NetGalley ARC (audio)
This isn’t what I thought it was going to be. The title and synopsis made it sound like it was going to be about the profession of a forensic scientist but it was actually a biography of the two author lives. They talked a lot about their personal lives and although I still enjoyed these parts, it was very different to how they presented the book originally.
I would have preferred to learn more about the progression instead of them which is why I originally requested it, but there were some interesting things

I enjoyed listening to How to Solve a Murder as I walked in and out of work. I found the narrators voices to be very pleasant to listen to and were easy to understand. The book is very interesting and covers a nice amount about the job but also included insights into the personal lives of the authors which prevented it from being perhaps too sensationalist. I think it will appeal to those who enjoy true crime podcasts or television shows but perhaps will include a little too much about the private lives of the authors to satisfy a 'hardcore' crime fan. There were occasions when I felt there was repeated emphasis on the gruesome nature of the job but I don't know if I would have noticed that as much were I reading it rather than hearing it. I am quite new to audiobooks so I am finding it hard to get used to hearing rather than reading and I hope that this won't lead to me unfairly judging a book. I do quite like being able to flick back to re refer to things in a written book and this isn't easy to do with audiobooks. Overall I would recommend this as a nice look at the profession but with the human side attached. It is good to gain perspective and realise that work is often not quite as portrayed on the telly!

This was so interesting - I have really learned a lot and then had to go and do more research. You learnt a lot about how forensics developed. from a unique perspective.

The narration was brilliant and really helped with the scientific issues.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

I was a bit disappointed by this. The content was certainly all very interesting, and I did learn a lot of new things about forensic medicine. However, the book was structured quite strangely - it is actually chronological but it doesn't seem like that when you're reading it. It essentially just jumps around from one story to the next seemingly randomly, and sometimes each section is incredibly short and then it just jumps straight into the next one. It felt just like a collection of unordered anecdotes. This is a shame, as each individual part was interesting and well-written but as a whole the book just needed to be organised differently to make it more readable.

Misleading title

I was keen to listen to this book from a professional perspective so that it might inform my work. However, it became clear that rather than focusing on how to solve a murder, it is actually the autobiography of the two authors, their working relationship and their subsequent marriage. There was a lot interesting content particularly nearer the end although this is not a book that explains how to solve a murder. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the authors’ professional lives and is interesting from that perspective. It was thought-provoking to learn about the development of digital imagery in this area and there some clear explanations regarding the methodology used by pathologists.

I listened to the audio version which is read by two narrators: one male and one female. Maybe it would be different if I was reading this title rather than listening to it, but I was left feeling that it was rather haughty. I have read books of this nature in the past linked to my work (for example Sue Black’s excellent text) but the depth of information about the work here was considerably more diluted.

To summarise, I have awarded three stars because I found the sections on court procedures and work within the path. lab to be of great interest, as were the human reactions of those involved. There was so much content about the authors’ lives that it felt more autobiographical and the combination of the narration and the slightly smug style of writing left me cringing at times. Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is more a history of the lives of the writers, particularly Derek Tremain and his career and many achievements.
The actual forensic cases are very interesting and it’s a shame there wasn’t more focus on these and less of their bios.
I loved the details and descriptions of the forensic science chapters and it would have been good if there were more about these and less of the personal information.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this book in return for a fair review
3 Stars ⭐️

I did not finish this audiobook.
The cover, title and blurb all promise a fascinating and insightful look into the goings-on of a pathology lab, and it definitely feels like it's aimed at true crime fans. However, the resulting audiobook is a tale of how two people met in a setting that apparently deals with dead bodies and murder victims, although the listener hardly ever hears about them. I was left bored and unsatisfied.
Pauline's sections are especially difficult, and the narrator has a cold edge to her tone that almost comes across as superior and is, frankly, unlistenable. I had high expectations for this audiobook but unfortunately it missed the mark.

An interesting insight into the life of husband and wife forensic scientists, with a large part being autobiographical and covering their careers. I was intrigued by some of the cases and in particular found the discussion of body mapping techniques really good. Some parts, like the details of Pauline's clothes - and the narrative of how her short skirt had distracted the male staff - were a little off-putting and could've been edited right down. However, I did enjoy the audiobook overall.

Lives In Forensics.....
An autobiographical audio account of lives spent in the study and work of forensic science, thus the title is somewhat misleading. An initial slow starter in audio which soon picks up in pace and is narrated well. The content does cover instances of interest. Informative and entertaining listening.

I am a huge fan of true crime books especially told from the perspective of the people solving those crimes so I was very interested in learning more about the experts in their field. Unfortunately this was not that type of book. Instead it was a memoir of how two people met in a lab and fell in a love with an occasional insight into how a pathologist would boil a skull or test for human matter as evidence for a case.

Told in two perspectives, Derek, a forensic medical scientist and Pauline, a forensic secretary. I could see that they were trying to invoke a more personable response from the reader by showing the real lives of these people that do such testing work but I struggled to invest with Pauline's sections and found them quite cold and reserved. Derek was a little better but some of the science went over my head.

I was expecting more information from real life cases but it was really focused on the relationship between the two and that wasn't a big draw for me.

