Trace: Case Studies of a Forensic Pathologist in Africa

Forensic pathologist Ryan Blumenthal works in a world few people are ever exposed to — the mortuary. He spends his days among the dead, uncovering how they died and determining whether a crime was committed. To date, he has performed over 13,000 autopsies.

In Trace, Ryan takes readers behind the scenes of some of the strange death scenes he has attended, including a shallow grave beside a river where a body was found with an amputated finger. He also shares rare and unusual cases, such as a man who may have died from autoerotic asphyxia and a suspected poisoning that turned out to be a shooting.

His work has brought him face to face with many forms of unnatural death, including lightning strikes, wild animal attacks, muti killings, and even a solitary wasp sting.

Through it all, Ryan sees himself as a voice for the voiceless, striving to bring justice to the dead and truth to their loved ones.