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The Specialist

How to Clean a Crime Scene and Other Messes

Ben Giles

$36.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
HarperNorth
30 June 2026
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:  
Imprint:   HarperNorth
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 153mm,  Spine: 21mm
Weight:   270g
ISBN:   9780008835989
ISBN 10:   0008835985
Pages:   256
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
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.

Reviews for The Specialist: How to Clean a Crime Scene and Other Messes

'This is a remarkable story about life in a line of work most of us couldn’t countenance. Macabre at times, for sure, but also profoundly moving.' Adrian Chiles 'From murder scenes to whale blubber, Ben Giles has seen it – and cleaned it – all. In their stickiest hours, people rely on him to restore order.' Guardian 'Extreme cleaner Ben Giles has spent 25 years perfecting the knack of eliminating any and every stain caused by spills, severings and explosions from crime scenes.' BBC News 'Giles has dealt with every worst case cleaning scenario you can think of, entrusted by the police and training up to 500 others a year on how to deal with trauma cleaning and biohazard sites.' Daily Mail


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