this did not hold my attention at all. it's not that it was poorly written, it was just super boring and not what i thought it was going to be about whatsoever. i was amazed by how intelligent wiltshire was, and thought that her profession and its connection to nature was really fascinating. however, i'm more into the true crime side of things than botany and geography, therefore i was really bored. whether it's reflective of her or not, the book felt extremely disconnected from the cases she discussed, and that's what i really wanted to hear about the most.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the audio arc copy of "the natural history of crime".

I really wanted to love this - but it was just meh to me. I felt like there were a lot of tangents included by the author that didn't always had to the narrative. Sometimes I wasn't even sure what case we were talking about anymore.

So disappointed that I didn't like this book more as I was so looking forward to reading it based on the title/description. Overall it just didn't quite find its rhythm for me and I found myself tuning out frequently.

A crime book with a sciency/nature twist should have been something I loved, but I thought it straddled the line and did neither of those two things well -- I feel like this book/her stories would be fabulous as like a TV show mini-series where we would get to see the plants she's describing and some microscope shots. The crime content was very meandering, and I found myself frequently being surprised we were still talking about a certain case after she'd gone on a side tangent for a number of minutes. And while I'm usually into non-fiction and nature writing, I struggled with it in this book. I think it maybe went a bit too far for me?

The way in which the crimes were portrayed was also a bit difficult for me, of course this is her job and she can't let the tough stuff get to her but a lot of times it felt like she was a bit too detached from some of these instances, This also may have been somewhat due to the narrator as well, as I felt like her tone was very chipper for the content being discussed. This admittedly could also just be my American bias as a female English voice I think is always going to sound more cutesy to me.

Overall I really wanted to like this book but found myself really struggling to stay in it while listening. It seems like people liked her prior book better than this one so I'll probably end up giving that one a shot instead.

What a dynamite read!

I enjoyed this one, as getting into the smaller details of what makes forensic sciences has always been fascinating. As the author walks us through some of the cases that she has worked on, you find new details on cases you might have already heard about.

I would say the only thing that detracted from the book was the sometime putting down of the male gender. I understand that at the time she started, it was a different time. I would have allowed some slack for that, although I know that there are some feelings that die hard.

The narrator was fantastic, and I enjoyed listening.

Ever since I took a forensics course in school I have been fascinated by the science behind crime. I thought it would be interesting to read about how the natural aspects of the world play into it. There were many moments when this was true but equally as many where it seemed to drudge on endlessly. A factor that plays into that is the very scientific lingo that went over my head. However, in addition to that she would go on tangents often that seemed to have nothing to do with the chapter.
I listened to the audio book thanks to early access from NetGalley. I did really enjoy the narrator and thought she did a great job.

As someone who works in a crime-adjacent field, I decided to pick up this book. It was pretty dull, so I stopped listening after about 20%. As many of the more negative reviews note, the author feels very pompous, and the British accent of the narrator does not help. It didn't really feel like she was actually using case studies to discuss how nature helps in solving crimes, but to discuss her own life and accomplishments. I did not know who this woman was, so I wasn't interested in her. I was interested in how nature is used to solve crimes. Alas, this was a boring read to me.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a forensic science nerd this book was right up my alley. The education about the nature and how it contributes to crime cases was great. The narrator was also very easy to listen to.

This book felt like a series of essays about individual cases that were not adequately edited to remove redundant information and make into a coherent book. There was also a lot of haughtiness in the tone of the book, like the author could do no wrong but everyone else was bad at their job? And lots of "kids these days," "back in the good old days" kind of messaging that's going to fall flat for me. That said, the actual scientific details in the cases presented were interesting. Furthermore the book did underscore how having detailed, observation-based records of natural settings are not a relic of an old-fashioned notion of natural history but a continuously relevant source of useful information that cannot be gathered another way.

I really love forensics and the natural sciences but this book didn't hold my attention and I was turned off by the author's tone, which seemed very superior.

