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Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell Us About Crime Paperback – April 5, 2016

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,137 ratings

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In the course of researching her best-selling books, McDermid has become familiar with many branches of forensics, and now she uncovers the history of this science and the people who make sure that for murderers, there is no hiding place. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help serve justice using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces. Now available in paperback, Forensics goes behind the scenes with some of these top-level professionals and their groundbreaking research, drawing on original interviews and firsthand experience on scene with top forensic scientists. Along the way, we discover how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine time of death; how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer; and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist were able to uncover the victims of a genocide. The journey takes us to war zones, fire scenes, and autopsy suites, reveals both extraordinary bravery and true wickedness, as we trace the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.

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1989 1979 STILL LIFE RESISTANCE BROKEN GROUND
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Allie Burns has become an editor with the Cold War and AIDS crisis delivering nonstop news. When murder is added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties. Investigative journalist Allie Burns looks into the murder of a friend and fellow journalist during the upheaval of 1979 A propulsive Karen Pirie thriller that delves into a historic missing persons case, fake identities, and art forgery A propulsive Karen Pirie thriller that delves into a historic missing persons case, fake identities, and art forgery A shocking Karen Pirie novel about a mysterious corpse and a fight for the truth

Editorial Reviews

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Praise for Forensics:

“McDermid’s entertaining foray into nonfiction . . . offers fascinating glimpses into the grisly crime-scene investigation arena . . . McDermid brings the same pleasurable, scrupulous attention to detail and highly visual descriptions to Forensics as she does to her fiction.”—Boston Globe

“Fascinating . . . A gripping history of the anatomy of crime. Each of the chapters—which examine themes such as fire scene investigation, toxicology, fingerprinting, DNA and blood splatter and facial reconstruction—contains a wealth of surprising information. . . . If McDermid is ever stuck for inspiration for her novels she could do worse than turn to her own book of the dead for inspiration.”—The Independent (UK)

“An energetic, eye-opening work of reporting by the distinguished Scottish crime novelist Val McDermid . . . Real-world forensics is no less fascinating than fiction—and perhaps just the opposite . . . McDermid, a former newspaper journalist and bureau chief, has her reporter hat on this time. The result is clear-eyed, vigorous, unpretentious and mesmerizing . . . Thanks to McDermid’s resolute curiosity, every page of Forensics has astonishing stuff.”—The Seattle Times

“McDermid examines the creativity of forensic experts through the analytic techniques they apply to real-life crime . . . McDermid has not lost her early journalistic genius for telling a good story plainly and with passion.”—Times Saturday Review (UK)

“Fascinating . . . Val McDermid is one of the most skilled of crime writers and she has gone a step beyond killing by writing with crisp authority on the facts that lie behind gruesome events.”—The Washington Times

“[McDermid] burrows into the wild history of forensics, interviewing top scientists and culling from innovative research to explain practices like using maggots to calculate time of death.”—Entertainment Weekly (“Brainy & Brilliant Beach Books”)

“Our fascination with crime has spawned libraries of books and years of TV programming. Val McDermid is a major player in the genre . . . She has now written a guide to criminal forensics that is every bit as compelling as the best of the fictional genre. She combines science with the macabre, from the Great Fire of London to some of the most sensational trials of recent times.” —The Irish Times

“In charting the ‘astonishing leaps’ that forensic science has made over the past two centuries, McDermid provides a grimly absorbing account of crime and its detection.”—The Observer (UK)

“[McDermid] approaches the grisly realities of crime scenes and corpses with a neophyte’s sense of wonder . . . A satisfying insider’s excursion into the scientific realities behind CSI-style pop culture.”—Kirkus Reviews

“McDermid’s deep dives into history and science add substance. She does a commendable job of explaining some timely issues, such as the use of mega-data in digital forensics and the latest controversies about forensic DNA . . . An enjoyable read . . . It will certainly please readers of McDermid’s novels, who will want to have her take on the subject.”—The Washington Post

“Gruesomely fascinating . . . Fans of McDermid’s fiction will gain a greater understanding of where her ideas come from.”—Publishers Weekly

“McDermid would make a good doctor, managing to be clinically precise but engaging at the same time. . . . Drawing on interrogative skills learned from her first career as a journalist, the result is a highly readable, eye-opening account of the way in which criminals have slowly had their wings clipped and their getaways thwarted over the past hundred and more years.”—The Herald (Scotland)

About the Author

A former journalist and Northern Bureau Chief of a national UK tabloid, Val McDermid is the best-selling author of thirty novels, three story collections, and another non-fiction book called A Suitable Job for a Woman, an inside look at female private investigators. She has received numerous awards recognizing her exceptional career, including the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing and the Pioneer Award from Lambda Literary. She lives in Scotland.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; Reprint edition (April 5, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802125158
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802125156
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,137 ratings

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Val McDermid
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Val McDermid is a number one bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than forty languages, and have sold over eighteen million copies. She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009, was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2010 and received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award in 2011. In 2016, Val received the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and in 2017 received the DIVA Literary Prize for Crime, and was elected a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Val has served as a judge for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, and was Chair of the Wellcome Book Prize in 2017. She is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford. She writes full-time and divides her time between Edinburgh and East Neuk of Fife.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
3,137 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides insightful and interesting information about forensics. They describe it as an enjoyable read with well-researched content and clear writing that makes the subject understandable. The book is described as an entry-level text that offers a great prose introduction to the subject.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

57 customers mention "Information quality"54 positive3 negative

Customers find the book's information insightful and interesting. They appreciate the British perspective and scientific advances in forensics. The book provides a good overview of the challenges and concepts through relevant criminal case histories. Readers mention it's useful for learning about the various applications and techniques of forensics, and the historical background clarifies the development of forensics as a modern criminologist tool.

"...including the U.S. and ultimately it’s pretty useful for learning about the various applications and techniques of forensics, why they are important..." Read more

"...However, I have learned a great deal of entirely new and mind-boggling information from McDermid's work, especially how the UK's forensics networks..." Read more

"...ground here about crime from a British perspective - a good overview of scientific advances available to homicide investigators as of circa 2014...." Read more

"...It organized the topics into concise sections as well. I enjoyed it and recommend reading it!" Read more

47 customers mention "Readability"47 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and interesting. They appreciate the well-researched and thorough content. The author's rigor is appreciated, and the book provides a detailed review of various aspects of forensics.

"...An amazing read if you want an introduction to forensics and how they work" Read more

"...This is such an easy-to-read, page-turning book. She includes photographs as well...." Read more

"Great product" Read more

"...to a few interesting cases throughout the history and I found it enjoyable enough...." Read more

30 customers mention "Readable writing"24 positive6 negative

Customers find the book's writing clear and enjoyable. They say it provides a good introduction to the subject, making it understandable. The author paints a vivid picture with crime stories and forensic science. It is an entry-level text that is not overly technical and provides a great overview of various methods used to bring criminals to justice.

"I really enjoyed this book. Firstly, it was well written, & didn't dumb down the material but DID make it accessible...." Read more

"The book is nice enough to read but the subtitle is a bit misleading...." Read more

"...And it’s very readable." Read more

"This is an entry level text, which offers about the same amount of information as if you sat down and watched a season or two of a police procedural..." Read more

