Teasing Secrets From The Dead

Teasing Secrets from the Dead is a front-lines story of crime scene investigation at some of the most infamous sites in recent history. In this absorbing, surprising, and undeniably compelling book, forensics expert Emily Craig tells her own story of a life spent teasing secrets from the dead. Emily Craig has been a witness to history, helping to seek justice for thousands of murder victims, both famous and unknown. It’s a personal story that you won’t soon forget. Emily first became intrigued by forensics work when, as a respected medical illustrator, she was called in by the local police to create a model of a murder victim’s face. Her fascination with that case led to a dramatic midlife career change: She would go back to school to become a forensic anthropologist—and one of the most respected and best-known “bone hunters” in the nation. As a student working with the FBI in Waco, Emily helped uncover definitive proof that many of the Branch Davidians had been shot to death before the fire, including their leader, David Koresh, whose bullet-pierced skull she reconstructed with her own hands. Upon graduation, Emily landed a prestigious full-time job as forensic anthropologist for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a state with an alarmingly high murder rate and thousands of square miles of rural backcountry, where bodies are dumped and discovered on a regular basis. But even with her work there, Emily has been regularly called to investigations across the country, including the site of the terrorist attack on the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, where a mysterious body part—a dismembered leg—was found at the scene and did not match any of the known victims. Through careful scientific analysis, Emily was able to help identify the leg’s owner, a pivotal piece of evidence that helped convict Timothy McVeigh. In September 2001, Emily received a phone call summoning her to New York City, where she directed the night-shift triage at the World Trade Center’s body identification site, collaborating with forensics experts from all over the country to collect and identify the remains of September 11 victims. From the biggest news stories of our time to stranger-than-true local mysteries, these are unforgettable stories from the case files of Emily Craig’s remarkable career.

Teasing Secrets from the Dead is a front-lines story of crime scene investigation at some of the most infamous sites in recent history. In this absorbing, surprising, and undeniably compelling book, forensics expert Emily Craig tells her own story of a life spent teasing secrets from the dead. Emily Craig has been a witness to history, helping to seek justice for thousands of murder victims, both famous and unknown. It’s a personal story that you won’t soon forget. Emily first became intrigued by forensics work when, as a respected medical illustrator, she was called in by the local police to create a model of a murder victim’s face. Her fascination with that case led to a dramatic midlife career change: She would go back to school to become a forensic anthropologist—and one of the most respected and best-known “bone hunters” in the nation. As a student working with the FBI in Waco, Emily helped uncover definitive proof that many of the Branch Davidians had been shot to death before the fire, including their leader, David Koresh, whose bullet-pierced skull she reconstructed with her own hands. Upon graduation, Emily landed a prestigious full-time job as forensic anthropologist for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a state with an alarmingly high murder rate and thousands of square miles of rural backcountry, where bodies are dumped and discovered on a regular basis. But even with her work there, Emily has been regularly called to investigations across the country, including the site of the terrorist attack on the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, where a mysterious body part—a dismembered leg—was found at the scene and did not match any of the known victims. Through careful scientific analysis, Emily was able to help identify the leg’s owner, a pivotal piece of evidence that helped convict Timothy McVeigh. In September 2001, Emily received a phone call summoning her to New York City, where she directed the night-shift triage at the World Trade Center’s body identification site, collaborating with forensics experts from all over the country to collect and identify the remains of September 11 victims. From the biggest news stories of our time to stranger-than-true local mysteries, these are unforgettable stories from the case files of Emily Craig’s remarkable career.

One recent skeleton among ancient bones raises questions—and danger—for forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan in this newly repackaged thriller from New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs. Tempe Brennan is stuck teaching an archaeology field school for students at UNCC in Charleston, South Carolina. When she stumbles upon a recent skeleton among the ancient bones, she starts asking questions. She’s the expert they might have called in, but lucky for the local police she's already there. The skeleton leads her to a free street clinic where patients have begun to go missing, and some have wound up dead. What is going on and who is to blame? The charismatic televangelist who oversees the clinic? The shady doctor who practices there? Or is it the clinic staff? Ryan is in Montreal, though he may come down for a visit. If he does, Tempe will have to juggle him and Detective Galiano, an old flame, who is in town investigating the disappearance of wealthy young woman. This is a phenomenally high stakes business where one dead body can save a couple of lives, maybe more. Along with the corpses, Tempe investigates the sick moral logic of the mastermind behind the operation. Kathy Reichs has returned Tempe to America and put her in the middle of a sinister trafficking ring that's local and global. The suspense is intense, and the world is riveting. Kathy Reichs’s books are expert, smart, with a taut energy, and this is her best plot and best writing ever.

