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Mop men : inside the world of Crime Scene Cleaners

by Emmins, Alan, 1974-

Format: Print Book 2009
Availability: Available at 2 Libraries 2 of 2 copies

Available (2)
Location Collection Call #
CLP - Main Library Mezzanine - Non-fiction HV6529.E46 2009
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Mezzanine - Non-fiction
 
Call Number  HV6529.E46 2009
 
 
Penn Hills Library Non-Fiction 364.152 EMM
Location  Penn Hills Library
 
Collection  Non-Fiction
 
Call Number  364.152 EMM
 
 

Summary
Neal Smither doesn't hide his work. The side of his van reads: "Crime Scene Cleaners: Homicides, Suicides and Accidental Death." Whenever a hotel guest permanently checks out, the cops finish an investigation, or an accidental death is reported, Smither's crew pick up the pieces after the police cruisers and ambulances have left.Alan Emmins offers a glimpse at this little-known aspect of America's most gruesome deaths. Filled with details as fascinating as they are gory, Mop Men examines not just the public fascination with murder but also how a self-made success like Smither can make a fortune just by praying for death.
Published Reviews
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Who cleans up when a killer leaves a really big bloody mess? In a chatty, tongue-in-cheek profile of Neal Smither, chief of Crime Scene Cleaners Inc., journalist Emmins lets the "Boss Cleaner" speak passionately of how he tackles spills and splotches resulting from the San Francisco Bay area's murders, suicides and other deaths. Emmins delves into the zany character of Smither, a loving family man who puts on a coarsely humorous persona as "protective armor" as he surrounds himself with the dark realm of death, monitoring his multimillion-dollar business in a highly competitive field. Hanging around with Smither means a grisly experience of suicide surrounded by transgender porn, bodies splattered by gunfire or the decayed corpses of those ruined by meth or contagious disease. For a totally gonzo way of looking at the crime scene cleaning business, try this engrossing, wisecracking assessment (of Smither, Emmins writes, "[I]f not actually one of Death's litter, he must be at barest minimum a cousin") of a world we know exists but ignore as we go on about our lives. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Crime Scene Cleaners (Firm)
Crime -- United States.
Crime scenes -- United States.
Publisher New York :Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press,2009
Edition 1st U.S. ed.
Language English
Notes Reprint. Originally published: London : Corvo, c2004.
Description viii, 306 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN 9780312532741
0312532741
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