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Post-Mortem: Tales of the macabre, hilarious and downright bizarre, from those who work with death
Death is a certainty, but what happens in the lead-up - and in its aftermath - is anything but
predictable.
Nobody knows this better than those who work with death every day. There's no time for an
existential crisis when your 9-to-5 involves responding to fatal plane accidents, transporting organs
for urgent surgery, or fending off a dying man's request for Nickelback.
In this book, bestselling author and paramedic Tim Booth reveals the darkly funny, often absurd, and
sometimes horrifying realities of the professionals most people hope never to meet,
- crime scene cleaners
- organ procurement coordinators
- gravediggers
- combat medics
- emergency nurses
and so many more.
Blending laugh-out-loud humour with unflinching moments of poignancy, Post-Mortem tells the
stories of the people who face daily life's final chapter - so we don't have to.
predictable.
Nobody knows this better than those who work with death every day. There's no time for an
existential crisis when your 9-to-5 involves responding to fatal plane accidents, transporting organs
for urgent surgery, or fending off a dying man's request for Nickelback.
In this book, bestselling author and paramedic Tim Booth reveals the darkly funny, often absurd, and
sometimes horrifying realities of the professionals most people hope never to meet,
- crime scene cleaners
- organ procurement coordinators
- gravediggers
- combat medics
- emergency nurses
and so many more.
Blending laugh-out-loud humour with unflinching moments of poignancy, Post-Mortem tells the
stories of the people who face daily life's final chapter - so we don't have to.
- GenresNonfiction
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 9, 2026
“Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.” – George Bernard Shaw
In his first two books, You Called an Ambulance for What? and You Went to Emergency for What? Australian paramedic Tim Booth exposed the fraught realities and dark absurdities of working in frontline emergency medicine. In Post-Mortem, Booth shares the experience of professionals like himself who confront the macabre, bizarre, heartbreaking, and stressful business of death everyday.
Structured in four parts there’s tremendous variety in this fascinating collection of anecdotes from professionals such as a crime scene cleaner and a gravedigger, a combat medic and an emergency phone call taker, an organ procurement coordinator and a death row warden, a palliative care nurse and a forensic pathologist, among many others.
The tales provide insight into the realities of these careers and how people manage the unique challenges of professions which regularly overlap with the dead and dying. Each chapter generally focuses on a single incident, such as a funeral director’s desperate search for a missing fly fishing hat, or a rescue swimmer’s efforts to save a capsized boat crew. Booth is clear though that names and identifying features have been changed to protect the privacy of his sources, and in some instances an anecdote more accurately reflects a composite of experiences.
The descriptions are rarely graphic, though there are some confronting details. Some anecdotes made me chuckle, others made me grimace, but I found them all to be absorbing, thought-provoking, and enlightening.
There’s an undeniable fascination in hearing from people whose working lives revolve around death, particularly in discovering the humanity, humour, and sometimes sheer absurdity that can exist alongside grief and tragedy. Post-Mortem is an is an engaging and unexpectedly entertaining read, whether your interest is professional, personal, or simply a little morbid.
In his first two books, You Called an Ambulance for What? and You Went to Emergency for What? Australian paramedic Tim Booth exposed the fraught realities and dark absurdities of working in frontline emergency medicine. In Post-Mortem, Booth shares the experience of professionals like himself who confront the macabre, bizarre, heartbreaking, and stressful business of death everyday.
Structured in four parts there’s tremendous variety in this fascinating collection of anecdotes from professionals such as a crime scene cleaner and a gravedigger, a combat medic and an emergency phone call taker, an organ procurement coordinator and a death row warden, a palliative care nurse and a forensic pathologist, among many others.
The tales provide insight into the realities of these careers and how people manage the unique challenges of professions which regularly overlap with the dead and dying. Each chapter generally focuses on a single incident, such as a funeral director’s desperate search for a missing fly fishing hat, or a rescue swimmer’s efforts to save a capsized boat crew. Booth is clear though that names and identifying features have been changed to protect the privacy of his sources, and in some instances an anecdote more accurately reflects a composite of experiences.
