What Lies Beneath: My Life as a Forensic Search and Rescue Expert

by Peter Faulding

'From cold cases and serial killers to the death of a spy, Peter's true life story is as gripping as the finest thriller' - Peter James, author of Picture You Dead

Discover the truth beyond the police tape in What Lies Beneath , the arresting memoir of murder, investigation and justice from Peter Faulding, a world-leading forensic search expert.

Recovering bodies, finding discarded remains, identifying unmarked graves and saving people from locations and situations too dangerous for the normal emergency services - all in a day’s work for Peter Faulding.

From removing protestors from inside dangerous tunnels to the scenes of some of the UK’s most notorious crimes, he describes how he has developed into a highly regarded and highly skilled search specialist, whose job is to assist investigators and police as they search crime scenes and bring serial killers to justice.

Peter gives new details on some of the country’s most harrowing murder cases – including that of serial killer Peter Tobin, the Nicola Payne case and the Helen McCourt murder; sheds new light on mysterious deaths, including MI6 worker Gareth Williams; and details the incredible lengths he goes to when helping investigators.

Get ready to join Britain’s most extraordinary forensic search expert on his journey through deadly booby-trapped tunnel systems and into dark waters that hold horrific secrets, then onwards through uninviting crime scenes and into the minds of killers.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Audiobook, Memoir, Autobiography, Ebooks, Crime

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Tanja Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve learned more about search and rescue in tight spaces and the bottom of seas than I care to know. The book is a memoir and quite boring. It wasn’t until the author, somewhere in the middle of the book, started helping the police looking for bodies that it got a bit more interesting. However, the book is quite repetitive and I’m glad that I’m done with it.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had seen this book come in at the library and thought it looked really interesting. It wasn't until I had got it home that I realised the author was the man I'd been seeing on the news recently, searching for the missing Nicola Bulley. Peter Faulding is the Chief Executive of SGI (Specialist Group International), a specialised private search and rescue team. The book takes us through the author's life, from his younger years following his dad down into caves right through to present day and his world renowed team of specialist search and rescue.

I really enjoyed this book. Whilst, I have to admit, I did find the author came across as a little over-confident in how good he was at his job, I liked how he recounted all the different cases he's worked on. However, of course he has a right to be confident about how good he and his team are. They are world known in all forms of search and rescue and have picked protestors out of trees, dragged them out of tunnels, found bodies and murder weapons buried underground, bought back the bodies from deep murky depths of suicide victims and accidental drownings and even helped with car accidents. I can't begin to even understand what traumatic and distressing cases he's seen, and yet he has treated each and every one of his rescues with dignity, respect and an air of calmness amidst difficult situations.

The book flowed along really well, and I found myself gripped with his recollections from his work over the years. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, with a few lighter moments added to break the seriousness of it all. Remember though if you're claustrophobic to deep breathe your way through the parts of crawling through tunnels or heading head first down very narrow shafts! This job certainly isn't for the faint hearted, and this book certainly isn't either!! I certainly couldn't or wouldn't want to do it, but several pats on the back for people like Peter who can! Would definitely recommend!

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peter Faulding has had a stellar career, and in What Lies Beneath - My Life as a Forensic Search and Rescue Expert I was looking forward to reading all about it. Why the one star rating? I'll get to that. Faulding grew up in England, caving and exploring mines with his Dad from a very young age, and this went on to form the early beginnings of an impressive career in search and rescue. Becoming more adept at exploring, charting and shoring up mines and tunnels, Peter and his Dad became known by the local fire and rescue squad, volunteering their time when a novice caver was lost or needed rescuing. This knowledge was soon sought after by the UK Search & Rescue Teams (UKSART) and Faulding's career took off, despite never specifically qualifying or following the traditional hiring process.

Faulding served in the military for six years as a military parachutist, and left seemingly to expand his search and rescue business, Specialist Group International (SGI). His interest in developing his own capabilities and skill set led him to become a qualified diver and his searches then expanded to include drownings and body retrievals.

Faulding is an unapologetic high achiever, however his attitude started to tick me off. On locating the body of a man who had drowned, Faulding overheard distraught loved ones discussing the idea of raising funds for the victim's family. The deceased had fallen out of a boat and subsequently drowned, allegedly because he wasn't wearing a life vest. Faulding is tired of attending senseless drownings and approaches the family. He tells them he couldn't help overhearing, but if loved ones wanted to raise some money for the family, perhaps some of it could be spent on life vests for their boat. Well intentioned, sure, but definitely not the time or place for this unsolicited 'advice'.

