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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
a little graphic at times, but it kept my attention
This is not a book for the faint of heart - it is exactly as it states, a book about "what happens after CSI goes home." What DOES happen after a body is found and the investigation is over? A company in the relatively recent field of "bioremediation" comes in to clean up what's left. Blood, brains, "fluids," fingerprint powder, gunpowder residue, these guys have seen it all and cleaned it up more than once. The author is a crime writer who followed along with a few teams from Aftermath, Inc. to learn about their business - similar to the TV show Castle though with less immediate danger. The first two-thirds of the book sets each chapter up with the scene of the crime, the crime itself, and then how the teams of Aftermath handle cleaning it up. The last third of the book is where the author waxes a little philosophical for my taste, about the meaning of death and life and what happens to our mortal coil, but it's reasonably quick and easy to skip. Definitely worth a read if you're interested in such macabre topics as bodies and crime scenes, but unless you've got a strong stomach, don't read it while you're eating.
I have a stomach for gore. My father walked in on his grandmother bludgeoned to death when he was 18, and forbade me to watch horror movies or Law & Order growing up because the vicarious enjoyment of other people's pain via popular entertainment is (let's be real) fucking disgusting.* At any rate, I saw someone reading this on the subway and figured I'd pick it up from the library. It was like a long Maxim article about death with occasional attempts at depth, and the physical book smelled really bad--like super-pungent tobacco smoke plus nailpolish remover--which serves me right.
*One time recently I said, "Dyl and I are gonna go see the Host" and my dad said "Oh, is that a horror movie?" and I said "yeah" and he said "Oh, you know I hate those, because--" and I said "I KNOW" and he said "Because my grandmother was murdered. What, I don't talk about it ALL the time!"
*One time recently I said, "Dyl and I are gonna go see the Host" and my dad said "Oh, is that a horror movie?" and I said "yeah" and he said "Oh, you know I hate those, because--" and I said "I KNOW" and he said "Because my grandmother was murdered. What, I don't talk about it ALL the time!"
This was a fairly quick and interesting read. Reavill is a crime author (he wrote true-crime articles for Maxim, among other works) who accompanies the works at Afermath Inc, a "bioremediation" company that cleans up a location after a death, a hoarder situation, tear-gas use, etc. Reavill investigates the processes, describes job sites and specific crimes/clean-ups, and delves into the personalities working for such a company. He also explores his own thoughts and reactions. I don't know quite what I was expecting when I started this, but I was definitely not disappointed in the end. Gory and upsetting at times, but overall quite fascinating and thought-provoking. (Aftermath is now nationwide. I checked out their website out of curiosity.)
I wanted to like this book and the first 2/5 of it were really interested, but the author got on my nerves and it made reading the book something to suffer through to the end instead of something interesting to learn about.
This book was eye-opening and not for the squeamish. Very interesting information on the stuff that isn't glamorized by TV and movies.
The reasons people are drawn to true crime could be an exploration in and of itself. I found myself thinking a little bit about this as I absentmindedly grabbed Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home by Gil Reavill, from the shelf at the library. Am I that interested in true crime, that I am even going to read about the cleanup? I guess the answer was yes, because I checked it out and finished the book quickly.
Just to put it out there up front, Aftermath, Inc. is not any sort of ground-breaking read in the true crime genre. Aftermath, Inc. is an interesting look at a bioremediation company, following one specific crew around a few crime scene cleanups. Bioremediation being the sanitized term for a cleanup after a grizzly crime or accident involving lots of blood and gore. If you're looking for what happens to the body after dying, read Mary Roach. If you are looking for in depth true crime, read Ann rule. This book probably shouldn’t be compared to those types but inevitably will be.
Gil Reavil had spent a lot of his writing career writing about true crime for Maxim magazine, however he had never seen an actual crime scene before. Instead relying on descriptions from others and a healthy dose of his imagination to detail the articles. That’s really the premise of the book; a true crime writer wants to see a crime scene. I find that an interesting insight into Maxim, but that’s a different story. Mr. Reavil gets hooked up with Aftermath, Inc., a post crime cleanup company, and gets a first hand view of the worst of the worst, and a taste of what he used to write about. Be careful what you wish for though, as he gets to see up close and personal, the leftovers of weeks old decompositions, family obliterations, suicides and horrific accidents.
Mr. Reavill doesn’t have much stomach for the work, but gets through it and genuinely seems to enjoy being around the guys from Aftermath. From all accounts, the Aftermath teams are fantastic with the families of the victims which was an aspect of the job I didn’t think about until reading this book. It’s wild that the house or apartment are just turned right over to the families and I am glad for these families that there are people out there that take this cleanup seriously.
