Customer Reviews

Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first heard about this book on NBC's "The Today Show." It piqued my interest, as I had seen a documentary about this type of business a while ago. I have a morbid interest in this kind of thing and thought it would be an interesting read. I wasn't disappointed.

The book is written in an entertaining and even humorous manner, which is appreciated given its "grave" subject matter. The book provides graphic details about cases that the Aftermath techs have had to clean up, everything from shotgun suicides, to bleed-outs from diseases, to a guy who was chopped up in a jet engine. It is surprising to read in just how many weird and gruesome ways human beings can depart this Earth.

The Aftermath guys rarely see the bodies, but clean up what's left of them. If reading about body fluids, maggots, the process of decomposition, and the stench of decay is interesting to you, then this book provides details galore. It also gives a kind of sad commentary on the savage nature of humanity as it details grisly murders perpetrated by relatives against each other - son against parents and siblings, mother against children - and of course stranger upon stranger as well. Not only murders but unfortunate accidents and plain old deaths from natural causes are covered in the book.

Death is "the last taboo" and this book covers the topic unabashedly. It is really a fascinating read, written in a conversational style that is easy to read. It is a book for those who are interested in the physical process of death. There is nothing spiritual about it, though the cases are handled with the utmost respect in a dignified and business-like manner.

I'll admit it, I'm morbid. I like to learn about things that would have most people running for the hills (or at least the bathroom). I enjoyed this book. I was a little reluctant to purchase it due to the less than stellar reviews I had read here. But then I figured that sometimes, I find that I enjoy things that others might not, and I ordered it. I'm glad I did. I am not sure what the unhappy reviewers were expecting with this book. It isn't going to tell you how to start your own clean-up business, nor is it going to tell you how to run said clean-up business. And it isn't supposed to. What it does do, is follow the author on his journey of discovery and "job shadow"ing the technicians of Aftermath, Inc. This book includes plenty of "juicy" details, and it also offers quite a bit of something else. Maybe it's because he tries to let you see the effect working in this type of business has on the employees. As a nurse, I really appreciated the chapter on Hepatitis C, and as a psych nurse, I REALLY appreciated the take on suicide. This book really had me wanting to copy pages and hand them out...but then I realized that would likely be illegal, and I let that idea go by the wayside. I feel the author really wanted the reader to see the victims as not just a "human stain" but as a human. A person. Someone who had a life, loved ones, and feelings. Again, I really enjoyed this book, and if you're reading this, I would recommend that you not hesitate because of negetive reviews. Go for it, you might be surprised, as I was.

This book was a bit of a tease. It starts off with a very interesting crime scene, but then tends to forget what the title implies the book is about. If you're interested in the actual nuts and bolts, day-to-day workings of a company such as Aftermath, Inc, you won't get it here. You will get a lot of the author's personal opinions of the work, an extended history of the formation of the company, and much discussion about the relationships formed. What you won't get, and what you hope for, is a study of the crime scene clean up crews and the work they do. This book was a disappointment.

Or a series of articles, but a book? No. There were some great chapters mixed in with some okay ones and then some that were just horrible, navel gazing, self indulgent messes that I think were written by a Jr. High student. Seriously I was waiting for one of the paragraphs in the later chapters to start with "Webster defines murder as...". It makes me think that he wrote the whole thing, realized (or was told) it was too short and went back and dashed off the last few chapters to pad the manuscript. Also, something that made me think he was a little screwy was that he kept describing episodes of CSI and quoting Gil Grissom. I mean I know he knows these are characters and not real people, and he is generally referring to them to point out something that was misrepresented on the show, but it was just weird.

As I said there were some great chapters, the statistics on suicides was actually really fascinating, but I wouldn't spend the money again to buy this book. If you do buy it, do yourself a favor and skip the last three or four chapters.

I was at my boyfriend's house this weekend, and out of boredom, picked up an issue of Maxim to see what was so interesting about the magazine (aside from the obvious). I happened to come across an article (the first couple chapters of this book) and was really intrigued. Needless to say, I rushed out and bought the book. I haven't finished it, however it's really caught my attention. I will say that it is not for the faint at heart. Reavill gets very gory in his descriptions of the crime scenes, and even though I watch gory programs all the time, I flinch while reading. The idea is fantastic, and really puts CSI into perspective. I wouldn't say it's a 5 star read, but I can't wait to get back to reading. If I could, I'd give it a 4 1/2 star rating

This book was really good a little slow at times but still kept me interested.If you like crime shows and are interested in the clean up get this book.

It's an entertaining read for the most part, and probably unveils some of the meaning behind "cleaning" the remains of homicides, suicides, and unattended deaths when the coroner's technicians leave a death scene.

Aftermath Inc.'s business structure is interesting to read about since it is fairly unique. Where others go it alone, hire wage earners, or franchise, these guys opened up a top-down hierarchy which branches out through the US. I suppose that their "crews" might be considered franchise owners if they are not wage earners.

The writing is clear enough and could be emulated by others in this field and others.
I recommend this book to those interested in learning about death scene cleaning and to those with experience in this field. One never knows what can be learned or critiqued from a rival's operations.

The one critic claiming special knowledge about the beginning of this "industry" would do well to remember that morticians and others have moonlighted for generations providing this type of service. I recall the domain name "[...]" did not exist until 2003. So who claims to have started what, how, when, where? If it's a big deal, document the origins of crime scene cleaning or crime scene cleanup as something different than what morticians and others have always done. It's not really important, is it?

Last, Aftermath Inc. probably generates hostile competitors because it pays higher referral fees than that standard "industry" 10 percent, in many cases.

If you read popular literature for entertainment, you might enjoy this book. If you are not into popular literature, you probably would do well to glance through a bookstore's copy before buying.

Ed Evans
[...]

This is quite an interesting take on a business the average person would never consider. I was very excited to find this book, and it was quite interesting in the beginning. It starts off well, and it very entertaining, and sometimes humorous. Unfortunately, the author tends to forget what the book is about, and tend to trail off for pages on his personal thoughts which are extremely boring. The author also repeats the same rants throughout the book, which frustrated me. It seems he got extremely distracted and focused upon something else in his life at the end of writing his book.

I recommend this book if you don't mind enduring the author's personal rants, and his tendency to lose focus on the big picture.

a great book. lots if interesting facts. takes you into a world of the unknown. three others have already ready this book and thought it was great

What you do expect it will be like to clean up after a crime scene where there's been a horrible amount of death, gunfire, and tear gas used? You'll see some pretty ghastly remnants, right? You'll be nauseated, right? You'll need to protect yourself from harm, right? You'll have to throw most everything away in some appropriate way, right? You'll think a lot more about mortality, right? Okay, you already know most of what you'll learn by reading this book. But if you want more details, the book will provide them for many kill sites.

If you are also fascinated by what it's like if someone dies and isn't discovered for months, you'll add new knowledge of what will happen to the surroundings and how hard it will be to remove the leftovers.

Why do people do this kind of work? The owners make a lot of money. The work pays well for the independent contractors they hire, when they can get work. Some people enjoy helping grieving families during such difficult times. Are some of them ghouls? Probably, but the book doesn't address that point. What did you expect to find out?

What the industry like? The book doesn't really look into that except to point out that some insurance companies will insist that ordinary cleaners be used who may not get out all of the remains.

Mr. Reavill seems to have been overwhelmed by his experience and bonded with those who took him into the horror scenes. Neither reaction is surprising, but it doesn't make for such a great book.

I hope someone will write a better book on the subject. I'm sure there will be a lot of interest.