To the right listener, they tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died - and who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help justice to be done using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene or the faintest of human traces. Forensics uncovers the secrets of forensic medicine, drawing on interviews with top-level professionals, ground-breaking research and Val McDermid's own experience to lay bare the secrets of this fascinating science. And, along the way, she wonders at 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 uncovered the victims of a genocide.In her crime novels, Val McDermid has been solving complex crimes and confronting unimaginable evil for years. Now, she's looking at the people who do it for real, and real crime scenes. It's a journey that will take her to war zones, fire scenes and autopsy suites, and bring her into contact with extraordinary bravery and wickedness, as she traces the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.

    a Roman doctor named Antistius performed the first autopsy recorded in history—on the corpse of murder victim Julius Caesar. However, not until the nineteenth century did the systematic application of scientific knowledge to crime detection seriously begin, so that the tiniest scrap of evidence might yield astonishing results—like the single horsehair that betrayed the sex murderer in New York's 1936 Nancy Titterton case. In this massive and compelling history of forensic detection, the internationally recognized criminologist Colin Wilson charts the progress of criminalistics from the first attempts at detecting arsenic to the development of an impressive array of such modern techniques as ballistic analysis, blood typing, voice printing, textile analysis, psychological profiling, and genetic fingerprinting. Wilson also explores the alarmingly modern phenomenon of serial sex crime with a discussion of notorious cases that includes Jack the Ripper, Lucie Berlin, Mary Phagan, the Black Dahlia, Charles Manson, and Peter Sutcliffe, the so-called Yorkshire Ripper. Wilson shows how the continual sophistication of forensic detection and the introduction of computerized information retrieval has increasingly stacked the odds against the sex killer. Whatever the case, Written in Blood never fails to enlighten and intrigue.

    Revealing the very latest high-tech techniques of forensic detection, Crime Scene: The Ultimate Guide to Forensic Science is a truly absorbing book that uses case studies and amazing digital imagery to show how science helps uncover the truth about how crimes were committed and who carried them out.

    Then a forensic scientist leads police to the peeled skin from two boiled hands--and the fingerprints that will crack the case.The murder weapon was smashed to smithereensA man was killed by a blow from a bottle. Now, determined investigator carefully puts the pieces of glass back together to catch a kiler--and to carry out a crime of his own...What the corpse revealedOnce detectives solved crimes with shoe leather and a gun. Now they use DNA samples, blood splatters, microbes and psychological profilings. This extraordinary book, through details drawn from some of the most baffling cases of the last fifty years, shows how a new generation fo real-life crime busters is catching stalkers, poisoners, mass murderers, and assassins--through the astounding art of forensic science.

    These are the true crime shockers that have grabbed headlines and aroused public passions. David Owen explains the scientific procedures that helped crack every one of these cases -- from the gathering of elusive physical clues to the examination of weapons and bodies, to the use of sophisticated scientific analysis. Threaded throughout the book is the history of forensic science and the technologies that support it, including: fingerprinting, autopsies, handwriting analysis, ballistics, hair sampling, blood typing, DNA testing, dental records, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, compound and electron microscopes, and toxicology. The high-profile cases David Owen used to illustrate forensic developments are from as early as 1775, when Paul Revere used dentures to identify a slain soldier, to the latest developments in the Oklahoma bombing. Most will be familiar to readers, such as: The Lindbergh Kidnapping, Pan Am Flight 103, The Kennedy Investigation, The Hitler Diaries, Wayne Williams, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey MacDonald, Dr. Josef Mengele, Robert Maxwell's suicide, Tsar Nicholas II, and The World Trade Center bombing. David Owen presents the facts, steering clear of speculation. Comprehensive in scope, thoroughly researched and expertly compiled, Hidden Evidence is, in the words of former Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas T. Noguchi, "a fascinating book ... [and] an excellent mini-encyclopedia of widely discussed, high-profile cases."

    Dr. Wecht takes the reader inside some of the nation's most bizarre and intriguing medico-legal investigations and shows how forensic scientists help to solve crimes, and why they sometimes fail in their efforts. His vast experience and his willingness to take on the establishment if necessary and provide proof that runs counter to popular opinion make this book a page-turner.

    William Maples can deduce the age, gender, and ethnicity of a murder victim, the manner in which the person was dispatched, and, ultimately, the identity of the killer.  In Dead Men Do Tell Tales, Dr. Maples revisits his strangest, most interesting, and most horrific investigations, from the baffling cases of conquistador Francisco Pizarro and Vietnam MIAs to the mysterious deaths of President Zachary Taylor and the family of Czar Nicholas II.

    Bill Bass, one of the world's leading forensic anthropologists, gained international attention when he built a forensic lab like no other: The Body Farm. Now, this master scientist unlocks the gates of his lab to reveal his most intriguing cases-and to revisit the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, fifty years after the fact.

     His name was Bernard Spilsbury-and, through his use of cutting-edge science, he single-handedly brought criminal investigations into the modern age. Starting out as a young, charismatic physician in early twentieth-century Britain, Spilsbury hit the English justice system-and the front pages-like a cannonball, garnering a reputation as a real-life Sherlock Holmes. He uncovered evidence others missed, stood above his peers in the field of crime reconstruction, exposed discrepancies between witness testimony and factual evidence, and most importantly, convicted dozens of murderers with hard-nosed, scientific proof. This is the fascinating story of the life and work of Bernard Spilsbury, history's greatest medical detective-and of the cases that not only made him a celebrity, but also inspired the astonishing science of criminal investigation in our own time.

