The Specialist: An extraordinary memoir of trauma and biohazard cleaning

by Ben Giles

What Britain’s greatest extreme cleaner learned from 25 years on the job

Who cleans up the messes others can't bear to face?

Ben Giles offers a gripping insight into the world of crime scene cleaning, where the macabre meets the mundane. With over 25 years of experience, Giles shares his harrowing yet fascinating tales from the frontlines of ‘biohazard remediation’. From gruesome murder scenes and tragic suicides to the unexpected challenges of hoarders, industrial spillages and animal remnants, each chapter reveals the gritty realities of a profession few dare to enter.

In this candid memoir, Giles recounts the emotional toll of his work, the ingenious methods he developed to tackle the most stubborn stains, and the surprising human stories behind each job. With a blend of dark humour and heartfelt reflection, he navigates the complexities of life and death, revealing how he transformed a small window-cleaning business into rapid-response trauma cleaners.

Whether you’re a true crime aficionado or simply curious about the extraordinary lives of those who restore order from chaos, this book promises to entertain, shock, and enlighten. Prepare for a wild ride through the unfiltered world of extreme cleaning.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Memoir, Crime, Autobiography

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 21, 2026

Reviews

[Natalie M]

Absolutely fascinating.

Well written without being unnecessarily graphic. I don’t imagine this type of read will appeal to everyone, but if you’re interested in this type of thing, it’s one of the better books out there.

I really appreciated the plethora of examples Giles covers.

[Jo]

Grisly but fascinating

[Hilâl]

So.....I thought this was going to be more centered around a criminological-focus but instead it was more biographical and business-informed. But bad but not what I signed up for.

A weirdly hopeful message at the end: every stage of the physical human condition is beautiful, even post-mortem as we are miraculously complex - it makes our worldly anxieties feel really frivolous in a freeing way.

[Donal]

What a wonderfully warped read

[Amy Norris]

Review to come

[Aneira Hayward]

Really enjoyed this! It was very informative.

[Anna]

Post-Dune palate cleanser

[Tahnee Mason]

This was such a palate cleanser. Only 4 stars because I could have used more gore 😂

[Jade]

What a brilliant book.

The Specialist is traumatising, fascinating and, ultimately, an incredible story of resilience, determination and pure graft.

Ben Giles tells his own story of building an empire by refusing to say no to the most gruesome, difficult and downright horrific jobs. But what makes his story so compelling is that it’s about so much more than the work itself. It’s about a mindset of constantly learning, adapting and looking at everything with the thought: “This can be done better.”

He is incredibly stoic, but not in the cold or detached sense of the word. There’s a quiet sensitivity and empathy running through the entire book; towards his colleagues, his trainees, and perhaps most importantly, the victims and their families. Despite the horrific circumstances he is repeatedly faced with, there is a real sense of respect and humanity in the way he approaches his work.

That contrast is what really stayed with me. This is a man who can deal with some truly horrific situations, yet still recognise the human being at the centre of them. He doesn't seem to need to make a big show of caring; it's just there, quietly woven into the way he works and the way he treats people.

And then there are the jobs themselves… Some of the descriptions are absolutely stomach-churning (and I've read and watched most true crime that's available) but I couldn't stop reading.

What I loved most is the sheer graft behind his success. The willingness to take on the jobs nobody else wants, learn from every experience, train others, constantly improve and simply keep going. There’s something genuinely inspiring about that.

Gruesome, fascinating, heartbreaking and unexpectedly uplifting.

A brilliant memoir about resilience, empathy, determination and doing a job that most people couldn't even contemplate, and doing it with an enormous amount of humanity.

[green beetle els]

it reminded me of this is going to hurt with less humour and discussion of social issues. it wasn't bad. just unstructured and disjointed.

the prose was (to be generous) simple. you will find no thesaurus words here

this is how each chapter goes
big clean story interspersed with smaller stories of similar cleans.
here is the first time i was called to clean and i hadn't done anything like it before and the mistakes i made. i have since learned.

i found often the chapters didn't link to each other very well leading the book to feel more like a short story collection.

What i would have liked to see was more of a discussion about the ways we could prevent the situations that need specialist cleaners e.g. support for the elderly, mental health treatment for hoarders, the ways we can reduce tensions between traveller communities and settled communities.

I was interested in cleaning methods but i was glad it wasn't a longer book. i liked the hopeful ending but it didnt feel like a part of the novel. it was more like the author got to the end and though "i need to put an uplifting bit here now"

what got me is going through the author profile and seeing he wrote a memoir on cleaning two years ago

[Cate]

Fascinating, scientific and practical, even including details of how to best clean difficult materials (e.g. human waste/blood, soot, candle wax, food, and other stains) but it is very graphic.