In Chapter 6, just as he says he: "felt an acute sense of responsibility to conduct the job that we had to do with sensitivity and dignity." Faulding later remarks, "I remember being surprised at how quickly the flies found him." Ummm, what? The author makes this same observation about flies finding the bodies several times and I found it inappropriate and disrespectful to the victims and their loved ones.

Faulding's business SGI is engaged to remove protestors who have tunnelled below the proposed site of a bypass, and 'locked on'. The extent to which environmental protestors in England go in order to disrupt a development, or halt a bypass was eye opening. Staying underground for days at a time, and often dangerously cementing themselves and locking each other to obstacles to slow down the rescue process. In many cases, protestors needed to be cut free from some nasty obstacles and many remained locked-on for days on end, relying on the rescuers for nourishment.

These confined space rescues made me squirm with secondary claustrophobia, but other than telling us protestors left bags of their excrement for rescuers every day, he doesn't really describe what it's like to have to lay on top of a person in order to free them from their lock-in. Faulding seems to respect the ingenuity and dedication of the protestors while reminding the reader how lucrative the work is. He makes sure to mention that for this job he went and purchased some quad bikes, and for this rescue a few vehicles, or a soft top Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante to celebrate a month long project. Spare me!

The cases of freeing environmental protestors at various sites became quite repetitive and seemed to blur into one another. The only relief came when the author bragged about purchasing another cutting edge piece of equipment that nobody else was using in the UK at the time.

It seems Faulding regularly travelled in search of emerging technology, expanding into ground penetrating radar, underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and more, being sure to tell us the price tags along the way. Faulding's team were now being hired to search areas for human remains, giving rise to a few chapters on true crime and helping law enforcement. Even here Faulding's arrogance shines through.

Using his years of experience of tunnels and sediment, Faulding began to develop a 'sixth sense' (my words, not his) about where human remains were likely to be found. He mentions a few well known cases, and one in particular when a detective told him an area had already been searched and wouldn't allow SGI to search it again. Reflecting on news the body was later found in that area, Faulding takes the trouble to point out that if he'd been able to search where he wanted to, the family would have been spared years of anguish.

It's not the first time Faulding clashes with SIOs or members of the Police. His expertise becomes so specialised that he's contacted by all levels of government, and I'm not even joking when he says some of them are highly confidential so he can't mention them.

"I had contacts in so many agencies by now, some of which were highly confidential so I cannot mention them. But if something needed to be searched, we were the first port of call." Chapter 9

Did you hear that? That was the sound of my eyes rolling back into my head and squelching back down. In his words:

"Every stone needs to be overturned, every hunch followed, and every piece of information followed up on. I made sure I went into every job with an open mind and a commitment to see it through, for as long as it took until I could be confident that I had searched everywhere. Of course it was disappointing when I couldn't find anything, but at least I could console myself with the knowledge that I didn't find anything because there was nothing there. Not because I hadn't looked hard enough." Chapter 11

If you're still thinking to yourself, 'well, that's not too arrogant, where's the harm in being confident about your work?'

"Often the range of call outs we were engaged in swung from the sublime to the ridiculous. I was highly regarded and my work was appreciated. I had skills that were valuable, I could search underwater, under buildings, in drains and tunnels, I could climb buildings, look in gutters. I was useful, a problem solver, a search Swiss Army knife." Chapter 11

Peter Faulding comes across as competent, knowledgable and an expert in his field, whilst also being disrespectful, condescending and arrogant. I wonder if some of this arrogance would have been written out if he'd worked with a ghost writer or a biographer.

Waiting at a scene for a Doctor to declare a deceased and mummified victim's remains, the author recounts the following interaction:

"A young Doctor turned up about an hour later. She had a stethoscope around her neck. 'Where is he?' she asked as she walked through the front door. 'I'll show you' I said, leading her to the garage, 'you won't be needing the stethoscope'. 'I'll make that judgement' she said curtly. We arrived in front of the body bag, and I crouched down and looked up at her. 'Are you ready with your stethoscope?' I asked. I then unzipped the bag, and opened it up. She recoiled slightly at the sight, she was not amused." Chapter 16

We've all worked with people like this and they're far from funny. When proactively engaged in flood rescue, Faulding warns authorities that the river is going to burst its banks, but the experts disagree. The river floods and the author can't resist an 'I told you so', crowing:

"I'd never seen anything like it, I had predicted it was going to happen, but no one would believe me, and that was the disappointing bit. We rely on computer models for everything, but unfortunately they are not always right." Chapter 18

And he is? Again, spare me! The author rails against figures in authority who wouldn't, couldn't or didn't listen to his advice and there are plenty of instances in this memoir of 'I told you so', or 'if you'd listened to me....'. In fact, in the case of Nicola Bulley, best summed up in an article from The Guardian (She’s not in the river: diving expert in Nicola Bulley case under the spotlight), Faulding even goes so far as to engage in some obvious point scoring.

