How to Solve a Murder: True Stories from a Life in Forensic Medicine

Derek Tremain · Pauline Tremain

Jan 2021 · HarperCollins · Narrated by John Sackville and Kim Hicks

About this audiobook

As gripping as it is gruesome, How to Solve a Murder is a fascinating insight into the career of a pathologist told by experts in the field. Includes a foreword from Dr Richard Shepherd, bestselling author of Unnatural Causes.

FRACTURED SKULLS. GAS MASKS. BRAIN BUCKETS. VATS OF ACID. PICKLED BODY PARTS.

Not the usual tools of trade, but for Chief Forensic Medical Scientist Derek and Forensic Secretary Pauline they were just part of a normal day in the office inside the world-famous Department of Forensic Medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London.

Derek has played a pivotal role in investigating some of the UK’s most high-profile mass disasters and murder cases. Derek’s innovative work on murder cases, in particular, has seen him credited as a pioneer of forensic medical science, after developing ground-breaking techniques that make it easier to secure a conviction and also identify a serial killer.

Warmly recalled and brilliantly told, these intriguing revelations will open your eyes to the dark world inhabited by those who investigate death and murder (typically most horrid), and unveil the secrets of how each case is solved.

Ratings and reviews

Derek Tremain and his wife Pauline, have written a fascinating book about their careers in forensic medicine. Being a bit of a crime genre enthusiast (true and fictional), I was pleased to find this title. It has done two things for me, reduced my faith in Hercule Poirot et al and shown me how forensics have advanced over the years. These days the Tremains run their own business rather than work in a hospital morgue and a lot of the evidence provided in trials is computer generated, with overlays proving that this particular instrument held at that angle proves that murder was committed. As I said, completely fascinating. Both husband and wife have thoroughly enjoyed their careers but, interestingly, none of their children have followed in their footsteps...I wonder why? Recommended for all crime buffs.

About the author

Derek Tremain BSc (Hons) is Forensic Imaging Scientist & Managing Director Forensic Image Services. He began working at the age of 15 for Guy’s Hospital in its historic Gordon Museum then moved into the dedicated Forensic Department. Over the next 35 years, he experienced thousands of patterned injuries, and is recognised to be the UK’s leading experts in the area. Having created new histological techniques and analyse during the course of his work, Derek went on to found the UK’s first injury body mapping service for murder trials. Today, Derek acts as an independent consultant.

Pauline Tremain is a former Medical Sectary and is now Forensic Graphic Designer and Business Manager of Forensic Image Services. She joined Guy’s Hospital’s forensic department in 1981. Her interest and enthusiasm was quickly acknowledged by the pathologist team, who included her in their routine mortuary attendances, where she took notes on post-mortems.