Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain’s Top Forensic Pathologist by Richard Shepherd

A Forensic Pathologist is one of those jobs that fascinates me but I know I would never be able to do. I can read about it but would have to look away if ever it was on the television or in real life. Hats off to the people who do this for a living because you must be made of stronger stuff than most of us. This is a fascinating read by Dr Richard Shepherd who appears to have been involved in every high profile case from the death of Princess Diana to The World Trade Centre. Thrown into situations most of us would certainly keep well clear of to unravel the truth.

Dr Richard Shepherd has carried out over 20,000 autopsies over his career some of whom are household names trying to unravel the causes of their deaths. Fascinating to read the behind the scenes revelations and details we don’t normally hear.

An unusual read but I found it so interesting.

Bombshell: The Night Bobby Kennedy Killed Marilyn Monroe by Mike Rothmiller, Douglas Thompson

Like many other people I have this fascination for Marilyn Monroe who died tragically before I even knew she existed. There has always been this mystery surrounding her death with lots of speculation and conspiracy theories. Well this book claims to have the truth surrounding the final days of Marilyn Monroe.

The evidence offered in this book is provided by Mike Rothmiller who worked as an agent of the Organized Crime Intelligence Division (OCID) of the LAPD. During his time at the LAPD he had direct personal access to hundreds of secret files on exactly what happened at Marilyn Monroe’s Californian home on August 5, 1962. His evidence states that Robert Kennedy was behind the death of Marilyn Monroe. The book uses unseen police files, Marilyn Monroe’s private diary, and first-hand testimony to prove that Robert Kennedy was directly responsible for her death. The book also tells details of Marilyn Monroe’s affair with Robert’s brother President John Kennedy. Rothmiller not only details the fateful night itself but of the subsequent police cover up and the campaign to protect the Kennedy family at all costs.

This book was a riveting read and certainly got me thinking. The legend of Marilyn Monroe lives on and I am sure the conspiracy stories and books will too.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Ad Lib Publishers for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stories of Hope: by Heather Morris

I have read the previous two books by this author and was completely blown away by them so when I was given the opportunity to read this book I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately this book left me very disappointed. the book is no more than a filler and would be better suited to a magazine article. Rather than being a fascinating read about the inspirational figures she had met, which the book hardly touched on, it explained how we should listen to our elders and speak to the young. The book was only 171 pages long and I would have been far more interested to hear of Heather Morris’s experiences meeting Lale Sokolov, the tattooist at Auschwitz-Birkenau rather than a very patronisingly description of how I should deal with loved ones.

A very disappointing read and a rather kind 3 star rating.

 

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bonnier books for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Only Fools and Horses – The Official Inside Story by Steve Clark,

I have watched and laughed through every episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses’ so thought this would be an entertaining read. Much of the information in the book is already common knowledge but it was still nice to recap but other parts were repetitive and tedious. It lists the casts previous work and every episode title etc all of which are free to look up anytime on internet sites.
John Sullivan and many of the cast were very talented and there were certainly a lot of trivia facts for any admirer but I felt generally that the book is thrown together from old interviews and articles amassed off the internet.
Great show but not such a good book.

Solid State: The Story of “Abbey Road” and the End of the Beatles by Kenneth Womack

I have always enjoyed the Beatles music and in particular the album ‘Abby Road’ so this book was a must read for me personally. 50 years ago the Beatles created their last album and this book tells of the arguments within the band, the use of new technology and most importantly the music. I found this book full of fascinating information as well as allowing me to relive the album. I do not have the background in technology to fully understand much of the details when explaining certain tracks but yet it still hit a chord with me.
I feel that all music lovers would enjoy this book but obviously will appeal to the big fans of the group.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Cornell University Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Missing by Tim Weaver

I am currently reading the missing persons investigator David Raker series by author Tim Weaver, so decided to read this transcript from the eight podcasts that he did on the subject.
It was interesting to read some of the statistics on missing people and some of the circumstances surrounding the subject.

Very interesting in places but I felt it was a little repetitive.

Titanic: The Story Of The Unsinkable Ship by Hourly History

This is a great little freebie off Amazon. This series has books that cover the history of key events and famous people throughout history. The books are approximately 50 pages long and give a brief history of the subject which in some cases is quite enough. Gives insight into the person or event and you can always get a more detailed book if that’s what you desire. Reasonably priced and quite a few free so I am happy to learn a little about things I feel I ought to know more about.

The Accidental Spy by Sean O’Driscoll

I love reading mystery novels but occasionally I enjoy true life books and this one fits the bill perfectly. This book tells how David Rupert, a trucking manager from New York, took an holiday to Ireland and ended up rising to the very top of the Real IRA, all while working for the FBI and British intelligence. He became one of Britain’s most valued spies, brought down the entire IRA structure, and made $10 million dollars in the process. This is no ordinary story.
David Rupert found himself in terrifying situations and was involved in major terrorist operations, set up an Iraqi sting operation and was organising U.S. arms shipments with a man being trained to kill the then British prime minister, Tony Blair.
This is a remarkable story, in which many lives were saved by the heroics of David Rupert, working for years within one of the most brutal and ruthless terrorist organisations in the world.
This book tells an incredible story that not only makes an excellent read but more so because it really happened.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Mirror Books for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“She Must Have Known”: The Trial Of Rosemary West by Brian Masters

Frederick Walter Stephen West was a serial killer who killed at least 12 women and possibly 20 more between 1967 and 1987 in Gloucestershire, the majority with his second wife, Rosemary West. He avoided trial when he hung himself on New Year’s Day 1995. At least eight of the murders involved the Wests’ sexual gratification and included rape, bondage, torture and mutilation. The victims’ dismembered bodies were buried in the cellar or garden of the Wests’ Cromwell Street home in Gloucester, which became known as the “House of Horrors”. Fred West also committed at least two murders on his own, and Rose murdered Fred’s stepdaughter, Charmaine. The couple were apprehended and charged in 1994.

Fred West asphyxiated himself while on remand at HM Prison Birmingham on 1 January 1995, when he was charged with 3 murders and along with his wife Rose were jointly charged with nine murders In November 1995, Rose was convicted of ten murders and sentenced to ten life terms with a whole life order.
This is a very interesting thought provocative read that reasons against Rose West’s guilt. Rose West was convicted on the strength that she “must have known” what was going on with her husband’s crimes and without any real evidence against her personally. At her trial many of the witnesses were already signed up by national newspapers waiting for payment on the condition that she was found guilty. Whether she was guilty or not this is not a satisfactory way, when a jury is deciding on such an important case.
I found this a very interesting book, I am not sure I can go along with a lot of the authors reasoning but it certainly opens your eyes to what some people see as perfectly normal behaviour. A little bit too much court details for me but a very good insight into the events surrounding these murders.

Somebody I Used to Know by Wendy Mitchell

This is an inspiring read, a memoir written by Wendy Mitchell who was diagnosed with dementia at the early age of fifty-eight.
This book became more significant to me when my father started showing signs of dementia over the last few months. It is still early days for my father and he is still awaiting tests before been diagnosed but many of the things Wendy describes in her book were very enlightening and have helped me personally with my understanding of this awful illness.
This book is the first book written by a person suffering from dementia and is truly inspirational, thought provoking and a true insight into dementia. Having seen how my fathers mind has deteriorated over such a short time, I can see that this book must have taken so much effort to write and I have nothing but admiration for Wendy.