There is very little in the memoir about the author's personal life or any internal growth shared. The fact that a protestor by the name of Swampy receives more air time in this memoir than his first wife Mandy and their two daughters, came across as insensitive and unfeeling. Short shrift was given to their eventual separation, which didn't come as a surprise to the reader after countless mentions of family holidays abandoned. The author spends many weeks and sometimes months away from family on rescue missions; searching crime scenes; or purchasing, testing and learning how to use new equipment. He even devotes time away from family to get his helicopter and fixed wing pilot's licences in the UK and the USA. I mean, come on this guy!

Just when you think there can't be any more, the author enlightens us about 'his' plan for a nation wide water safety scheme, where schools can loan out life jackets like a library book. Working with others, generous crowdfunding and more, he makes sure to look the hero as he tells us:

"In my own time, and at my own expense, I delivered the lifejackets to schools in my helicopter all over the UK." Chapter 20

If my loved one were ever missing, Peter Faulding is the man I'd want searching. It seems to me that he's top of his field, but 'what lies beneath' is an arrogant man with a rather large ego.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I regularly read about Peter and his team at SGI in the newspapers after they have sadly recovered yet another drowning victim. His passion for water safety has undoubtedly saved lives through his Lucas Dobson water safety campaign. It’s such harrowing but important work that he and his team do and I am really looking forward to reading about all of his other professional and personal stories in this fascinating book.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and revealing book about the work of a forensic searcher his book highlights some of the cases he has dealt with.

[Jen Surname · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book and the first few chapters were okay, but as we got more and more into the author’s actual work it became more and more apparent what a supercilious wanker he actually is.

I wanted to quit at 60% finished, and at 80% I began to wonder why I was torturing myself by continuing. Ultimately I finished it because I wanted to be wrong. Spoiler: I wasn’t.

Faulding is clearly a legend in his own mind, but likely nobody else’s. He speaks so proudly of his work - despite the number of times the words “we didn’t find anything” occur - and yet this work he apparently so loves was entirely to the detriment of his marriage and family life. I’m sorry, but I can’t help feeling he has this arse about face.

He built up a business from nothing, kudos for that. But at what cost? The cost of a marriage and actual involvement in the lives of his family, all so he can buy himself an Aston Martin, a helicopter and some boats? Come on. Priorities are all wrong here. He even tells us about how he left a family holiday early because he was excited about another job. I feel for those kids and his long suffering wife who ultimately divorced him. Well done, love. I’m just sorry it took you so long.

It’s all very self-congratulatory. Lots of stories about searches and then people telling him how great he is. It’s clear though that there are a huge number of people who actively dislike him, and he talks about those people with total disdain. If I wanted to read a book about an arrogant prick who loves himself and thinks he’s awesome and wants to tell everyone else about that, I’d have read something by Trump.

I’ve given this two stars. One for the narration and one for… I don’t know. Actually finding someone to publish this drivel, I think.

I’ve read this so you don’t have to.
Do yourself a solid and give it a wide berth. The man is an absolute wanker.

[Ileana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but it unfortunately was a very irritating read. The whole thing feels like a big pat on the back, and whilst I have no doubt that the author has many experiences and achievements, it is still very off putting. The content of the book was quite interesting, but when every story ends with "and then everyone thanked me and commented on my excellent job" it gets a bit much. There were multiple stories where I didn't understand the relevance at all, and it felt like Faulding simply included them as it was an opportunity to prove some stranger wrong. There was a part where the author literally writes 'I'm not the self-congratulatory type' and I had to laugh out loud. Some blame must go to the narrator, but ultimately the words are Faulding's own. I also have to question his self-assessment as a forensic 'expert' as he routinely gets simple forensic terminology wrong, though I appreciate his work experience and his clear knowledge in the specific field of confined space rescue.

