Titre : Death in the face
Auteur : Philippe Boxho
Edit: Kennes/The 3AS
Publication date: August 21, 2024
Genre of the book: Essay
Building on his two previous works, The dead speak et Interview with a corpsewhich were a great success, the lawyer who no longer needs to be introduced takes us once again into the twists and turns of the cases that marked his career. With his legendary sympathy and his anecdotes as disturbing as they are fascinating, Dr. Philippe Boxho continues to see his popularity skyrocket.
It is not in the Belgian’s DNA to brag, but this time, Cocoricowe have a doctor that the world envies us. Through his hard work and passion, he was able to change the way an entire nation viewed his profession, and he continues to do so brilliantly.
The man who makes the dead speak
If there is one certainty we have about life, it is that we will not come out alive. Death, both fascinating and frightening, always leaves behind a feeling of confusion and incomprehension, especially when the circumstances of the death remain unknown. Philippe Boxho is one of those rare individuals for whom death has no secrets, although he confesses that it never ceases to surprise him.
To our greatest pleasure, this third work is full of more stories about the deaths of famous people. Fascinating passages to read thanks to the author’s love and passion for History. For the rest, we continue to explore the cases that marked his career. Homicides, suicides, atypical deaths, fires, the deaths follow one another and with them, each time, the same feeling mixed with curiosity and apprehension. Reading about death is not an easy thing; it inevitably confronts us with our own mortality (we confess that we no longer see our stairs in the same way…).
At the end of our reading, it becomes obvious that the personality of the author allowed us to approach these stories with an unexpected lightness. His humor and his distance help us and make us smile. Philippe Boxho undeniably has the art of making the unbearable bearable.
The doctor who loves life
A few years ago, the profession of forensic pathologist aroused more apprehension than fascination. The mere mention of an autopsy was enough to make the blood run cold. Yet, in the space of a few interviews, Dr. Philippe Boxho managed to make forensic science attractive. Better yet, it opened the doors to the legal investigation, larger than life.
Through his stories, we learn a lot about intervention protocols at suspicious death scenes, but we also discover a world populated by various trades who help each other, laugh, advise each other and question each other. We become aware that behind the duty of investigation, there are also men and women sometimes confronted with the worst, but who manage not to forget the value of life, laughter and complicity.
This large family is the one that welcomes loved ones, victims, accused and witnesses. We pass behind a veil, reaching a reality that has until now been completely inaccessible to us. Beyond the always fascinating stories that Dr Boxho tells us, the most remarkable element is that we can see behind the scenes of friendship and mutual aid. A fact all the more necessary when we know the initial struggle of the lawyer to offer his profession a salutary spotlight.
Indeed, Belgium is far away in the ranking of countries practicing legal autopsies. A precariousness of the profession which brings its share of injustices, both for the victims and for the professionals in the field. While awaiting political decisions which would allow our flat country to align itself more closely with European statistics, there is every hope that this new notoriety will allow future lawyers and other justice professionals to obtain the respect and consideration which are owed to them.
Death in the face is still available in bookstores.
