This is a subscriber-only article
Marie Cassidy is a lady known to many. For 15 years, she was the familiar figure seen on the news, dressed head to toe in a white jumpsuit, mask and gloves, arriving at or departing from the scene of a crime. During her career as Ireland’s state pathologist, Marie became known as the expert who helped to solve murders and clarify unexplained deaths. In over 30 years of practice, she has performed thousands of postmortems and dealt with hundreds of murders.
After retiring in 2018, her plan was to spend more time on her other passions in life - her family and writing. Her first foray into this was with her memoir Beyond the Tapewhich was published in 2020. In November 2023, she published her first novel, Body of Truth - a thriller centred around the character Dr Terry O’Brien, an Irish state pathologist who is helping police with a murder investigation. This week, Marie talks about her writing and life with Irish Country Living.
Have you always wanted to write a novel?
“I had never thought about writing a novel. However, I enjoyed writing my memoir and so I jumped at the chance to ‘have a go’ when the publisher suggested it. But it was far more difficult than I thought it would be. I had to be reminded that a novel is fiction, not true life.
“Having stuck rigidly to the facts, and my own area of expertise, throughout my professional life, I was suddenly allowed to use my imagination.”
Are you familiar with the genre?
“Death and crime have been my life and it is also my favourite genre. When I was in Glasgow, I read all the Scottish writers and then when I moved to Ireland, I discovered a wealth of talent, from Alex Barclay, the first one I met, to Sam Blake and Liz Nugent and my latest find, Catherine Kirwan. There are too many to list. My favourite is usually the one I’m reading.”
How much of Dr Terry O’Brien is based on yourself?
“Writers are told to write about what they know and their characters are based, to some extent, on people they have met. So, obviously I would write about murder and the pathologist would be very loosely based on me and others I know. The beauty is that you can create your make-believe-self into anything you want. And I always wanted to be taller, hence the high heels.”
Do you think Ireland lends itself well as a backdrop for a novel of this kind?
“Ireland is the perfect backdrop to crime novels and thrillers; the busy cities or the beautiful countryside can all hide dark secrets. And, of course, the people.”
What is your process for writing?
“I’m not a very disciplined writer. I have to be in the headspace. That can be any time of the day or night. If something pops into my head, I have to get it down, but there is no point in sitting staring at a blank piece of paper.
“Frustratingly for everyone, I mull everything over before I write it down, longhand. Then I go back and type it up. That makes it a long process. But even then, that is not the difficult part, the tricky part is the editing.”
Do you listen to any true crime podcasts?
“I don’t listen to true crime podcasts, or any podcasts for that matter. I’m a visual absorber so my mind wanders when I am listening to the radio or podcasts, which defeats the purpose. Despite that, I have a podcast called Life in Death, a continuation of my memoir, talking to some of the fascinating people I worked with during my time as a forensic pathologist.”
Do you plan to write a series of novels starring Dr O’Brien?
“There is plenty of scope for her to get up to more mischief. So hopefully she will have another outing in the future.”
If this novel were to be made into a movie, is there a particular actor that you would love to see play the role?
“It would have to be a feisty Scottish actress with a sense of humour. Of course, they would also have to be tall and gorgeous.”
Are you enjoying retirement from being state pathologist?
“At the end of 2018, I decided to leave my role. I looked on it as a change in direction rather than retirement. I have been very fortunate in that since then, I have published two books, produced a series for RTE and programmes for Channel 5 and Sky, as well as a podcast. Long may it last.”
Body of Truth by Marie Cassidy is available now in bookshops nationwide. Hachette Books Ireland, €22.40.
SHARING OPTIONS: