Product Description

Without sensationalism but with a generous dusting of dark forensic humour David Bowen writes of the trial-making and breaking clues he uncovered during his 40 years as one of London's key forensic pathologists. Following in the footsteps of pioneers such as Bernard Spilsbury and Keith Simpson, it was Bowen who was the first to identify the true nature of the 'chicken bones' found in Dennis Nilsen's drain after a complaint by his neighbour and it was Bowen who led the investigation into the grisly contents of the black rubbish bags found in Nilsen's home. 'On Wednesday, 9th February, 1983 I was in the cutting-up room looking at some fixed tissues from a case. It was mid morning. "Mr Jay to see you Prof," said the departmental secretary. He had bought me several strips of skin to examine. After our short conference Mr Jay returned to north London to await the arrival from work of a Mr Nilsen.'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #966486 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Bowen is a highly distinguished forensic pathologist. In a career spanning more than 40 years he has assisted in the investigation of some infamous high-profile crimes: from the IRA bombing in the City of London in 1992, to the serial murders committed by Dennis Nilsen and the mysterious death of Roberto Calvi. Sub-titled 'What forensic testing revealed on some famous and infamous cases', his book is indeed fascinatingly revealing about the detail of particular investigations. But it's also more than that, combining a well-written personal memoir with an incidental history of the recent development of forensics. Some of it, inevitably, makes for pretty gruesome reading. What distinguishes Bowen's from similar 'True Crime' books published of late is his depth of knowledge, combined with a responsible lack of sensationalism.

About the Author
David Bowen is Emeritus Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of London. Born in 1924, he first worked under the late Donald Teare and went on to set up the Department of Forensic Medicine at Charing Cross Hospital Medical School.

Customer Reviews

Sloppy Evidence
The book is not as interesting as others of similar type. The style is monotonous and there are several factual errors.

e.g. (page 71) garrotte is said to be an Indian word, from a gang called the garrotters. Garotte was a Spanish method of execution. The author is thinking of the Indian gang called thugee, who garrotted people and who gave rise to the word thug.

(pages 159-160) Of the killer, Barden, it says (p.159) "a jury found him guilty of murder and he was sentenced to life imprisonment", but on the next page he "pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was acquitted of murder. He received an eight-year prison sentence". They can't both be correct.

(page 210) "such earlier multiple-murder cases as those of Crippen, Ruxton, Haigh, Heath and Christie." Crippen killed only his wife, Buck Ruxton killed his wife and nursemaid - hardly multiple murders!

I hope David Bowen was more sure of his facts in court than he was in this book.

Excellent - interesting and humorous!
This book was most fascinating; the description of the murders and how pathology unravels the mysteries of the murder scene, so suggest things aren't what they seem. The author has a very dry humour which, made it difficult for me to put this book down.