What the Dead Know

Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator

By: Barbara Butcher

Narrated by: Barbara Butcher

A “remarkably candid and sensitive” (The Wall Street Journal) true crime memoir from Barbara Butcher, a trailblazing New York City death investigator, who reveals the untold stories behind more than 5,500 death scenes, including the nation’s most horrific tragedy: the 9/11 attacks.

When Barbara Butcher was early in her recovery from alcoholism, she found an unexpected lifeline in a job at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in NYC. As only the second woman ever hired for the role—and the first to last more than three months—she became a vital force in the world of forensic science and criminal investigations.

Over the next two decades, Butcher worked thousands of cases: gruesome homicides, suspicious suicides, heartbreaking scenes involving underage victims, and complex mass casualty investigations. In her unforgettable account, she invites readers into the gritty, high-stakes world of crime-scene investigation, from the autopsy room and morgue to tense moments at active crime scenes. Along the way, she uncovered how confronting death every day gave her a new perspective on life—and ultimately saved her from becoming a statistic herself.

In vivid, darkly humorous prose, Butcher recounts how she narrowly avoided a boobytrapped suicide scene, and how, during 9/11, she and her colleagues worked tirelessly to identify victims using scraps of clothing, DNA, and the memories of grieving loved ones. Her honesty, resilience, and sharp wit make this a standout in the genre of first responder memoirs and women in law enforcement.

“Breathtakingly honest, compassionate, and raw” (Patricia Cornwell) and “completely unputdownable” (Adriana Trigiani), What the Dead Know is a powerful, insider’s look at the world of death and the lessons it teaches us about how to live. Fans of forensic memoirs, cold case investigations, true crime, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, and TV series like CSI or Mindhunter won’t be able to put this down.

Poured her heart into this book!

To say I loved this book is an understatement and does not begin to cover the layers of emotions that were uncovered while listening.
Thank you, Barbara, for your authenticity and for all the work you did in your career. Thank you for pouring yourself into this audible!
I could not turn it off once I started listening. Thank you to Duty Ron for introducing your work through h podcast.

Raw, beautiful, and surprisingly full of hope

Thank you for taking the time and courage to tell your stories and the stories of the people you encountered: We are all better for it.

this book was simply inspiring

this hit home with me in so many ways. From struggling with alcoholism , anxiety and depression. To hitting rock bottom multiple times and for some reason be giving a God pass. I drew so much from this book and just want to say thank tou for being open, vulnerable and honest. I dead azz wanna fight this ME office though. They made you revamp that place and when it involved one of their friend getting cut they cut you... and that new chief is a spineless bish she could have fought for you. I know your happier for it but they could early retire you or some thing not just cut you like that. I ultate goal is to be an autopsy assistant. I was going for ME but nope and after listening to this book it confirm my decision even more.

looking forward to more books from you... there are not many book that talk about lesbians in the forensic field or lab setting when in real life that is the case. if there is I need the name if the book or series plz.

Excellent book

I loved the honesty, stories, humor and her incredibly impressive strength. Very difficult topic, but could not have been written in a more eloquent and entertaining manner. My deepest respect to the author and all her colleagues along the way—I hope she writes another non-fiction book about her experiences.

Wonderful Read

Barbara puts so much emotion into her writing, and you can feel how she relives so much of what she's experienced.