"The scalpel goes down. The gown is discarded. The chatter stops. Heads turn expectantly like fledglings in a nest waiting for a tasty treat.

'Well, Doc, what happened? Have we got a murder on our hands?'

Meet Doctor Marie Cassidy. For more than thirty years bodies have been her business. The lucky ones have died peacefully in their own bed, surrounded by loved ones. But it's not always like that. In her internationally-bestselling first book, duck under the police tape with her. Walk carefully in her footprints and follow her into the scene. But don't touch anything, just look. Remember: every contact leaves a trace.

Marie Cassidy was Ireland's state pathologist from 2004 until 2018. During that time, she was involved in the most high-profile cases in the country.

In Beyond the Tape, she invites us into the world of forensic pathology and shares her remarkable personal journey, from working-class Glasgow to becoming Ireland's head pathologist. A fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of real-life forensics, the intricate processes central to solving modern crime and the stories from behind the crime tape.

Beyond The Tape provides an insight into Marie Cassidy's macabre but vital craft * Irish Times *
a gripping insight into the criminal mind and the often awful ordinariness of crime * RTE Guide *
She debunks the myths of the CSI generation and shows remarkable empathy for the people who end up on her mortuary table * Sunday Business Post *
Beyond The Tape provides an insight into Marie Cassidy's macabre but vital craft * Irish Times *
a gripping insight into the criminal mind and the often awful ordinariness of crime * RTE Guide *

Dr 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. She was appointed State Pathologist and performed thousands of post-mortems and dealt with hundreds of murders over 30 years. Her first book, Beyond The Tape, is a number one bestseller and was nominated for an Irish Book Award.