Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #274596 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

An all round good read
After reading a few other books on forensic science, I stumbled upon Hugh Miller. This work has so many good points - not only is it written well and researched, it devotes just the right amount of time to each case. In other "true murder" books, there seems to be a huge descrepancy between the amount of attention a case deserves and what it actually gets. Here, each chapter is a new crime, a new set of colourful characters and, nearly always, a new country. In his search for the most interesting cases, Miller describes murders from across the globe.

Although it may seem strange, there is an uplifting quality about this book. The author has picked cases where justice is served and the conclusion is satisfying. He also manages to keep the stories centred on the people involved, not just the evidence. I would say that this is a great book for anyone who enjoys a good thriller, a murder mystery or someone with an interest in the forensic science involved.

Edge taken off by a simple disclaimer
The stories presented here are intricate yet easy reading, and loaded with technical detail, but only to a point. A disclaimer at the start warns that parts of the book are "products of the author's imagination and/or have been fictionalised". It's quickly and dissapointingly clear where these sections are. Hollywoodised events and technically implausable analyses, they rather undermine the deliciously laid-out sequence of clues. Perhaps some of the analytical miracles are genuine, but the doubt is always there.

That said it's a neat little read and even with my pedantic complaints I kept going back to it. Treat it as a series of short stories presented in a documentary style, appreciate that the techniques have been modified for dramatic purposes, and there's much to enjoy.

Interesting read
This book is very easy to read. The information given on specific methods of forensic science are easy to understand, so is suitable for those without a scientific mind.
As a forensic science student the book is not detailed enough, but I found it interesting. It always surprises me what a person would do to another human being whether intentional or accidental.