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What the Dead Know
What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator | Barbara Butcher
18 posts | 9 read | 17 to read
A riveting, deeply personal memoir of more than twenty years of death-scene investigations by New York City death investigator Barbara Butcher. Barbara Butcher was recovering from addiction problems and unhappy relationships when she landed a job at the Medical Examiners Office in New York City. The second woman ever hired for the role of Death Investigator in Manhattan, she was the first to last more than three months. The work was gritty and demanding, sometimes dangerous. And she loved it. In a voice full of attitudea real New Yorker some might sayBarbara writes about what it was like not to go a day on the job without seeing a victim of homicide or some other violent crime. She investigated double homicides, gruesome suicides, and most heartbreaking of all, underage rape victims who had also been murdered. Butcher describes working at the worlds largest morgue following 9/11, where she and her colleagues initially relied on family members descriptions to help distinguish among the 21,900 body parts of the victims. Butcher spent ten years in the field during which time she examined more than 5,500 death scenes, 680 of which were homicides. Perfect for fans of Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell, as well as true crime fans, What the Dead Know tells the stunning real-life story of a woman who, in dealing with death every day, learned surprising lessons about lifeand how some of those lessons saved her from becoming a statistic herself.
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Blueberry
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🖤🖤🖤 1mo
Eggs 🖤💛🖤 1mo
41 likes2 comments
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JenniferEgnor
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Pickpick

This was a fast paced read; not for the squeamish. I find Barbara‘s last name and previous career an interesting combination. This is the memoir of her life as a Death Investigator in NY. How she got into the work, how it changed her, how she got out of it. She does not hold back on the gory details. Watch her on Netflix‘s ‘Homicide New York‘. The dead do speak. Are we listening? TW/CW: extreme violence, sexual assault, suicide, addiction.

JenniferEgnor If you‘re into true crime and forensics, this book is for you. Link for a podcast episode featuring her talk about her work: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/darkness-radio/id1185048025?i=100062148875... (edited) 6mo
10 likes1 comment
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JenniferEgnor
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Act as if you‘re not horrified. Act as if you‘re not scared. Do your job.

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JenniferEgnor
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Only then, after a night of men brutally chopped up and thrown away like garbage, of a helpless young man suffocating slowly, of a woman screaming in fear of her impending murder, of forgotten old people dying alone and unremembered, only then did I cry.

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squirrelbrain
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Pickpick

We‘ve been watching the Netflix series Homicide: NewYork, which features Butcher in her role as a Death Investigator in the city and hubby said ‘I bet she could write a good book‘. So of course, I looked it up!

This is a tough read, covering some very gruesome discoveries and 9/11, as well as the author‘s own mental health struggles, but I flew through it in a couple of hours. Highly recommended, if you‘re not squeamish.

julesG And stacked. I'm not squeamish 🤣🤣 6mo
BarbaraBB Stacking! I‘m not squeamish either 😀 6mo
squirrelbrain Not sure if either of you has Netflix @julesG @BarbaraBB - if so you should definitely watch the series as well. 6mo
julesG Yes, I have Netflix. I'll add it to the list. 6mo
BarbaraBB I have it too. Sounds good. 6mo
77 likes1 stack add5 comments
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cariashley
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed this memoir by a longtime NYC medical examiner. It was sometimes hard to listen to - she doesn‘t hold back on the detail. She tied in her own mental health struggles in a really effective way. Definitely recommend.

46 likes3 stack adds
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Jen2
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Good

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PaperbackReader
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“Knowledge can forestall fear.”

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Ephemera
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If you are interested in forensics or crime, this is an interesting and informative read. The author worked as a medico-legal investigator in NYC. This job entailed making the initial determination as to cause of death whenever a body was found. Was cause of death natural, homicide, or suicide? Be aware that vivid descriptive writing may be upsetting to those with weak stomachs. Five stars.

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Bookzombie
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Pickpick

Butcher‘s memoir of being a death investigator in the NYC‘s Office of Chief Medical Examiner was really interesting. I wasn‘t aware this position existed. The author successfully weaves in details of her personal life, including an account of her alcoholism, while sharing various cases from over her twenty year career, including 9/11.

I don‘t recommend this if you are feeling down, because her job doesn‘t allow for a lot of levity.

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ElizaMarie
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Wow!!! Thank you again for recommending this one to me @catiewithac 🩷🩷🩷

So interesting! Finished listening to it on my way to a Mariachi concert 🎵

#ISpyBingo - yellow font and nonfiction

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ElizaMarie
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Listened to this one a little over 4 hours yesterday. (The drive to the wrestling event, around the casino.l, and in the hot tub). Using @dabbe table again :)

#MischiefandMayhem #Scarathlon
@PuddleJumper

401 points

PuddleJumper Amazing! 13mo
dabbe 🖤🎃🖤 13mo
16 likes2 comments
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ElizaMarie
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@catiewithac recommended this one to me (and her book recommendations have always been stellar). I am starting this for my #AudioCommute

My babies are cuddling.

dabbe Look at dose fur cuddlies! 🤩🤩🤩 13mo
24 likes1 comment
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BeckyWithTheGoodBooks
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Amazing memoir by a former New York City Medical Examiner. I will say more in my forthcoming official review, but this was a 5⭐️ read. #scarathlonphotochallenge #death #dead #blackcatcrew

BookwormAHN Sounds fascinating 🐈‍⬛️ 14mo
BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @BookwormAHN Very Heavy, but Butcher is an amazing woman! 14mo
21 likes2 comments
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catiewithac
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Pickpick

This is Barbara Butcher‘s miraculous memoir of sobriety and an unplanned career at NYC‘s office of medical examination. Butcher shares some of the cases she investigated during her 22 years in civil service including the 9/11 tragedy. It‘s a great read with some gory details and lots of surprises!

61 likes2 stack adds
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jlhammar
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Pickpick

Butcher was a death investigator with NYC‘s Medical Examiner‘s Office for more than twenty years and man, does she have some stories. Some of the details are quite grisly, but it was really interesting to hear about this side of an investigation, determining the circumstances surrounding deaths.

LeahBergen This sounds fascinating! 1y
CatMS I agree this sounds fascinating. Have put it on my ever-growing TBR. 1y
63 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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jlhammar
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Browsing the new BookPage this morning. Tagged true crime/memoir caught my eye. There‘s a starred review and interview with the author. Butcher spent 22 years working as a death investigator for NYC‘s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Her job was not to solve murders, but to investigate all of the circumstances surrounding deaths. Sounds fascinating!

LatrelWhite Yesssss Ruth Ware❤️❤️ 1y
Suet624 Sure does! 1y
63 likes1 stack add2 comments
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kelli7990
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This audiobook I preordered from Audible is now available on my Audible app. I‘m looking forward to reading this book.