A day in the life of Carla Valentine - curator, pathology technician and 'death professional' - is not your average day. She spent ten years training and working as an Anatomical Pathology Technologist: where the mortuary slab was her desk, and that day's corpses her task list. Past Mortems tells Carla's stories of those years, as well as investigating the body alongside our attitudes towards death - shedding light on what the living can learn from dead and the toll the work can take on the living souls who carry it out. Fascinating and insightful, Past Mortems reveals the truth about what happens when the mortuary doors swing shut or the lid of the coffin closes.

**PRE-ORDER NOW: MURDER ISN'T EASY: THE FORENSICS OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, THE FASCINATING NEW BOOK BY CARLA VALENTINE** 'Part memoir and part manifesto, Valentine's book lifts the lid on daily life in the mortuary . . . Valentine bares her own soul . . . with visceral attention to physical and emotional detail' - Wendy Moore, Guardian 'A fascinating portrait . . . one seriously intriguing read' - Glamour 'A grisly topic, but a glorious read' - Mail on Sunday A day in the life of Carla Valentine - curator, pathology technician and 'death professional' - is not your average day. She spent ten years training and working as an Anatomical Pathology Technologist: where the mortuary slab was her desk, and that day's corpses her task list. Past Mortems tells Carla's stories of those years, as well as investigating the body alongside our attitudes towards death - shedding light on what the living can learn from dead and the toll the work can take on the living souls who carry it out. Fascinating and insightful, Past Mortems reveals the truth about what happens when the mortuary doors swing shut or the lid of the coffin closes . . .

"Using the most common post-mortem process as the backbone of the narrative, [this book] takes the reader through the process of an autopsy while also describing the history and changing cultures of our relationship with the dead. The book [examines] what happens to our bodies in the end. Each chapter considers an aspect of an autopsy alongside an aspect of Carla's own life and work and touches on some of the more controversial aspects of our feelings towards death, including the relationship between sex and death and our attitudes toward human tissue collection"--

'A writer who provokes, almost as much as he entertains' Daily Mail 'Engaging and smartly plotted' Observer ___ With old friends like these, who needs enemies? It's a question mild mannered detective Edward Newson is forced to ask himself when, in romantic desperation, he logs on to the Friends Reunited website in search of the girlfriends of his youth. Newson is not the only member of the Class of '88 who has been raking over the ashes of the past. As his old class begins to reassemble in cyberspace, the years slip away and old feuds and passions burn hot once more. Meanwhile, back in the present, Newson's life is no less complicated. He is secretly in love with Natasha, his lovely but very attached sergeant, and failing comprehensively to solve a series of baffling and peculiarly gruesome murders. A school reunion is planned and as history begins to repeat itself, the past crashes headlong into the present. Neither will ever be the same again. ___ What readers are saying: ***** 'Fun, frightful and relentlessly gripping.' ***** 'Clever and original . . . a great read' ***** 'Darkly comic, intriguing . . . and with a real twist in the tail.'

Estimation of the Time Since Death remains the foremost authoritative book on scientifically calculating the estimated time of death postmortem. Building on the success of previous editions which covered the early postmortem period, this new edition also covers the later postmortem period including putrefactive changes, entomology, and postmortem r

For fans of Tess Gerritsen, Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs comes a gripping debut thriller introducing Camden's most exciting new forensic investigator. **DON'T MISS CASSIE RAVEN'S NEWEST MYSTERY, DEAD FALL, AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW!** 'SPELLBINDING STORYTELLING' VAL MCDERMID 'A FIRST-RATE CRIME NOVEL ... I LOVED IT' ELLY GRIFFITHS 'LIKE SILENT WITNESS BUT MUCH MORE BELIEVABLE' SUSI HOLLIDAY When the dead are silent, she will be their voice Mortuary technician Cassie Raven feels a special bond with the bodies in her care, but when somebody she loved turns up on her autopsy table, her job suddenly gets personal. Cassie's instincts are screaming foul play, but the police say it was an accident - and uptight detective Phyllida Flyte has no time for a tattooed morgue girl with attitude. But when Cassie is proved right, she and Flyte must work together to find a murderer - before Cassie ends up on the mortuary slab herself. Praise for Body Language: 'Blackly humorous, with a fabulously one-of-a-kind protagonist' Heat Magazine 'Ingenious and sardonically written' Financial Times '[A] gritty novel with an engaging heroine' Sunday Times 'A terrific, well-placed plot' Spectator 'Cassie Raven is a lot of fun to spend time with' Big Issue 'Excellent fun, compulsive and Cassie Raven is a protagonist I want to meet again soon' James Oswald 'Cassie Raven is a blast of fresh air, striding onto the crime scene like a punk superstar' Sarah Hilary 'Move over Silent Witness - Cassie Raven is an utterly compelling contemporary forensic heroine' Isabelle Grey 'A fresh and exciting new series' Claire McGowan 'One of the best series openers I've read in years' Jane Casey

The popular Postmortem column in Game Developer magazine features firsthand accounts of how some of the most important and successful games of recent years have been made. This book offers the opportunity to harvest this expertise with one volume. The editor has organized the articles by theme and added previously unpublished analysis to reveal successful management techniques. Readers learn how superstars of the game industry like Peter Molyneux and Warren Spector have dealt with the development challenges such as managing complexity, software and game design issues, schedule challenges, and changing staff needs.