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Mop Men: California's Crime Scene Cleaners (Paperback)

by Alan Emmins (Author) "I recently had a meeting with the editor of a Danish lifestyle magazine ..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Corvo Books; First edition (29 Jun 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0954325540
  • ISBN-13: 978-0954325541
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 326,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Guardian, August 2004

Ghoulish fascination...and educational value.


Independent, August 2004

A cautionary tale shot through with pus.
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
I recently had a meeting with the editor of a Danish lifestyle magazine. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Mop Men: California's Crime Scene Cleaners
89% buy the item featured on this page:
Mop Men: California's Crime Scene Cleaners 4.5 out of 5 stars (6)
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Death Sells, 17 Sep 2004
Alan Emmins' prose style is direct, blunt, and absolutely perfect for his theme, the story of Neal Smither and his company, California-based 'Crime Scene Cleaners'. "Although the body appears free of decay immediately after death," he informs the reader, "there are bacteria inside the body that feed off the contents of the intestine. When the body dies, the bacteria start eating the intestine itself." Curious and at points unashamedly unable to hold down his lunch, Emmins' guides the reader through suicide scenes, garbage houses, filth and gore in his acutely observed and highly disturbing odyssey.

Mop Men would be a prime contender for the sort of prurient pseudo-reportage that often winds up in weekly magazines aimed at pubescent boys. It's got all the hooks; month-old corpses decaying in bath tubs, chubby maggots doing their grim business, there's even an anecdote about a teenager whose liver explodes messily after a prolonged alcohol binge.

However, Emmins' portrait of the work done by Smither's 'trauma scene' cleaning company goes a long way beyond the mere recounting of grisly stories. Focusing on the banal profusion of Hollywood violence and the growing dislocation felt by many individuals in the modern world, Emmins' book attempts a deeper understanding of a culture in which Smither's motto, 'Gore sells, my friend,' holds such currency.

Interestingly, it is when Emmins' material unexpectedly dries up, an unprecedented spate of joy and life in California threatening the completion of his book, that his thesis comes into its own. Having initially chastised Smither's blasé attitude to the misery and death that he deals with on a daily basis, Emmins is quick to realise that he, like Smither, is also 'praying for death, baby,' and thereby equally implicated in the death industry.

A masterful, compelling portrait of a man just doing his job.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Darkly funny book about how modern society deals with death., 8 Nov 2004
By A Customer
When this book was recommended to me I thought 'yeah great, a book about a guy who cleans up dead people... that will be really interesting!' (Note lashings of sarcasm) But the friend was insistent that this wasn't like the typical true crime book, dull, obvious and delving into other peoples misery, so I bought it. Mop Men was sick in places, but it was never dull. I was constantly amused by the tale of Neal Smither and the interaction that the author had with him and all the other characters he met along the way. Whenever the book did take a sniff around the blood and mess it was done with tact. Mop Men is a compelling and darkly funny look at how modern society deals with death. this book is not what you'd expect from anything in the true crime section.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It's gonna take more than a mop..............., 1 Oct 2004
By A Customer
This book is a must everyone. The book is suitable for all, from young adults to granny smith. The author has captured a new insight to a touchy subject. Very amusing in places Emmins has captured this real life story and it's participants very well. The scenarios are described perfectly, the observations made by the author are humerous and compassionate. The book is a great read, so much so that I completed it in three days, I just couldn't put it down. I will be looking for more titles from this author.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

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