[Simone Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to get a copy of this book after seeing it recommended. I’m interested in true crime and forensics and this looked like an interesting read. Currently, the author is in the media a lot due to his involvement in a high profile case. I had ordered the book before this and hadn’t heard of him until recently.

I have seen a lot of reviews that slate the book for being about the author, it does say on the cover it’s about him and his life.
From a young age, Peter was involved with caving and had a keen sense of adventure. His parents clearly had a huge influence on him. Eventually, this passion turns into him starting his own business which now appears to be very successful.

The book describes a lot of the cases Peter and his team have worked on and how the business expanded to offer more services. I may be wrong but I don’t think there would be a lot of competition. The team conduct a lot of protestor removals and underwater searches. The first part of the book did concentrate a lot on the protestors and I found the search aspect more interesting. Of course, the book is all from the author’s point of view and how he remembers the events.

The book is easy to read and the cover is really eye catching as it’s bright orange.

I found the book quite interesting and it gave some insight into a subject that I didn’t know much about.

3.5 stars rounded to 3.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave up half way through after he'd acknowledged police's failings towards people experiencing bad mental health but put it down to 'a few bad eggs' (red flag) then went on to describe how he'd played a key role in busting the Newbury Bypass environmental protesters. Surely in 2023 these protesters have been proved to be entirely right, we'd have 10,000 more trees in the UK right now if we'd listened to them.

He acknowledged how police had mistreated protesters but still seemed proud of his involvement. Absolutely wild and disgraceful. Horrible to hear from the inner circle the attitudes and strategies from the people who are allegedly there to protect us. He described police plans to playing 'whack-a-mole' with protestors and staging interventions after dole money was paid 'so they would all be hungover or recovering from smoking cannabis'.

Some of his work is obviously so good but this was just too much for me! Basically like Union busting.

Read Professor Sue Black's books instead, she does a great job of putting forensic work within a wider societal context and carefully considers the impact of the work she commits to.

[Sophs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started listening to this even before PF took to the National press about recent events and I had already begun to think he was full of his own self importance. His conduct in the last few weeks has certainly left me wishing I hadn’t bothered to buy this book and afforded him the royalties.
This book is largely about how with no formal qualifications he has talked himself into various jobs based on his experiences as a caver as a child. He seems to think he knows better than anyone else even though the majority of the book is about how he has led searches but found nothing except when they have known exactly where to search already! The constant use of the term disposition where it should be deposition is very off putting, not sure if it’s PF getting it wrong in the book or the narrator reading it wrong but it doesn’t help PF’s cause at trying to come across as an expert.
Narration is excellent although the way it is read does have a tendency to make it sound even more like PF is gloating and boasting about his exploits.

[Caitlyn Pease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really struggled with this book I'm sorry to say. I found some of the events described in the book very hard to believe. Also the cover is very misleading... 'Forensic' search and rescue... When the bulk of the book talks of freeing troublesome protestors.

[Astrid · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Kept being put off by his smug self satisfaction about how great he is. A bit of humility would go a long way.

[Andy Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

'What Lies Beneath' is a humbling account detailing Peter Faulding's work as a top forensic search and rescue expert and founder of Specialist Group International. SGI is a highly regarded 24/7 specialist rescue service supporting commercial concerns, police forces, government agencies and fire and rescue services. The book provides fascinating insights into Peter's life and his family's importance to him. The influence of his father and how his early-life experiences exploring the ancient disused mines in the South of England certainly put him in good stead for the incredible work he later came to be involved in when he established his very own version of 'Thunderbirds'.

What chimes throughout the book is Peter's compassion and humanity; he cares deeply about the victims and their families. The content of this book gripped me from start to finish; it was difficult to put down; I read it in two days. Several of the incidents Peter describes occurred at locations I'm familiar with, which made it an even more compelling read.

When writing this review, I heard Peter and his underwater search team were being deployed to support Lancashire Police with a high-profile missing person investigation. The Senior Investigating Officer in the case couldn't have chosen wiser.

Peter's book is a fantastic read that I highly recommend to others.

[Emily Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read! Peter Faulding has delved into his younger life and made a career rescuing people and working alongside police forces who employ him and his team to work on forensic cases, as well as cold cases. I have had the privilege of meeting Peter in person, as well as some of his team members, who are extremely professional and genuine in their work. On two educational occasions, Peter has come down to Kent to give talks on his work to students who are reading Forensic degrees, and those who have an interest in SGI, as well as search and rescue. Peter is a genuine individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that his work is done to the highest of his capabilities, and leaves nothing unturned. This book covers some of the UK's leading Forensic headlines, where Peter delves into the search and rescue techniques he employs to get the job done. What lies beneath is a book you cannot put down!

[Carrie Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A behind-the-scenes look at search and rescue operations through the lens of an industry-leader who helped to pioneer tactics, technologies, and strategies in the field. I couldn’t decide whether this was the tale of a man’s persistence in making a career of his passion or whether it was a evocative memoir of trusting one’s gut and backing it up with action. What I do know about this book is that the author leans in to failure and shows how incredibly valuable data can come failures. Failure to find a body in the most obvious place can be critical during search and rescue/recovery, as it confirms that assets can be placed elsewhere.

I believe the next book should focus on takeaways from true crimes. I want to know more about the science, psychology, and decision/making that goes into his cases…kind of like Patricia Cornwell provides with her semi-fictional stories.

[Paul Evenden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a fascinating read about the man and how he came to do what he does today. No, it is not about the individual cases he's been involved with but more about his journey and the efforts he made to create and grow his business. It is not a crime story or a detailed study of forensics, It's a book about dreaming, discovery and creating your path in life and what has to be done to achieve those goals. The sacrifices he made and the lengths he went to discover and stay ahead of the technology. Why? So he could be one of the best at what he does. There is humor, sadness and disappointment in the stories he tells, all part of what it is to be in the world of rescue services.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thunderbirds are go!!

I could not put this book down. What an absolute brilliant and insightful read of a career which was grown from a passion as young boy by his parents. The bravery, perseverance and professionalism of Peter and his team is amazing to to help families find closure following tragedies they've encounted.

Many will remember the news stories which are featured in this book and will take away how vital and important Peter's work is. Not only by the rescuing and recovering Peter and his team do, but by the ongoing support to others too.

Proof that in life an inquisitive mind, positivity and determination can build a successful career (and Team) which makes a real difference.

A fantastic read, highly recommended 👍

[Maz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy is an absolute scab in a lot of ways, but some very interesting stories

[Lucas Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book but pretty repetitive

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definition of a chronic yapper
Book had no structure and needed a better layout

[Mike Seares · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read about what goes on behind the scenes of many high profile crimes and missing person stories seen on the news. All told by the author, Peter Faulding, who is undoubtably one of, if not, the world's leading expert in his field. Well written in an easy, page-turning style. You will not be able to put this book down.

[Kate Jenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really looking forward to this book. Pete has had a fascinating career and continues to serve in difficult situations. It’s a shame a few are so bitter and try to dismiss the achievements of a fascinating individual.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really looking forward to reading this book and giving friends copies too; the work that Pete and his team do is far from easy, emotionally and physically, but they make such a difference to the world. Pete’s passion for water safety in particular is admirable, and his integrity honourable. Looking forward to receiving my copy!

[JENNIFER CAMBELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have known the author personally for a few years now and am always enthralled hearing about his experiences. I can’t wait to devour this book cover to cover; it will be jam packed with fascinating stories and adventure, as well as some eye openers!! Highly recommend!

[Jemma Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very much looking forward to devouring this book, very soon. I have heard some stories first hand from Pete and his storytelling is both compassionate and enthralling. I can't wait to find out, What Lies Beneath!

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not able to put this book down, Mr Faulding I would pay so much money to sit down and have a coffee with you!

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.bsolutely fascinating and well written.

[Me · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A search starts with questions. How long ago was the body buried? What type of soil or ground cover are you dealing with? Could the body have been moved after it was dumped? Could there have been as water course running through the area at any time? Are there wild animals around? All these potential variables will affect where the search takes you.”

I first spotted this book in my local Waterstones. It stood out to me, shelved amongst the celebrity biographies. I quickly scanned the prologue - which detailed a forensic body search - and was intrigued. Having committed to reducing my book spend, I eagerly reserved it from the library.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected it to be. Having read other professional memoirs such as Anti-Social, I expected more of a deep dive into the specifics of the work the author conducts; the how, the why, the emotions. Disappointingly, I found this book offered very little actual insight, just facts and self-congratulation. What this book did offer was a detailed recollection of the author’s childhood and early adulthood, followed by a series of factual case summaries interspersed with how he continued to develop his business, and finished off with a criticism of how recent protests have been handled by other companies offering similar services.

