The Natural History of Crime: Case studies in death and the clues nature leaves behind

by Patricia Wiltshire

AS SEEN IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE UK'S NO.1 FORENSIC ECOLOGIST LOOKS AT HER MOST HIGH-PROFILE AND INTERESTING CASES...'I love puzzles, and finding answers is the only truly enjoyable part of what I do.'Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence.Working at the interface of where the criminal and natural world interact, Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases. Now, through a study of her most infamous, and fascinating cases - including the murder of Sarah Payne, and the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman - Patricia will show us how she finds the answers to some of the worst crimes imaginable. Not only does she help the police solve crimes and give answers to the most bemusing circumstances, she can help to exonerate the innocent and enable confessions from the guilty.In The Natural History of Crime we join Patricia in putting the puzzle together, teasing the evidence out of her cases and showing us all how life and death have always been, and always will be, intertwined. Nature has given us a messy, imperfect world, but her job is to help make sense of it when we need it to most.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Science, Crime, Audiobook, History, Nature

336 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2025

Reviews

[alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patricia Wiltshire has been an idol of mine since like 2002 and inspired me to pursue a career in science. She is a truly exceptional woman and *brilliant* scientist that has given so much to the discipline. However, this one was really strange, self-congratulatory, wildly tangential, and on multiple occasions, in terrible taste. What is more, most of this is information regurgitated from Traces (which was brilliant), but here, indulgently rehashed, seasoned with vulgar detail about crimes involving children with surviving, devastated families that have already been subject to the most intolerable and intrusive harassment in the media. There are myriad semi-biographical books by forensic scientists that achieve much more without speaking so glibly about the victims (Angela Gallop and Sue Black are notably excellent).

With the lack of professional discretion in this book, combined with the peculiar and potentially compromising political views she has expressed on social media, it would aggrieve me greatly if this bilge were the last word in her legacy. Patricia girl, you done really fell off with this one.

[Kathy Power · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, the author of this has an ego the size of a planet. When she actually talks about the actual crimes and the evidence discovered the book gets a little more interesting but so much time is spent on lauding her own cleverness, complaining about everyone else, the state of society and lots of rambling discussion about irrelevant subjects that the interesting stuff gets totally lost.

[Ashley]

DNF @ 25%

This just isn't holding my attention. It was more interesting in some sections than in others for me. But when it was interesting, it was *really* interesting. Those parts were just few and far between for me. This book recounts specific cases showing off Wiltshire's abilities to use the natural world and her training as a forensic ecologist to help solve crimes, often violent ones.

I think the disconnect for me was that the book felt a little too detached from the events being investigated. This makes sense, as Wiltshire outright states in the introduction that in most of the work she does the body she is working on is just an object to her, although there have been a handful of bodies over the years that got to her and that she will never forget. But overall, you can tell it's the science she's interested in, and that comes off in the overall tone of the book.

The audiobook was very nicely produced, and I really liked the narrator's voice. This was also a double-sided sword, though, because I found her voice so soothing that I kept drifting off while listening.

I might try reading the author's previous book, TRACES, as several reviews of this book note that one is excellent and they liked it better.

[Jordan Gilbert]

dnf @ 16% - The content was interesting enough but there were weird asides and the author was giving off very strange vibes

[Hannah Gray · Rating 2 out of 5]

why did you become a forensic botanist if your entire goal was to dissuade others from following that path ? like why is this whole book just “i did it because i am smart and YOU ! will not be able to ! you pathetic regular person!” and then also ? i had beef w the whole “these EVIL and NEGLIGENT medical professionals called the POLICE when they suspected CHILD ABUSE” uh yeah girl that’s their job? also why would the caretaker know the pharmacokinetics of protonix can you PLEASE get a grip you’re being mean.

i love women in stem ! i want to love women in stem so much that i read this whole book despite really not enjoying it at all! i love women in stem so i am giving her a 2/5 because i think her job is hard and writing is hard and it’s hard to get a woman in a field where nobody is going to believe you no matter what! but homegirl really just did not need to write this at all and i hope she doesn’t do it again.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since I took a forensics course in school I have been fascinated by the science behind crime. I thought it would be interesting to read about how the natural aspects of the world play into it. There were many moments when this was true but equally as many where it seemed to drudge on endlessly. A factor that plays into that is the very scientific lingo that went over my head. However, in addition to that she would go on tangents often that seemed to have nothing to do with the chapter.
I listened to the audio book thanks to early access from NetGalley. I did really enjoy the narrator and thought she did a great job.

