title: An Undertaker's Diary: Putting you in the same room as Death!
author:  Paul Seymour 
description: Paul Reginald Seymour was born in Erith, Kent (UK) in 1959 and, after an 'uninspiring childhood', he left school without a single qualification to his name. Desperate for work he joined the only profession willing to offer him a job at the time and, at the tender age of 16, became an undertaker for the Co-Operative Funeral Service! In his 7 years 'at the Co-op' Paul saw (and smelt!) things that were to change his life forever. In fact, he was so touched and effected by the terrible things he saw and witnessed that he decided to record some of the more shocking (but often comically tragical) events in a series of diaries which he has now published for the very first time. Paul has won several awards (including the BBC Christmas Poetry Award (2001) and the Short Story Award at the Bexley Competitive Festival of Arts and Literature 2 years in a row) for his unique and 'down to earth' style of writing and has had several books published to date (with an Undertaker's Diary being his third).
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  [![CoverImage](../images/00002.jpeg)](part0003.html#intr_1)
  
  
  
  
  
  [**Begin Reading**](part0002.html)
  
  
  [A Preview of _The Black Echo_](part0032.html)
  
  
  [A Preview of _The Drop_](part0034.html)
  
  
  [About the Author](part0039.html)
  
  
  [Books by Michael Connelly](part0040.html)
  
  
  [Table of Contents](part0041.html)
  
  
  [Copyright Page](part0042.html)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Death is my beat. I make my living from it. I forge my professional reputation
  on it. I treat it with the passion and precision of an undertaker—somber and
  sympathetic about it when I’m with the bereaved, a skilled craftsman with it
  when I’m alone. I’ve always thought the secret of dealing with death was to
  keep it at arm’s length. That’s the rule. Don’t let it breathe in your face.
  
  —from _The Poet_
  
  
  
  
  
  [INTRODUCTION: WATCHING THE DETECTIVES](part0041.html#intr_1)
  
  MOMENTS. It all comes down to moments. I have been watching the detectives for
  more than thirty years. It all started because of a 