It is indisputable that the author comes across as knowledgeable and competent in this specialist area. However, it is also clear that they are rather arrogant and throughout we see them interact with other professionals in a dismissive and condescending manner. This is a rather unfortunate combination, especially as these types of memoirs work best when at the heart of them is an honest and personable author who gives access to the hidden aspects of their job, but also to themselves. Peter Faulding is not this type of author.

Specialist Group International is a 24/7 specialist forensic search and rescue business which is used by commercial, public and government organisations to provide specialist search, rescue and recovery operations. Beginning as a volunteer for Surrey Fire and Rescue, Peter builds his hobby into a lucrative business. Starting out as a confined-space rescue organisation - which in the 1990’s was luckily kept well in work by environmental activist tunnel protests - SGI developed overtime into a rather eclectic collection of services. From tunnel rescue to rope rescue, his company expanded even further to offer underwater dive teams, and inexplicably to a forensic search and advisory service.

Regardless, I continued with the book as I did find aspects of it interesting. Particularly the parts explaining that emergency services actually used to have their own specialist teams to provide what SGI does, but have lost them to funding cuts.

“Specialist teams within the emergency services were shut down to save money because the frequency of specialist calls were few and far between. It was only when a major incident occurred, and the lack of specialist resources was exposed, that the issue was highlighted. There would be a public enquiry and it all started again.”

However, pretty early on I began to seriously put off reading this book due to the constant bragging of the author. This was especially jarring in the forensic cases where they found nothing to actually contribute to the case, yet the author was still full of self-congratulation for what a great job they did. In addition to this, there were increasing interjections of the author adding in conversations with emergency services where there were disagreements with the author being dismissed, leading to evidence being missed. While this could have been turned into a considered reflection into why police may not defer to contracted specialist services, instead Peter Faulding used these moment to get in an “I told you so”. This really grated, especially as these situations arose in such distressing, emotionally charged situations. I also disbelieve that SGI are so perfect that they never get it wrong - although no such incidents occur in the book, not long after publication Peter Faulding very pubically bungled the Nicola Bulley case….


The structure of the book also contributed to my increasing difficulty to enjoy it. While pacing is not really a significant aspect of non-fiction books, they usually have some sort of overarching timeline of events, or at least some time order. In this book it starts off in the author’s childhood and each stage of life, including the early tunnelling jobs are fairly easy to follow as events are neatly divided into chapters. However, it quickly becomes almost impossible to figure out what decade we are in, let alone what year as we start to veer randomly between cases from paragraph to paragraph. There is the odd chapter dedicated to a single case, but largely once the work moves from protests to recovery/forensics it’s really hard to figure out where we are in terms of time.

Even more jarring is that largely the author ignores his personal life - until he gets remarried towards the end of the book. As his childhood and early adulthood formed such a significant part of the early chapters I expected that this memoir would have a fair amount of family life to serve as a a way of building the picture. And throughout we do see the author’s parents turning up to congratulate his latest achievement, and reminders that his dad’s caving hobby was the catalyst for everything. Yet, for such a business venture I’d at least of expected to see some praise for his spouse for maintaining their home and caring for the children. Yet what we get in regard to his first family is no mention of the children, a couple of snide remarks about his wife and several family holidays abandoned as work was more important. This only made the author more unlikable to me. This dislike deepened with the sudden focus on his remarriage and new family later on in the book. He seemed very keen to tell us how amazing everything was and how much his new home cost. This kind of self -centred behaviour is also apparent when the author crows about the type of car he has or how much each new piece of equipment costs.

I also found that in many places the book was rather repetitive. There are only so many times I need “locking-on” explained, or to hear how tragic and preventable most drownings are. With no emotion injected into retelling these cases and a lack of engaging details I found myself flagging. Even more so when stumbling over confusing editing errors which should have been picked up pre-publication.

Overall this was an interesting book. Undoubtedly, I was keenly disappointed by the fact that it only really ever touched upon the actual subjects promised rather than considered detail. Nevertheless, this book left me with an unpleasant aftertaste which I attribute largely to the author himself.

My main takeaway from this book is well summed up by the following quote, which was accompanied by some fascinating photos: “Most people do not realise the extreme lengths protesters would go to and the very real life threatening situations they put themselves and the rescue teams in”

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 57%
So much repetition and almost half this book was about the removal of protestors which i did not expect from a book supposedly about the life of a FORENSIC search and rescue expert. The book itself was also very disorganised, this was such a struggle to get through.