[Claire Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine your most annoying coworker wrote a book

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book and loved the sound of it. The author is a forensic ecologist and she gives us an insight into some of the cases which she has been involved in over her career. Many of the cases have been high profile ones, such as Sarah Payne and the Soham murders, and are etched into the memory of so many people.

This was such an interesting read. I have to admit though that a lot of it was very "scientific" in it's descriptions and most of this went straight over my un-scientific head! However, the bits I did understand were fascinating and it's amazing how much evidence and proof can be found in the tread of a shoe or on a muddy bank. Of course, particularly in the cases of Sarah Payne, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, you feel the emotion coming from the author herself, and you can understand how distressing these cases would have been. The book has been sympathetically and sensitively written, particularly with the evidence found, in respect of the families of the victims.

Each account of the cases worked on was well written and full of, not just information and facts, but explanations as to what, why and how things were done. It was like a real life episode of Silent Witness but in written format!! A very interesting read into the behind the scenes work of a forensic ecologist. Would recommend!

[reading_joelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I reeeeeally wanted to like this. Biology AND true crime??? I wanted to like it so much, I ignored the warning signs at the beginning but Prof. Wiltshire is opinionated and sadly not just about her own field of expertise but also everything else, and of course she is the expert of all fields and while speaking out against sexism at crime scenes, she misses no chance to talk shit about younger people and how real botany and science is dead. If you can overlook all the random side stories and rants that really take away from the actual contents of the cases you might still be annoyed by the constant repetitions. The individual stories seem to have been written independently of each other and terms and concepts are explained over and over again. It might also just be the fact that the limited amount of techniques she uses doesn’t warrant two full books written about them. Putting the scientifc context at the end was probably also not so smart, being a biologist, I didn’t need them but I after reading the whole book, it’s a bit pointless to learn about pollination at the end of the whole thing. All in all, sadly a disappointment. (And also microns (or micrometers) are a thousandth of a milimeter 10^-6 of a meter, people with a degree in Molecular Biology might not be in Pat’s high regard, but they do know that at least.)

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank god I finally finished this horrible book. It’s never taking me this long to finish a book. I’m giving it 2 stars but only because the subject matter was actually interesting.

The writer is very full of herself and has to keep bragging about how special and great she is every few pages. She talked about plankton being present in certain layers of soil and that it can help to determine locations. But she somehow tied that to plankton being eaten by whales, to then connect that to whales being murdered for the fashion trade. Then she proceeded to say how she’s vegetarian, and how she’s better than everyone because she doesn’t eat meat. It was completely unrelated to the subject, and only used to paint herself as some superior human being.

Whenever there are things actually related to the subject she omitted them with the excuse that it has already been describes in detail by the media so she won’t go into details actually relevant to the subject.

[Myla Neugebauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @48%
As someone who is a scientist herself (and normally does not read non-fiction), I thought this book would be AMAZING. It wasn’t though. It was an endless rant from the author how seemingly nobody around her does any good work, ultra-repetitive, filled with anecdotes that seem completely irrelevant. I WANTED to like this book, and there were passages that were scientifically interesting, but I am certainly not interested in a several hundred page frustration dump, which is mainly what all this book was. No seriously, I could even feel myself start to dislike other forensic specialists because of the amount of complaints in this book. If you would take all those out as well as everything that is repeated SEVERAL times, there probably wouldn’t be much left.

[Elaine Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Важко оцінити, для мене книга виявилася неоднозначною. Моя оцінка десь між 3 та 4, ближче до 3.
Пізнавально, місцями цікаво, місцями нудно. Видно, що авторка полюбляє свою справу, дока в ній, всесторонньо обізнана і цим бажає ділитися, але часто її думки уносяться в якісь далі і вона "наливає водички" про динозаврів, меловий період, еволюцію та інше. Хоча і в "водичці" були цікавинки: як влаштована судова система, трішки про поліційну роботу... Хотілося більш конкретніше по злочинам. І так, там це є, але переслідувало відчуття незавершеності.
Очікувала дещо іншого від книги, але не жалкую, що прочитала. Дізналася про нову галузь криміналістики — судова екологія.
Зрештою книга більш сподобалася, ніж ні.

[Lyndsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun drinking game: listen to the audiobook and take a shot every time you hear a word that ends in “ology”

Jokes.
Don’t do that. You’ll die.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much science.

[cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

audio-ARC from NetGalley

I'm quite mixed on this. I requested an ARC because the topic sounds fascinating: botany being used to solve crime? I thought that was the kind of thing that only happened on Bones!

And, indeed, nature's vital role in forensic investigation was a subject that I definitely wanted to learn about. Wiltshire's exploration of her cases, her observations, and the science behind determining plant types, botanical subtypes, locations, proximity, etc, were utterly captivating. I was especially intrigued by the story of the missing girls and the case of the man found dead in his bed. The fact that dust and pollen could prove time of death, who was where, and whether something had happened? I was mindblown!

I just think this could/should have been shorter. While I understand - and, at times, even feel! - her passion for the details of her life's work, some details began to feel repetitive. It seemed like every case had her reiterating the same points about the need for specialists to communicate in an investigation and the importance of certain steps being taken in a specific order until it started to feel like she was beating me over the head with it. She did a fantastic job of communicating her own constant frustration, but the paragraphs upon paragraphs in each chapter could easily have been cut down to a few sentences each.

There were also parts of this book that were, essentially, the narrator reading a textbook out loud. While I appreciate the knowledge the author wants to impart to the reader, it's very dense for someone like myself, who is not in the same field. It seemed like Wiltshire wasn't 100% sure how to balance the writing for scientist readers vs. more casual readers, thus alternating between university-level overviews and the overexplanation of simple concepts.

I am, however, glad to have listened to this audiobook. I learned a lot and am definitely looking forward to seeing what forensic botany can uncover next! Also, if Netflix or Hulu or Prime wants to make her life into a TV show a la Mindhunter, I would definitely watch it.

[Esme · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

I actually found this to be an extremely intriguing book. I learned a lot in here! It's making me want to do more research behind the different forensic methods that are out there! While the book is full of very interesting information and experiences, I did find it to be a little repetitive in some areas, which did make me loose focus. With that said I did enjoy it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Botanist Patricia Wiltshire who has worked for many decades as a forensic ecologist, share how analyzing the ecology of a crime scene and the trace evidence (especially at the molecular level) can be useful in helping determine what happened and even who is to blame in a crime. She shares about her methods, and examples from several cases of how pollen and spores have been useful in solving the crime.

I’ve read memoirs and informational true crime/forensics books about anthropologists, entomologists, police detectives, and pathologists who work in the forensic field, but this was the first botanist I’ve come across. To hear how pollen and spores can be integral to solving cases was quite interesting and definitely a unique perspective. I’m curious now to read her other books. I think other than the pollen/spore perspective, what I appreciated most about Wiltshire is her willingness to reserve details to protect living family members and/or out of respect for the dead. It seemed very professional and tactful.

Notes on content:
Language: 2 strong swears in quotes and a strong use of profanity. 1 strong British swear.
Sexual content: Some of the cases briefly mention some motives of a sexual nature, but absolutely no details are included.
Violence: There are several deaths related, and sometimes a brutal method of death is involved. The descriptions are kept clinical and she even withholds details at times, but there are still some gory scenes talked about.
Ethnic diversity: Most of the cases happen in the UK, primarily England and Wales and involve people from those locales.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified that I remember.
Other: Some of the cases involve children who were killed by a predator or jealous family member. A incident involving non-fatal self-harm is related. A wrongful conviction is mentioned. A lot of the cases involve greed and jealousy.

[Kassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested the audio ARC of Patricia Wiltshire's The Natural History of Crime because I was curious about botanical sleuthing and this part of the audiobook is very interesting. Wiltshire details her experiences and provides significant background to give the reader grounding. It did, occasionally, become repetitive, going over the same details that appear in previous chapters, but overall it was a fascinating peak at her work.

I did, however, not enjoy the frequent "kids these days" asides about mental health or education or that we "seem to live in a blameless society" or whatever it may be. This came to a head for me when she started a chapter by saying that "wokeism" might have deadly consequences, but ultimately ends the chapter by saying, "who know if there was any meaningful link between the two incidents." It was a big reach and it just didn't pan out.

Finally, there were a few small errors that should have been caught, especially by someone who's whole deal is attention to detail (e.g. the "Body Farm" is not at Knoxville University, but rather the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[SJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Review of *The Natural History of Crime* by Patricia Wiltshire (2 stars)**

I had high hopes for this audiobook, but unfortunately, I couldn't finish it. The stories often felt meandering, lacking focus, and at times, the author came across as pompous and self-congratulatory. Repeatedly, she dwells on her grievances with coworkers and lawyers, which becomes tedious.

