Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist

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Even so, she says, "You have to get used to not being at that birthday party, there will be days you will miss. So the time I did have was theirs," she says, referring to her two children, now grown up and living in London.

On the crime scene, you always looked so glamorous: the red lippie, the heels. Was it part of your armour? Did the heels give you power? People think there’s somebody out there who’s done all of that and there may well be, but none of us know, it’s all speculation.” The Irish psyche is very similar to the Scottish psyche, so it wasn't a huge cultural difference when we arrived." Read More Related Articles The ‘death investigation circus’ — as that same tabloid had referred to Irish law enforcement’s arrival to a murder scene — had come to town, creating a dark contrast to the unusually warm late summer’s day. Terry, the journalist in question had suggested, was the ‘alluring female ring mistress’.

Cassidy will continue to appear in Irish courts until all the cases she’s been involved in have been processed. And given her two-book deal with Hachette, she’ll complete at least one more O’Brien novel. She writes long hand at first draft, types with two fingers and doesn’t plot ahead. It was a high-pressure situation and markedly different to their ideal working scenario. "It is like everything; you have got to cut your cloth accordingly," says Cassidy. "We made the decision that we had to get in and get these bodies. We only had a very short window of opportunity.

The book is certainly not “rubbish”; it’s a pacy and entertaining read with a witty protagonist, full of gumption. “Don’t be such a jessie,” O’Brien tells her love interest, detective chief inspector John Fraser. And when he’s too polite, she calls him “Mr Darcy”. She tells another friend, Michael Flynn, a forensic scientist, not to be “so precious”. There’s no room for over-sensitivity in her life. Toughness and strength of character are required, as they are for real life pathologists. I was telling my 10-year-old while walking to school this morning who I was coming to interview. And he said, “that’s a very sad job”. Is it? Is what you see sad? The forensic laboratory was one step ahead: the unknown DNA profile from the condom was a match for a profile generated in a recent rape case. Gerald Barry was the suspect in the rape of a French woman eight weeks earlier. Criminals are sometimes not as clever as they like to think.She said they didn't plan to get married but her mother said they couldn't live together without tying the knot. The biggest compliment I got was people saying: 'You don't look anything like a forensic pathologist'. I'd go: 'Yes!' and 'What does a forensic pathologist look like?' People had this idea that you had to be some grumpy old man. That is just not reality. Beyond the Tape is a unique behind- the-scenes journey into the mysteries of unexplained and sudden death. With the scalpel-like precision and calm authority of her trade, Marie shares her remarkable personal journey from working-class Scotland into the world of forensic pathology, describing in candid detail the intricate processes central to solving modern crime. A fascinating woman, and not at all what you would expect, we quiz her on her life and her many deaths. It used to be, people would use these experts [in Irish court] if it suited them and we all knew a load of baloney was coming out of their mouth,” she says. “I think now in the UK and Ireland most of the experts are pretty straight. I’ve come across some dubious ones in the past, but I think that’s been weeded out.”