The descriptions are rarely graphic, though there are some confronting details. Some anecdotes made me chuckle, others made me grimace, but I found them all to be absorbing, thought-provoking, and enlightening.
There’s an undeniable fascination in hearing from people whose working lives revolve around death, particularly in discovering the humanity, humour, and sometimes sheer absurdity that can exist alongside grief and tragedy. Post-Mortem is an is an engaging and unexpectedly entertaining read, whether your interest is professional, personal, or simply a little morbid.
August 8, 2026
Thank you Pan Macmillan for my early copy!
Post Mortem pulls back the curtain on death with care, curiosity and a very healthy dose of dark humour.
You start the book learning what it’s like to see a dead body, what life is like working in aged care, and how Tim navigated those experiences through his own expectations, only to find that the reality could be starkly different. And somehow, in that very same breath, I’m laughing out loud at the footnotes. Which feels slightly inappropriate. But also very on brand for this book.
Tim Booth interviews professionals who deal with death every single day, weaving their stories together so seamlessly that it feels less like reading interviews and more like being told their stories.
From Gravediggers to hospice nurses, crime scene cleaners and death row wardens; just to name a few, along with Tim's own experience as a Paramedic.
So many of these stories are genuinely poignant, heartbreaking and eye opening, only for the next page to have you giggling at the sheer absurdity of it all.
I really enjoyed reading about the people who deal with the ugly, sad, strange and downright weird parts of death that most of us never have to think about.
It’s morbid, fascinating, surprisingly funny and, somehow, incredibly human.
Post Mortem pulls back the curtain on death with care, curiosity and a very healthy dose of dark humour.
You start the book learning what it’s like to see a dead body, what life is like working in aged care, and how Tim navigated those experiences through his own expectations, only to find that the reality could be starkly different. And somehow, in that very same breath, I’m laughing out loud at the footnotes. Which feels slightly inappropriate. But also very on brand for this book.
Tim Booth interviews professionals who deal with death every single day, weaving their stories together so seamlessly that it feels less like reading interviews and more like being told their stories.
From Gravediggers to hospice nurses, crime scene cleaners and death row wardens; just to name a few, along with Tim's own experience as a Paramedic.
So many of these stories are genuinely poignant, heartbreaking and eye opening, only for the next page to have you giggling at the sheer absurdity of it all.
I really enjoyed reading about the people who deal with the ugly, sad, strange and downright weird parts of death that most of us never have to think about.
It’s morbid, fascinating, surprisingly funny and, somehow, incredibly human.
July 31, 2026
If you're fascinated by the people who work in the shadow of death, this is a book you need on your TBR. Post-Mortem by Tim Booth takes you behind the scenes of the professions most of us hope we'll never need, from crime scene cleaners, ED nurses and doctors, prison guards, gravediggers to organ procurement coordinators, combat medics, and so many more. This isn't a book that glorifies tragedy. Instead, it's a captivating mix of the bizarre, the macabre, the heartbreaking, and the unexpectedly humourous side to death and dying. Booth shines a light on the people whose everyday jobs revolve around death, revealing the dark humour, resilience, and humanity that help them navigate the unimaginable.
“It's never easy to confront someone's grief, particularly when all you have is fragments.”
I don’t think it is wrong to suggest we are are a little but interested in death and all the stories that surround it. It's a place that almost everybody has never been to and come back from. It is that last stop and for many of the people that work in this space what they are also trying to do is preserve that humanity in those that I've just entered this eternal realm. I loved reading about the realities of each profession: the good, the bad, and the downright horrid. Every chapter offered something surprising, and I found myself unable to stop reading.
"When you're playing chess with death, you have to remember that only death knows the rules."
