Untitled Marie Cassidy 1

Dr Terry O'Brien has recently arrived in Ireland from Scotland to take up a position as state pathologist. Soon after, a body is found in Dublin's Phoenix Park. Rachel Reece, host of the popular true crime podcast Ireland's Missing Women, has been brutally murdered.

As Terry gathers evidence to help with the police investigation, she becomes convinced that they are following the wrong line of inquiry and begins her own research. She soon finds herself in the thick of cold cases of murdered Irish women, with questions mounting.

What did Rachel Reece find out about the unsolved murder of Eileen McCarthy before she died? Who is feeding Terry anonymous information about the podcaster's endeavours? And why do the powers that be seem to want to thwart her at every turn?

Another woman is found murdered and, as pressure mounts on the gardai to find the perpetrator, Terry's post mortem reveals something that might hold the key to everything. But a killer is closer than she knows. And their next victim is firmly within their sights . . .

Body of Truth is a page-turning thriller by Ireland's former state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy, a gripping story of the secrets of the mortuary that is uncovered with scalpel-like precision.

A refreshingly pacy and lean debut The Gloss
Body of Truth, the first crime novel by former state pathologist Marie Cassidy, is good - surprisingly good Irish Independent
This novel equals, and arguably surpasses, lots of contemporary crime fiction out there Sunday Independent
Those who enjoy their thrillers laced with ... the 'simple' science of forensic pathology will undoubtedly enjoy [this] Irish Times
A very competent crime thriller Sunday Business Post

Marie Cassidy became a forensic pathologist in 1985 following her training as a histopathologist.

She worked as a Consultant Forensic Pathologist in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in Glasgow for the next thirteen years investigating unnatural deaths and homicides, from gangland shootings and stabbings, to drugs deaths, road traffic accidents and suicides.

In 1998 she returned to her family's homeland of Ireland as deputy state pathologist, working alongside Professor Jack Harbison. When he retired, she was appointed State Pathologist and, like her predecessor, her name became synonymous with murder and tragedy. In over thirty years of practice she has performed thousands of postmortems and dealt with hundreds of murders.

She has witnessed the burgeoning role of forensic science and the impact that has had on death investigation and the expectations of the general public, while embracing new technology and welcoming the input of experts in the other sciences. She retired at the end of 2018 to spend more time on the other passion in her life, her family. She lives in London.

Her number one bestselling memoir Beyond the Tape was published in 2020. Body of Truth is her first novel.

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