What turned me off, though, were the frequent asides lamenting the state of society today—whether it was about mental health, education, or her view that we live in a "blameless society." These tangents added little value to the narrative and instead felt like unwelcome interruptions.

On a positive note, the audiobook seemed well produced, and I enjoyed the narrator's voice, which made the content more bearable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Unfortunately, despite the promising premise, *The Natural History of Crime* didn't deliver the engaging or insightful experience I was hoping for.

#TheNaturalHistoryofCrime #NetGalley

[Kristina Robbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I requested this audiobook because the subject matter sounded fascinating and it is! When Wiltshire sticks to the science, this audiobook was great. There are a few parts where it feels like being read to from a text book but for the most part you can really feel her passion for palynology when she talks about her cases. However, there were far too many unrelated tangents for me and Wiltshire clearly feels very strongly that she is the smartest person in the room at all times (even when in a room filled with scientists equally accomplished in their own specific field, scientists who have also been chosen to assist with an investigation). I am all for confidence in yourself but Wiltshire spends so much of the book talking about how everyone else she encounters (investigators, police officers, other scientists, morgue technicians, etc) are absolutely useless. It was quite distracting and unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts
- Extremely interesting explanation of a field of forensics I really knew nothing about
- Some lovely descriptions and explanations of British botany and geography
- Each chapter uses a single case from the author's career to weave together the above content
- Extremely sensitive and tactful handling of the case material to avoid true-crime sensationalism

However, it could have used some additional editing:
- Although I could see what was being attempted, at times the tangents away from the main argument were extremely long, which hurt readability.
- The key principles of the author's work were restated repeatedly. It was well-explained the first time and didn't need that degree of repetition.

Overall this was very interesting, but at times actually reading it was a bit of a slog.

[Laura Horsfall · Rating 1 out of 5]

want to read someones really long CV? this is the book for you.. found this to be very condescending to the reader. never rolled my eyes more at a book in my life. really struggled to finish it. last chapter is named "want to know more?" I absolutely did not.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I got to page 60. I just can’t with the side bars that have nothing to do with the actual case.

[Jerusha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the narrator, and that definitely helped me finish this book. Overall I think the subject matter is extremely fascinating and while I think some of the discussions about the crimes could have been handled better, I did find the process of real cases from beginning to ending interesting.
However, after a few chapters the author's thoughts, opinions, worldview, and just general vibe becomes tedious. This is both because she repeats herself frequently about the science and process behind her job as a forensic ecologist, and because she used the book as an opportunity to complain about people/situation/society that she doesn't like. She also frequently will highlight how much better her day was (roughly 20 to 40 years ago depending on subject) than our current day. Which was frankly just depressing. I think with some editing out of the repeated information (or at least explaining it in different ways?) and cutting down on her personal feeling would have made this a more enjoyable read.

[Meredith Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

a very rambling explanation of a niche science. this book could have been 10% of the size if she hadn't gone off on multiple tangents every chapter, most of which were just complaints. also came across as incredibly arrogant, constantly urging people to study a wide array of scientific subjects and then in the same breath saying that palynology and mycology are the most important and all others can be disregarded (or should be pushed aside until she can do her job because every else sucks at theirs and messes up her samples). disappointing because this could have been so so interesting but it just read like an old woman trying to explain to her grandkids why they should respect her. the bits where she was actually talking about forensic ecology were fascinating, just very rare.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting. It's a series of case studies and is more or less a field guide into botanical ecology and forensics. For those looking for something that reads like NCIS or Bones, this isn't it. I did find it dry in a few places, but overall I liked it quite a lot.

[Ions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting...I appreciated the expertise and professionalism in how she conducts her process. Lots of interesting details regarding how nearly impossible it is to get away with or fake a physical crime now days.

Some moments that annoyed me were her seemingly random Boomer Gripes; small tangents she would go on...like how her generation didn't suffer from stress...rather they had a stiff upper lip about it. Whatever, they are brief.

I thought I was getting something more Historical, regarding a broader HISTORY of crimes. Wasn't bothered by what I got.

[Rayray Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the technical side of the pathology. But my goodness the author is extremely unlikeable. Arrogant, egotistical. Calling out other professionals, no one can do it as well as her, others didn’t disclose their methods on how it was done (why would they disclose method to her on their cases, just trust other professionals do the job correctly) moaning she didn’t get ‘help’ during a procedure where they peeled a man’s face back? Help -
Who by? The police officer present who she’s always slaying She’s the professional that’s her job what does she expect others to do? I really felt her over I called ego really spoiled this book, it could have been a great book has it stuck to facts and cases, it just didn’t need her ‘I’m the best I’m wonderful’ narrative alongside it. Her attitude just sucks. Her ramblings about society, views on depression, according to her bottling your feelings is good for you! She mentions one random study in this and that’s all the proof she needs. She clearly has sustain for those depressed, with MH issues, autism etc. But hey she lots a baby and wasn’t depressed as she works hard so you shouldn’t be too. Honestly I find her totally insufferable.

She is very unprofessional moaning about everyone. But also giving details and covering cases I just don’t feel we need. Have the famalies been consulted and allowed this or do they not really matter as she needs to use them and their grief to tell us how wonderful she is . I find it hard to believe she had any permission from the famy of a murdered baby when she details how she pulled the babies face off - or rather got a minion to do it for her. I would have thought the famalies suffered enough. Fair enough using the case to some degree as an example, but she really didn’t need to use it in the way she has


To cut a long story short, good book about this side of pathology and the author is the best ever. She does things better than everyone, she basically invented everything and anyone else doing a similar job and is very very clever, and other professionals involved are all sub par and rubbish and look up to her as she’s just so amazing and you’re not depressed you just talk too much about your feelings, work hard, be more like her as she’s wonderful.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is misleading. I was excited to read about how plants and pollen can be used to help solve true crime cases however I was not excited to be taken on the hundreds of tangents the author runs away on.

When she actually talks about what the book is supposed to be about, it’s incredibly interesting and kept me reading, but when she goes off the subject, I end up just skimming the words until I find where she jumps back onto the subject again.

One chapter talks about the death of an infant and the author thinks it’s appropriate to then deviate and talk about her own life in the middle of talking about how her work helped solve the case? It’s callous and shows how little of an impact talking about an infant’s death is to her.

Another instance a few more chapters in, she talks about a case of a burned man’s body being found and then she goes on to talk about feeding horses.

Somewhere else there’s a bloody short history of world war bloody 2!! Nobody cares! I didn’t buy this book to read about world war 2, how coal mines were dangerous and how pretty the Welsh countryside is.

The subtitle to this book shouldn’t have said “case studies in death and the clues nature leaves behind.” It should’ve said “the clues nature leaves behind and other random tangents the author puts in to feed her ego and fill up the book”.

[J Kromrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC in audiobook format.

The Natural History of Crime: Case Studies in Death and the Clues Nature Leaves Behind by Patricia Wiltshire, narrated by Charlotte Strevens, is a fascinating and insightful exploration into the world of forensic ecology. This audiobook takes listeners on a journey through some of the most intriguing and high-profile criminal cases, revealing how nature itself can provide crucial evidence in solving crimes.

Wiltshire, a renowned forensic ecologist, shares her extensive experience and expertise in examining the natural clues left behind at crime scenes. Her narrative is both educational and gripping, offering a unique perspective on how plants, soil, and other natural elements can be pivotal in criminal investigations. The book delves into various case studies, including infamous cases like the Soham murders, showcasing how forensic ecology has been instrumental in uncovering the truth.

Charlotte Strevens’ narration adds a compelling layer to the audiobook. Her clear and engaging voice brings Wiltshire’s detailed descriptions and scientific explanations to life, making complex concepts accessible and interesting. Strevens’ ability to convey the tension and drama of each case enhances the listening experience, keeping the audience hooked from start to finish.

This audiobook excels with its blend of scientific rigor and storytelling. Wiltshire’s passion for her work shines through, as she explains the meticulous process of collecting and analyzing ecological evidence. Her ability to translate scientific data into compelling narratives makes this audiobook not only informative and highly engaging.

The book also highlights the broader implications of forensic ecology in the justice system. Wiltshire discusses the challenges and triumphs of her career, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the intersection of science and law. This perspective adds depth to the narrative, illustrating the critical role that forensic ecology plays in modern criminal investigations.

The Natural History of Crime is a must-listen for true crime enthusiasts and anyone interested in the intersection of nature and forensic science. Patricia Wiltshire’s expertise, combined with Charlotte Strevens’ captivating narration, makes this audiobook a standout in the true crime genre.