Books about death are often really books about life. They make the inevitable feel a little less mysterious while celebrating the compassion, humour, and resilience of the people who stand beside us in our darkest moments. Post-Mortem also reminds us that it's okay to be curious about death. If you love thought-provoking nonfiction that explores the stranger side of life (and death), this one deserves a spot on your shelf.
Thanks #panmacmillanaus for the #gifted copy.
“It's never easy to confront someone's grief, particularly when all you have is fragments.”
I don’t think it is wrong to suggest we are are a little but interested in death and all the stories that surround it. It's a place that almost everybody has never been to and come back from. It is that last stop and for many of the people that work in this space what they are also trying to do is preserve that humanity in those that I've just entered this eternal realm. I loved reading about the realities of each profession: the good, the bad, and the downright horrid. Every chapter offered something surprising, and I found myself unable to stop reading.
"When you're playing chess with death, you have to remember that only death knows the rules."
Books about death are often really books about life. They make the inevitable feel a little less mysterious while celebrating the compassion, humour, and resilience of the people who stand beside us in our darkest moments. Post-Mortem also reminds us that it's okay to be curious about death. If you love thought-provoking nonfiction that explores the stranger side of life (and death), this one deserves a spot on your shelf.
Thanks #panmacmillanaus for the #gifted copy.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Another hilarious read from Tim Booth that had me giggling, cringing and very intrigued!
Post-Mortem by Tim Booth features a large variety of workers that dedicate their lives to working with some, or all aspects of death. I really enjoyed reading about all the occupations - especially regarding the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the job. As someone with a morbid fascination with death, this book really piqued my interest, and I had such a great time reading it!
As a vet nurse by trade, I really appreciated the last chapter about the Veterinarian. It was so raw and accurate and leaves you with a weight on your chest. I stopped vet nursing at the beginning of this year and this chapter had me tearing up. It was a big wave of nostalgia and a nice moment to reflect on that chapter in my own life.
Thank you Pan Macmillan Australia for sending me an early copy to read and review!
Post-Mortem by Tim Booth features a large variety of workers that dedicate their lives to working with some, or all aspects of death. I really enjoyed reading about all the occupations - especially regarding the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the job. As someone with a morbid fascination with death, this book really piqued my interest, and I had such a great time reading it!
As a vet nurse by trade, I really appreciated the last chapter about the Veterinarian. It was so raw and accurate and leaves you with a weight on your chest. I stopped vet nursing at the beginning of this year and this chapter had me tearing up. It was a big wave of nostalgia and a nice moment to reflect on that chapter in my own life.
Thank you Pan Macmillan Australia for sending me an early copy to read and review!
August 13, 2026
A surprisingly interesting collection of stories about the many different jobs that deal with death. Some chapters felt like episodes of CSI or Law & Order, while others were genuinely moving, especially the palliative care and veterinary chapters, I absolutely could NOT listen to and had to read it.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Tim Booth, which was clear but a little too flat at times. Overall, not a life-changing book, but an entertaining way to learn about professions and perspectives I don’t usually think about. 3.5/5 ⭐
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Tim Booth, which was clear but a little too flat at times. Overall, not a life-changing book, but an entertaining way to learn about professions and perspectives I don’t usually think about. 3.5/5 ⭐
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I absolutely loved this!
As someone who is very familiar across a few of the professions featured in Post Mortem, I found it well-written, respectful and entertaining. Plenty of profound moments of reflection as well as a few little cheeky chuckles in amongst all the seriousness.
If you’re after something that will entertain as well as educate, this fits the bill perfectly.
Thank you to Pan MacMillan for the early copy of this book, I absolutely loved it!
As someone who is very familiar across a few of the professions featured in Post Mortem, I found it well-written, respectful and entertaining. Plenty of profound moments of reflection as well as a few little cheeky chuckles in amongst all the seriousness.
If you’re after something that will entertain as well as educate, this fits the bill perfectly.
Thank you to Pan MacMillan for the early copy of this book, I absolutely loved it!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews