Real Crime Scene Investigations by
Connie Fletcher
pbk out August 06
(Summersdale Pub)
at £9.99
Watching crime drama, I spend half my time shouting at the screen that
they've got the psychology wrong. Apparently the same is true of
forensic programmes such as CSI - and this authoritative book puts the
record straight. Eighty American experts tell, in their own voice, about
everything from toxicology to DNA analysis.
The book is divided into themed chapters such as Crime Scene
Interpretation and Trace Evidence, and, within each chapter there's
dozens of quotes from homicide detectives, evidence technicians etc.
Some of the very brief quotes lend little to reader understanding, but the
lengthier ones are absorbing and tell couldn't-make-it-up tales such as the
killer who took his cues from Silence Of The Lambs.
There's also lots of matter-of-fact detail, such as when a toolmark
specialist admits that domestic homicide usually occur in the kitchen or
the bedroom because `most murders are either over money or sex.'
People keep a gun in the bedroom (at least they do in the states!) plus
there are knives in the kitchen, potentially lethal weapons when a couple
starts arguing over their finances at the kitchen table.
Another gem is that a cat will snack on your corpse as soon as it gets
peckish whereas a dog will desist until it's absolutely starving. But fear
not - even your skeleton can yield a great deal of information about your
life and untimely death.
The moral of this book is echoed in the words inscribed over many
medical examiner's offices: Mortuivivos Docent - let the dead teach the
living. So keep watching CSI for the humour and for the socially-inept
Grisham, but be aware that it's tongue-in-cheek entertainment rather than
the truth.
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Real Crime Scene Investigations by
Connie Fletcher