They always leave something behind, take something with them or both...
4 out of 5 stars
They always leave something behind, take something with them or both...
Val does a great job taking us on a journer threw the world of firend sick science! Very enlightening!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2023
    Regardless of it being based in the UK it sheds light on other places including the U.S. and ultimately it’s pretty useful for learning about the various applications and techniques of forensics, why they are important, how they can be used, and how they may tie together to provide information. Also the book shows incorrect applications and the importance of taking certain forensic methodologies with a grain of salt. An amazing read if you want an introduction to forensics and how they work
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2018
    I'm a huge fan of non-fiction forensics, so I've read a few books in the genre. However, I have learned a great deal of entirely new and mind-boggling information from McDermid's work, especially how the UK's forensics networks differ from the United States. This is such an easy-to-read, page-turning book. She includes photographs as well. A few missed periods and spelling errors (can get a bit distracting) which I attributed to editing rather than the author, but otherwise I would recommend this to anyone interested in pathology, forensics, or even true crime.
    23 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017
    Ms McDermid covers a lot of forensic ground here about crime from a British perspective - a good overview of scientific advances available to homicide investigators as of circa 2014. However, it took me an over-long time to finish reading Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime due to the ever-present, startlingly realistic images of FLIES on every other page. I realize of course that flies yield up serious evidence regarding the various stages of decomposition but these distracting reminders of the way of all flesh often gave me pause and prevented me from steadily turning pages. I kept thinking of what Emily Dickinson once wrote: "I heard a fly buzz when I died."
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024
    Great product
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2021
    I really enjoyed this book. Firstly, it was well written, & didn't dumb down the material but DID make it accessible. Secondly it showed flaws in the system and how much we need to improve, and how we overestimate what crime labs need to do to prove things. (DNA tests aren't for every crime!) It organized the topics into concise sections as well. I enjoyed it and recommend reading it!
    13 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016
    The book is nice enough to read but the subtitle is a bit misleading. You will learn no forensic techniques here - it is just an overview of what is realistic to expect from forensics at this time (written in 2015.). That said, it contains references to a few interesting cases throughout the history and I found it enjoyable enough. I recommend it for a general "getting to know about" forensics adventure but do not expect too much details or a manual on how to start studying forensics...
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2022
    As a long time fan of the CSI and NCIS series, I welcome this summary of the actual development of forensic science, both the successes and the failures. I think this has given me a more realistic view of its capabilities and limitations. And it’s very readable.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2016
    This is an entry level text, which offers about the same amount of information as if you sat down and watched a season or two of a police procedural drama. I had a distinct impression that I was following a passionate curator through a museum. Ms. McDermid draws us in and intrigues us with the histories and capabilities of various investigative techniques, while having the diligence and courage to temper those tales with knowledge of their shortcomings.

    There's significant value in the author's rigor, but this book left me wanting. Some of this is likely my fault because I'd prefer to wander through the reeds of minutiae of each specialty. At least a little bit it's because the author doesn't very well wrap up each segment, so I had a bunch of "What happened after that?!" moments.

    'Forensics' does serve as a launchpad for further reading, and for that reason I'll probably suggest it to others with relevant interests.
    29 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • EMrc
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ótimo livro.
    Reviewed in Brazil on May 24, 2022
    Ótimo livro, em perfeito estado. Chegou exatamente no dia marcado. Amei
  • mariska stevens
    5.0 out of 5 stars volledig en toegankelijk
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on November 9, 2023
    Goede verhandeling over de aspecten van forensisch bewijs. De voor en nadelen worden helder uitgelegd en de geschiedenis goed beschreven. Een toegankelijk boek, van belang voor iedere schrijver van thrillers of detectives.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
    Reviewed in Canada on August 4, 2019
    I am a teenager and many other crime books are not appropriate or too gory for my age, but this book was not! It was not a difficult read, it was easy to understand. I learned a lot about the many branches of Forensics through this book. Overall very educational and a good price.
  • anirac
    5.0 out of 5 stars Molt interessant , amb molta informació i exemples!
    Reviewed in Spain on January 3, 2018
    El llibre està molt ben escrit i és molt entretingut, t'enganxa en un moment ; està organitzat en capítols sobre els diferents aspectes de la ciència forense amb exemples i anècdotes reals molt interessant....A més si ets un fan de CSI i similars serveix de contrapunt a alguns dels procediments que apareixen a aquestes sèries, on tothom sap de tot i on es resol en pocs dies qualsevol investigació.....
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in India on April 7, 2016
    Excellent book on Forensics. All disciplines of Forensic are covered comprehensively.