The majority of this book is stories about cleaning up the aftermath of death and mental illness, industrial waste, crime scenes, prison cells, drug dens, hoarders houses.

The gruesome detail is handled in a very matter of fact way and isn't gratuitous, however this book is best avoided if you're squeamish or may be triggered by descriptions of human waste, blood/body parts, violence, mental illness, suicide, death, dead animals, etc.

[Rob Davies]

Non Fiction page turner/ bio.

A fascinating biography of Ben Giles work life from window cleaner to owner and specialist in stain remover. Stains of all sorts. Blood and body fluids a speciality.
Can a non fiction / biog be a page turner?, this is!
From beginnings as a small time cleaner to a collection of many stories, of cleaning the aftermath following the removal of a body. Hoarders, insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses and more .
Maybe you shouldn't read this if you do not like blood guts gore, some sadness about human misery.

also a Guardian 'Long Read Article in 2025'
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025...

Recommended Yes definitely

[Vanessa (Nessreadsalot)]

This was an interesting book, following Ben Giles journey setting up his specialist cleaning company. It was really interesting to hear how poor the available training was when he first started out and how he has now developed more comprehensive training to deliver. 

He explains the types of scenes he is called to in a really sensitive way but it's not for the faint of heart! At times it was a little repetitive but overall it was quite good. 

The narration by Welsh actor Siôn Alun Davies was top notch!

[Nicki Kendall]

A fascinating true crime read about the cleaning up of crime/death scenes. Ben details how he started in the industry and learned on the go to become a leader in this field of work and to develop training for other people/companies starting out in this field of work. He speaks of some of the scenes he has had to clean with sensitivity and compassion for the deceased and their loved ones.⭐⭐⭐⭐ #bengiles #thespecialist #harpernorth #truecrime #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #fable #tea_sipping_bookworm #bookqueen #bookstagram

[Silvia]

An honest and at-times humorous memoir about how the author started his cleaning business and became a specialist in his field. This book reflected on the many jobs he attended and how it impacts the way he interacts with the world now. I especially appreciated the insights on suicide (the lack of painless ways to die), hoarding (mental illness and treating people with kindness), overconsumption (constantly creating landfill) and education (the current one-type-fits-all model). Plus there was a cleaning guide at the back! I very much enjoyed this book and will buy a physical copy of my own.

[Rhonda]

This is a book for someone who actually wants to know what is involved in biohazard cleaning and how to set up a business to do it safely and professionally. I liked reading about his life story, explaining how he came to be in the business. There was definitely a lot of scope for improvement in practices in the early days. I also liked how he made an effort to make some thoughtful comments about the work, life and how he has changed over time. He is definitely a leader and an entrepreneurial spirit.

I read a book about an Australian lady doing similar work, but this one was streets ahead.

[Danielle Lowe]

Rounded down from a 3.75

A nice listen with a really good little insight into the world of cleaning gross stuff on a big scale.

Based on the opening bit of the book I perhaps did expect it to include a bit more grossness/nitty gritty details but it was still a fascinating insight anyway.

It did start to feel a little repetitive as we went further on. Even though it was different scenarios the chapter/section on it felt very formulaic and that potentially made it feel less impactful.

[Helen]

This book certainly shocks, entertains and enlightens! It is quite fascinating, while not glossing over the tragedy and the sadness. How the workers cope with some of these situations is something not everyone could do. As many say “Not for a million dollars!” Some great lessons in living a worthwhile life, also.

[Becki Sims]

Absolutely fascinating. I practically inhaled this book....but I'm also glad I wasn't actually able to.

A peak into the strange and not for the faint hearted world of biohazard cleaning, well worth a read.

[Cat Cameron]

Weirdly compelling and a quick read, but dude is not a writer (obviously, he's a biohazard cleaner) and this needed a vicious edit and a thorough proofread. Fair play to him for finding his niche. Probably worth just reading the Guardian article about him instead though.

[Sara]

Gory but fascinating and surprisingly funny

[Jenni]

I enjoyed this however I felt this was sold to me more as a crime scene cleaner and it actually focused on cleaning places in general.....

[Becky Mealyer]

Brilliant insight

[Lucy S]

Fascinating and surprisingly insightful. Some parts were hard to read though and I won't forget them any time soon, so I'm not sure I could recommend this for everybody...

[Heidi]

Fascinating listen, great audiobook. Humorous enough to be entertaining but always remained respectful.

[Cathy Watson]

Really good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very interesting and informative.
Written by a man who has no ego, just a work ethic that is inspirational.

[abs]

🌟3.5🌟
Interesting autobiography on a subject I didn’t know much about

[law]

4

[EmG ReadsDaily]

Fascinating. Memorable.

[Cath]

Very interesting read