    "Katherine Ramsland has brilliantly captured the insights and drama of some fascinating cases" (Dr. Henry Lee) in her previous bestselling books. Now she examines the case histories of twelve of the most notorious serial killers of the last one hundred years, and answers the questions: What clues did they leave behind? How were they eventually caught? How was each twist and turn of their crimes matched by the equally compelling weapons of science and logic? From exploring the nineteenth century's earliest investigative tools to remarkable twenty-first century CSI advances, The Devil's Dozen provides a fascinating window into the world of those who kill-and those who dedicate their lives to bringing them to justice.

    See the gory details of each crime and how it was solved, with renowned quotes and detailed criminal profiles letting you delve into the criminal mind.The Crime Book looks at the big ideas and concepts in criminology spanning from pirates, kidnapping and political plots to modern con artists, serial killers and rogue traders, including the Black Dahlia investigation, the Mississippi Scheme, and the notorious Jeffrey Dahmer.The Crime Book is the perfect introduction to law enforcement and criminology across history's most infamous crimes.

    How do you identify a serial killer?What are the tell-tale signs of guilt?Can we now solve the unsolvable?Since even before the first season of Silent Witness in 1996, forensic science has played an increasingly important role in the investigation of violent crimes.With a boom in cold-blooded cases throughout the 1980s, police began to rely on DNA evidence to help them find perpetrators and since then forensic science has taken off as a powerful tool in solving murders. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us beyond the headlines to examine the real-life stories where forensics have played a crucial role. He speaks to experts who have worked on the most gruesome, most chilling and most shocking crime scenes and explains how notorious criminal cases from across the world were solved.And he shows how the silent witness is often the one who screams the loudest.

     With its clear explanations, this book is intended as a guide and reference to forensic techniques for true crime readers, mystery fans, arm-chair sleuths, front-line police officers, criminal attorneys, journalists, and crime authors. This encyclopedic book is a must read for any true crime aficionado.  "In 'Forensic Analysis and DNA in Criminal Investigations: Including Cold Cases Solved' bestselling true crime author RJ Parker takes the reader on an exciting tour behind the scenes and into the laboratory of forensic science. The book offers a fascinating history of forensic science and its key contributors. As always, Parker keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat as he explains how forensic science and DNA analysis helped to solve complex and confounding cold cases. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the evolving science of criminal investigations. A fascinating book!" --Dr. Scott Bonn author of 'Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World's Most Savage Murderers' Also available in Paperback and Audiobook editions Dr. RJ Parker, Ph.D is an award-winning and bestselling true crime author and publisher of RJ Parker Publishing. Inc. He has written 22 true crime books which are available in eBook, paperback and audiobook editions and have sold in over 100 countries. He holds Certifications in Serial Crime and Criminal Profiling. Parker amazes his readers with top notch writing and idealist research. The Canadian writer has a better grasp of criminology and the psyche of a serial killer's mind than most people who spend a lifetime in a professional field chasing criminals and diabolic fiends. ---------- Dr. Peter Vronsky, Ph.D is an author, filmmaker and investigative historian. He is the author of two definitive bestselling books on the history and psychopathology of serial homicide, Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters (2004) and Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters (2007). Vronsky is also a historian of espionage, insurgency and military history. His most recent book is Ridgeway : The American Fenian Invasion and the Forgotten 1866 Battle that Made Canada (Penguin Books: 2011) an investigative account of the hidden history of Canada's first modern battle and the Irish Fenian insurgency.

    At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as "The Killer of Little Shepherds," terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years--until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era's most renowned criminologist. The two men--intelligent and bold--typified the Belle Epoque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science's promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition. With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher's infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher's crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer's arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacher's defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne's efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement. "The Killer of Little Shepherds" is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.

    Authorities quickly arrest the infant's teenage parents, charging them with murder. Did Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson, in fact, murder their own baby? Tammy Wynette died suddenly at a relatively young age, and yet no autopsy was performed? Was someone trying to hide the real cause of death? Did Sam Sheppard (later dubbed "The Fugitive" based on a television series) really kill his wife? And if not, who committed the murder?Things are not always as they appear, as world-renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht shows in this riveting behind-the-scenes look at nine famous cases. In the nationally known baby case involving Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson, Dr. Wecht reviews the evidence and comes to a startling conclusion. In fascinating detail, he demonstrates how the tools of forensic pathology often uncover murky, long-hidden secrets that crack seemingly unsolvable crimes. Writing in the first-person Dr. Wecht leads you into the heart of the investigation, focusing each chapter on a single engrossing drama. He reveals the most startling evidence that shows why JonBenet Ramsey's killer most likely came from within her home, why O.J. Simpson probably had an accomplice in the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, shocking revelations about Robert Berdella's grisly torture and sex-abuse crimes against young men, and many intriguing facts about other infamous cases.If you find the fictional plots of such dramas as C.S.I. exciting, you will be amazed by the true stories told by Dr. Wecht, with the help of two top-flight veteran reporters, Greg Saitz and Mark Curriden, in this amazing real-life thriller. As this intriguing page-turner proves, the science of forensic pathology has changed the face of detective work forever.