowers, fungi, tree trunks to walking boots, carpets and corpses' hair, Traces is a fascinating and unique book on life, death, and one's indelible link with nature.
Astonishing ... absolutely fascinating.Lynda La Plante
One of those extraordinary books that will appeal to almost everyone.The Washington Post
There is so much excellent crime, crime scene and laboratory detail in this engrossing book, but also warmth and emotion, which combined with Pat's immense forensic academic work, meant that I found Traces very difficult indeed to put down. It's truly forensically fascinating (even for someone in the field!) while also being emotionally honest and challenging at times. Pat is really to be congratulated for an excellent and engrossing book.Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes
