What the Dead Know

Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator

By: Barbara Butcher

Narrated by: Barbara Butcher

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting, deeply personal memoir of more than twenty years of death-scene investigations by New York City death investigator Barbara Butcher.

Barbara Butcher was early in her recovery from alcoholism when she found an unexpected lifeline: a job at the Medical Examiner’s Office in New York City. The second woman ever hired for the role of Death Investigator in Manhattan, she was the first to last more than three months. The work was gritty, demanding, morbid, and sometimes dangerous—she loved it.

Butcher (yes, that is her real name, and she has heard all the jokes) spent day in and day out investigating double homicides, gruesome suicides, and most heartbreaking of all, underage rape victims who had also been murdered. In What the Dead Know, she writes with the kind of New York attitude and bravado you might expect from decades in the field, investigating more than 5,500 death scenes, 680 of which were homicides. In the opening chapter, she describes how just from sheer luck of having her arm in cast, she avoided a boobytrapped suicide. Later in her career, she describes working the nation’s largest mass murder, the attack on 9/11, where she and her colleagues initially relied on family members’ descriptions to help distinguish among the 21,900 body parts of the victims.

This is the fascinating and stunning real-life story of a woman who, in dealing with death every day, learned surprising lessons about life—and how some of those lessons saved her from becoming a statistic herself. Fans of Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, and true crime won’t be able to put it down.

©2023 Barbara Butcher (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Sad but true…

Such a good story! So much sadness but still a great book! I couldn’t stop listening and didn’t want it to end. Now to decide what other book by this author I should read next!

Death Investigation - Gritty and Real

I heard the author on a podcast and decided to check out her book. I’m glad I did. This is a well written memoir telling about her gruesome job as a death scene investigator but one that also reveals the personal vulnerability of the author. I listened nonstop and couldn’t wait to hear the next chapter when I was interrupted.

I love the gritty details balanced with the author’s compassion. She was a mess earlier on her life due to her drinking and she was able to turn her life around. The job was her passion but came at a great personal cost.

The author did a great job narrating the book as well.

I highly recommend this book.

Kept my attention from the start

This is a great book and narrated well by the author. Really enjoyed listening to her story. Butcher is raw, unapologetically herself and very relatable. Would recommend

Patricia

Thank you Barbara, you have elevated my life just when I needed it quite desperately. Xoxoxo

Captivating

Candid , honest and direct . I enjoyed this book so much - I could not stop listening . BB paints such vivid picture of her life I felt transported into her life . So much pain and suffering to be witness to - I’m so glad there are people like Barbara who commit to doing it and sadly pay the price at some point. Thank you for great read and for your dedication .

Heartfelt, human and humble

Ms Butcher tells her story with sincerity and quiet honesty. And what a story it is. Her care and sympathy for the wide range of the dead of NYC from the Bowery to Sutton Place speak to what makes us human. I’m a better person for having read this book. Thank you Ms Butcher.

True life

Barbara had you feeling you are part of a world you've only witnessed on tv. A dark and lonely world. Her account of the 911 disaster stirs the deep feelings of what that tragic aftermath was really like and stiil brings to mind

Very interesting and honest

I jumped at the opportunity to get a glimpse at this very unique and "entertaining " career. Not only was she funny and her experiences interesting, but I learned some neat facts. I also really appreciated the honesty and transparency of the Author. Having worked "high stress" jobs myself and working around death (healthcare), I get the joking to lessen the tension and I get that this type of work does not come without consequences.
It ircks me to no end when an author speaks only of their achievements and how they were awesome, yet does not include the intimate personal struggles. I think Barabara F'ing Butcher did a good job of not going too deep and personal (I would have, but it's probably a flaw) yet she owned to "bad parts" and shared to the end. Congrats to her for writing this great book and continuing to be amazing. Kudos

Wonderfully written

As the daughter of a homicide and robbery cop and an ER/ICU nurse, I so appreciate her honesty yet creatively written book. Sometimes the things we see in life change us forever, like this book.

surprised

I like true crime and forensic info but, this was so much more. A soul baring. A fascinating if difficult life tale personally and professionally. Told with grit, humor and a big hearted soul. I wish you happiness, Barbara.