I requested this audiobook because the subject matter sounded fascinating and it is! When Wiltshire sticks to the science, this audiobook was great. There are a few parts where it feels like being read to from a text book but for the most part you can really feel her passion for palynology when she talks about her cases. However, there were far too many unrelated tangents for me and Wiltshire clearly feels very strongly that she is the smartest person in the room at all times (even when in a room filled with scientists equally accomplished in their own specific field, scientists who have also been chosen to assist with an investigation). I am all for confidence in yourself but Wiltshire spends so much of the book talking about how everyone else she encounters (investigators, police officers, other scientists, morgue technicians, etc) are absolutely useless. It was quite distracting and unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy!

This is not a genre I typically gravitate towards but I definitely enjoyed this book and learned a lot.

3.5⭐

I actually found this to be an extremely intriguing book. I learned a lot in here! It's making me want to do more research behind the different forensic methods that are out there! While the book is full of very interesting information and experiences, I did find it to be a little repetitive in some areas, which did make me loose focus. With that said I did enjoy it!

The Natural History of Crime is Patricia Wiltshire’s accounts of cases she worked on and helped solve using nature. She has worked some of the most high profile murder cases.

Honestly I DNF’d this one. I was listening to the audiobook. I thought the idea behind this book would interest me, and it does to an extent. Personally, I don’t know if it was the writing or the narrator that couldn’t captivate me. I found it hard to stay focused on listening to it. But, that doesn’t mean you won’t like it. It just wasn’t for me. Parts of it were more interesting than others.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Natural History of Crime by Patricia Wiltshire in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this book and found Wiltshire's history and knowledge fascinating.

Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist with a long and illustrious career helping investigators using natural elements found in a crime scene to solve cases.

This book goes through a series of high profile cases that you worked in assisted on and details how her use of botany and soil and other natural elements assisted in the crime solving process.

The subject matter was very interesting, but I found that the way Patricia Wiltshire tells her story often felt more like a rant or preaching to the reader. The way she addressed colleagues or other investigators seemed somewhat rude at times and it made for an uncomfortable listening experience. Often she complains about the ignorance of regular pathologists while extorting the great value of her work in the crime sphere.

Narrator Charlotte Strevens was a good pairing for this book and her grandma-like voice really brought to life Patricia Wiltshire reminiscing.

I had hoped to really enjoy this blend of natural and forensic science, but I found the delivery of the case studies and the authors prejudices to be somewhat of a detriment to the storytelling.

Unfortunately this book just didn’t hold my attention and was a bit of a struggle for me to listen to other than in very short spurts.

While this book focuses on specific cases and the author’s training as a forensic ecologist, it felt too scientific and even detached from the crime itself for someone other than a criminal investigator, or some similar profession, to enjoy. Almost too in the weeds to keep the attention of a lay person.

The audiobook is very well produced and the narrators voice is soothing (like, lull me to sleep at work, soothing). This book would’ve been better, for me as a reader, in a print or digital format rather than as an audiobook.

This was such an interesting read! The stories themselves and the way they were explained were perfect for the season. Loved the narration as well

The stories were pleasant and the narrator's voice was pleasant and posh but I never connected with the presentation. It just felt like it was more about how Wiltshire reacted to the cases than the cases themselves. There is a lot to learn here though for people interested in forensic science. Thanks to NetGalley fore letting me listen to this audiobook.

As a lover of true crime and science, I thought this would be up my alley. While the sections on murder and forensic science were what I expected and good, the autobiographical sections were self-congratulatory and judgy.

You can tell that Patricia Wiltshire is an ecobiologist. Her clear enthusiasm for all plant life and nature exudes in her writing to the point where we go on many incredible, fascinating tangents as she delves into specific true crime experiences in this book.

Listening to this audiobook felt like a super-depth episode of Forensic Files with my best friend narrating. I think this book could have been better organized, but everything I heard and learned from this book was incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience foraging and investigating with my Welsh ecobiologist guide.