Bemused. Confused.
As a massive true crime fan, this was right up my street! I only downloaded it initially to participate in a NetGalley Shelf app test, but nevertheless I was really looking forward to it.
I assumed it would be about 'how to solve a murder' i.e. take a crime scene, explain the background of the murder victim, the suspect, then go through the forensic evidence found and analyse it all until you have solved the murder. Not unrealistic is it, based on the title?
Well, here comes the confusion.
The book read like an autobiography of the author and his wife, and not a very interesting one at that. The book was full of anecdotes about the staff, participating in drug trials, and other stories. They might as well have called the book 'A Life of a forensic scientist' and not even mention solving murders. There was very little actual substance of solving murders at all, although those small parts were actually very interesting.
The narrator was well suited to telling the story, although whether it was him or the subject matter, I wasn't engaged for a lot of his speeches.
A real shame, it had lots of potential.

I had high expectations for this book as I love medical memoirs and true crime. From reading the synopsis and the title I assumed the book would look at the cases Derek had worked on and the different forensic techniques that helped to solve them. Unfortunately it was more of an autobiographical life / career account of which, to be brutally honest, I had absolute zero interest in. I honestly have no idea what Pauline's clothing choices and her self indulgent witterings about her short skirt distracting the male staff had to do with the book but they were in there anyway. There was the odd forensic science tidbit thrown in there that caught my interest but most of the book left me bored and uninterested. I just felt so disappointed by it. I came here for the murder and the behind the scenes science but was instead given typing speeds and pranks in the lab! Thankfully I listened to this as an audiobook as I'm absolutely certain that if I had to sit and read this I'd have put it down part way through and never picked it back up.

How to Solve a Murder was an interesting, somewhat heavy read. I have seen a few reviews that suggest that the title is misleading but, really, I don't feel that a non-fiction book of this type normally has the expectation for the reader to take the title too literally.

As an avid true-crime fan, How to Solve a Murder provided an insight into the world of forensic science and its development over the years that I have never encompassed before.

I would warn people who are maybe not so big on listening to details of gruesome crimes and the state of such bodies to give this audiobook a wide birth.

My one criticism of this book is the beginning. I felt like the book had an extremely slow start, and then suddenly took off. It took me more time to get past the beginning than it did the rest of the book. But overall, the narrators did a fantastic job and the audiobook was insightful into the world of forensic science.

As a habitual mystery and thriller reader, I find it actually quite shocking that I know nothing about forensic science. How to Solve a Murder was therefore an excellent (and gruesome) audiobook to help me learn about this field and the people working in it.

Thanks to the skillful narration, I was immediately pulled into the story. While I was honestly expecting this to be a book about ways in which murders are solved, that's only part of it - this book also tells the story of the authors' lives and careers. As a result, you learn not only about the medical and scientific methods, but also about the real problems of people in this profession. Seeing absolutely shocking sights in one of them.

This was a fun and eye-opening listen for me, being completely new to forensic medicine and criminology.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had a lot of expectations from this one after reading the blurb and the title but sadly it didn't live upto my expectations. Some parts were pretty good but not all of it. I wish it was more true to the title and the blurb.

I enjoyed this book, It was quite gruesome at times, but deliciously so!


If you do not like to read ./ listen to details of murder and the state of bodies after said act, then this book is really not for you, as we do get some rather detailed information of death,the title I think is a little misleading, it is not a book that goes through a step by step instruction, but the instead is a fascinating acumen into the life of a Forensic Scientist

I do enjoy reading Murder Mysteries and it was good to get it from a non fiction / true crime format.

The narration and the pace was excellent and i really have no fault to mention.

I say go for it, it will not fail to disturb and entertain.

This felt like a book of two halves for me. The first half, relating the authors' respective career beginnings, as well as the general lab hijinks, I enjoyed much more than the second half, which felt more like a scientific textbook, given to ponderous tangents on the minutiae of various scientific processes. I also found the jumps between the 2 authors quite jarring and out of place, as several of them would happen mid-chapter and didn't always make chronological sense.

Overall, I think this book would have been much better if a better structure had been worked out to give a greater sense of chronology and to prevent jumping backwards or forwards in time each time the perspective changed. That being said, if you were a fan of Dr Richard Shepherd's 'Unnatural Causes', and Val McDermid's 'Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime', then this may be for you.

do love a crime book, but how interesting was it to have the a scientific view of it! Listening to the audiobook was perfect for the daily lockdown walk, deep cleaning or just knitting away. It allowed me to learn many new things, while focusing on the people more than the images. The two narratives are also great to see a bigger image, to have two inputs! I also loved how Derek started out by coincidence with no degree yet, did this incredible job and followed an incredible path. The same does apply to Pauline! It’s a great proof that studies sometimes come later, and aspirations bring a person where they want to be, even if they study later on that society expect them to. A must!

This was a audiobook for me and I felt like it dragged right at the beginning and then took off like a rocket. The narrators were John Sackville and Kim Hicks. They did a good job.
I work in pathology and I’m a certified Histotechnian. I’ve assisted in autopsies and found everything in this book interesting. Of course I could follow everything going on because of my line of work. So I’m sure I can’t speak for everyone but I really liked this book.

Things I learned about in this book:
• How Death by drowning is determined
• What Death by misadventure is.
• Mass disaster deaths and the effects it has on the medical team.
• The smell of death and how it stays with you.
• Forensic imaging started for court cases.

Thank you HarperCollins UK audio for this audiobook. I’m voluntarily leaving my review.

I really enjoyed How to Solve a Murder, I studied Criminal Justice at Uni so I couldn't wait to listen to this book. The information in here was both gritty and super interesting, learning about techniques used and how pathologists determine a cause of death was right up my alley. This is definitely accessible for everyone and I've already recommended it to a colleague, I will be coming back and writing a full review on my blog.