If anyone has the impression that this is easy work going into reading Aftermath, Inc., then Mr. Reavill does a good job of dispelling that notion. Not only is getting the actual jobs difficult, as the insurance industry often just goes for the lowest bitter, but there are very real physical mental hazards. Blood borne pathogens haunt each cleanup site, with Hepatitis C being the biggest boogeyman of them all. Because of this cleanup needs to be done thoroughly and suited in physically demanding Biohazards suits. The reward for all of this is then you are faced with the mental stress of what you have to witness. I imagine the images linger long after the cleanup is finished.
From all the author’s accounts, the team at Aftermath, Inc. are incredibly professional and do amazing work not just in the cleanup but with handling of the families. But boy or boy, is the name “Aftermath” a cringe inducing name for the company. I’m not a marketing guru, by any means, it just seems there has to be a better name for a company that comes to clean up the worst moment in a family's life.
What Mr. Reavill does best with the book is not the depictions of graphic scenes that might draw curious readers in but rather, showing the ins and the outs of what goes into Bioremediation as an actual job. It’s a pretty thankless tough world, but Aftermath, Inc. was a nice peek behind the curtain.
I give Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home by Gil Reavill a solid 3.0 star rating.
Just to put it out there up front, Aftermath, Inc. is not any sort of ground-breaking read in the true crime genre. Aftermath, Inc. is an interesting look at a bioremediation company, following one specific crew around a few crime scene cleanups. Bioremediation being the sanitized term for a cleanup after a grizzly crime or accident involving lots of blood and gore. If you're looking for what happens to the body after dying, read Mary Roach. If you are looking for in depth true crime, read Ann rule. This book probably shouldn’t be compared to those types but inevitably will be.
Gil Reavil had spent a lot of his writing career writing about true crime for Maxim magazine, however he had never seen an actual crime scene before. Instead relying on descriptions from others and a healthy dose of his imagination to detail the articles. That’s really the premise of the book; a true crime writer wants to see a crime scene. I find that an interesting insight into Maxim, but that’s a different story. Mr. Reavil gets hooked up with Aftermath, Inc., a post crime cleanup company, and gets a first hand view of the worst of the worst, and a taste of what he used to write about. Be careful what you wish for though, as he gets to see up close and personal, the leftovers of weeks old decompositions, family obliterations, suicides and horrific accidents.
Mr. Reavill doesn’t have much stomach for the work, but gets through it and genuinely seems to enjoy being around the guys from Aftermath. From all accounts, the Aftermath teams are fantastic with the families of the victims which was an aspect of the job I didn’t think about until reading this book. It’s wild that the house or apartment are just turned right over to the families and I am glad for these families that there are people out there that take this cleanup seriously.
If anyone has the impression that this is easy work going into reading Aftermath, Inc., then Mr. Reavill does a good job of dispelling that notion. Not only is getting the actual jobs difficult, as the insurance industry often just goes for the lowest bitter, but there are very real physical mental hazards. Blood borne pathogens haunt each cleanup site, with Hepatitis C being the biggest boogeyman of them all. Because of this cleanup needs to be done thoroughly and suited in physically demanding Biohazards suits. The reward for all of this is then you are faced with the mental stress of what you have to witness. I imagine the images linger long after the cleanup is finished.
From all the author’s accounts, the team at Aftermath, Inc. are incredibly professional and do amazing work not just in the cleanup but with handling of the families. But boy or boy, is the name “Aftermath” a cringe inducing name for the company. I’m not a marketing guru, by any means, it just seems there has to be a better name for a company that comes to clean up the worst moment in a family's life.
What Mr. Reavill does best with the book is not the depictions of graphic scenes that might draw curious readers in but rather, showing the ins and the outs of what goes into Bioremediation as an actual job. It’s a pretty thankless tough world, but Aftermath, Inc. was a nice peek behind the curtain.
I give Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home by Gil Reavill a solid 3.0 star rating.
This was a fascinating book written by a crime-writer who works for Maxim magazine on the side, who decides to learn more about the people who clean up after suicides, homicides, industrial accidents, and unattended deaths. To do this, he shadows a company called Aftermath, Inc. who sends out teams to clean up after biological catastrophes for about six months. He describes in death some of the death scenes he visited with the Aftermath crew, and there are bits here and there that are not for people with weak stomachs. Nearer the end of the book, the author tended to get philosophical about death and the impact of crime on the family members left behind. On the whole, a very good read that kept me turning the pages.