The Specialist

Name: The Specialist
Price: 49.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780008819866

How to Clean a Crime Scene and Other Messes

Ben Giles

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

HarperNorth
21 May 2026

Memoirs; True stories; True crime; Forensic science; Other vocational technologies & trades

The breathtaking, unputdownable insider account of Britain's most hidden profession

What happens after the police tape comes down?

Ben Giles has spent thirty years cleaning what most people can't bear to imagine. Dead bodies decomposing for weeks. Kitchen floors painted with blood. Hoarders' homes where the filth tells stories of unimaginable loneliness. A whale carcass lodged on a cargo ship. This is the Britain you never see – until someone needs to make it disappear.

Starting with nothing but a bucket of Dettol and a can-do attitude, Giles built the UK's leading biohazard cleaning network. From industrial spillages to animal remains, he's faced horrors that would break most people – and taught hundreds of people to do the same, in full hazmat gear. Yet threaded through the gore and dark humour is something unexpected: profound compassion for the lives interrupted, the families destroyed, and the deaths that society prefers to forget.

The Specialist takes you behind the scenes of suicides, murders, and tragic accidents — revealing not just which chemicals remove bloodstains, and how, but what violence, neglect, and loss actually look like when the rest of us can only look away. It's unflinching, occasionally hilarious, and utterly unforgettable.

By: Ben Giles
Imprint: HarperNorth
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 159mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9780008819866
ISBN 10: 0008819866
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 21 May 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ben Giles is a veteran extreme cleaner with over 25 years of experience in tackling the most challenging messes, from crime scenes to biohazard cleanups. Founder of Ultima Cleaning, he works as a consultant and trainer, delivering both national programmes and bespoke training for organisations and individuals looking to bring biohazard cleaning in-house or expand their professional skill set.