In 1985, Peter Everett landed the job as Superintendent of Southwark Mortuary. In just six years he’d gone from lowly assistant to running the UK’s busiest murder morgue. He couldn’t believe his luck.

What he didn’t know was that Southwark, operating in near-Victorian conditions, was a hotbed of corruption. Attendants stole from the dead, funeral homes paid bribes, and there was a lively trade in stolen body parts and recycled coffins.

Set in the fascinating pre-DNA and psychological profiling years of 1985-87, this memoir tells a gripping and gruesome tale, with a unique insight into a world of death most of us don’t ever see. Peter managed pathologists, oversaw post mortems and worked alongside Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad – including on the case of the serial killer, the Stockwell Strangler.

7hrs 8 mins | 1 Day

You know how much I enjoy True crime and all processes that go into it. I actually added this to my library just over a month ago, so the fact that I managed to listen to it so soon after is mind boggling. (For those of you that don’t know, my audiobook library is overflowing with books I added going as far back as 2019).

I settled down to listen to this on a Sunday where I was diamond painting to relax and needed something to keep my mind focused. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but it ended up being a great experience as I finished half my diamond painting and sat still for almost 7 hours!

I’d never thought of a mortuary past the coroner doing the postmortem, so discovering this other side of the business through the memoir of Peter Everett was incredibly eye opening. He has had quite the career, from corruption to improvements, to mass casualties and lack of staff.

Listening about his life was completely fascinating and this was definitely an audiobook that transported me away.

Working in Southwark Mortuary, Peter Everett has seen it rise to the UK’s busiest mortuary. He interacts with the murder squad on several cases and at times finds the job incredibly stressful and all consuming. I can’t imagine what life as the Superintendent would actually have been like but having this glimpse into it is very interesting. I don’t think it is a job I could do myself. I have learnt that there is a lot more to the technical side of a mortuary than I had realised, and it has been a good opportunity to learn something new.

The memoir covers the years before DNA and psychological profiling, and it offers a unique view on how cases were studied and solved during that time.

Nowadays, technology has improved, and we are all used to watching crime dramas where the crime is solved in a matter of days with equipment that isn’t real. For me, I’m always fascinated by the processes and how each process comes together to form a well-oiled machine that investigates the case together.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. You wouldn’t think it but there were some funny moments that made me chuckle out loud. The tempo set by the narrator flowed smoothly, the people featured all had different voices and the story was compelling enough to keep me entertained throughout.

I give this audiobook: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