Published ten years after the genocide in Rwanda, The Bone Woman is a riveting, deeply personal account by a forensic anthropologist sent on seven missions by the UN War Crimes Tribunal. To prosecute charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, the UN needs proof that the bodies found are those of non-combatants. This means answering two questions: who the victims were, and how they were killed. The only people who can answer both these questions are forensic anthropologists. Before being sent to Rwanda in 1996, Clea Koff was a twenty-three-year-old graduate student studying prehistoric skeletons in the safe confines of Berkeley, California. Over the next four years, her gruelling investigation into events that shocked the world transformed her from a wide-eyed student into a soul-weary veteran — and a wise and deeply thoughtful woman. Her unflinching account of those years — what she saw, how it affected her, who went to trial based on evidence she collected — makes for an unforgettable read, alternately riveting, frightening and miraculously hopeful. Readers join Koff as she comes face to face with the human meaning of genocide: exhuming almost five hundred bodies from a single grave in Kibuye, Rwanda; uncovering the wire-bound wrists of Srebrenica massacre victims in Bosnia; disinterring the body of a young man in southwestern Kosovo as his grandfather looks on in silence. As she recounts the fascinating details of her work, the hellish working conditions, the bureaucracy of the UN, and the heartbreak of survivors, Koff imbues her story with an immense sense of hope, humanity and justice.

From a skeleton, a skull, a mere fragment of burnt thighbone, prominent forensic anthropologist Dr. 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.

“Fans of the forensics-oriented novels of such mystery writers as Kathy Reichs and Patricia Cornwell...not to mention television series like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, will make an eager audience for this one.”—Booklist On a patch of land in the Tennessee hills, human corpses decompose in the open air, aided by insects, bacteria, and birds, unhindered by coffins or mausoleums. This is Bill Bass’s “Body Farm,” where nature takes its course as bodies buried in shallow graves, submerged in water, or locked in car trunks serve the needs of science and the cause of justice. In Death’s Acre, Bass invites readers on an unprecedented journey behind the gates of the Body Farm where he revolutionized forensic anthropology. A master scientist and an engaging storyteller, Bass reveals his most intriguing cases for the first time. He revisits the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, explores the mystery of a headless corpse whose identity astonished police, divulges how the telltale traces of an insect sent a murderous grandfather to death row—and much more. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

THE MUST-READ MULTIMILLION BESTSELLING MYSTERY SERIES • Everyone is talking about A Good Girl's Guide to Murder! With shades of Serial and Making a Murderer this is the story about an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an ending you'll never expect. Everyone in Fairview knows the story. Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town. But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer? Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger. And don't miss the sequel, Good Girl, Bad Blood! "The perfect nail-biting mystery." —Natasha Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author

‘WOW – I am absolutely blown away… this book really, really got under my skin. I feel slightly dizzy now and need a lie-down with a soft pillow and lots of chocolate.’ Goodreads reviewer ‘OMFG this is Barbara Copperthwaite’s best book yet!! … just blew everything else out of the water. Seriously. This book had me on edge…my poor nerves were shattered. Buy it, read it, love it!’ Goodreads reviewer ‘Gripped from page one until the very end…A great rollercoaster of a story!! Wow, wow, wow!! Five stars!!’ Stardust Book Reviews Some secrets you can never tell. Everyone thinks the Thomases are the perfect family: grand London house, gorgeous kids. They don’t know wife Dominique is a paranoid wreck. They don’t know husband Ben is trapped in a web of deceit. They don’t know daughter Ruby lives in fear of the next abusive text. But someone knows all their secrets. Can the lies that bind them tear them apart? A gripping psychological thriller that will have you holding your breath until the very last page. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train will be hooked. See what readers are saying about Her Last Secret: ‘OMG… I was well and truly hooked… had me guessing right until the very end!… I am blown away. I cannot recommend this enough… without a doubt a must read’ Chelle’s Book Reviews ‘OH MY WORD! This is a fantastic read!...intense and terrifying…an absolutely gripping read. I was totally immersed…Outstanding, I highly recommend!’ Chat About Books ‘Thrilling and captivating! A tangled web of lies and secrets is masterfully woven in this psychological thriller…I was hooked right from page one… a big fat 5 stars from me, I totally recommend this book.’ Bonnie’s Book Talk ‘An enthralling read that draws you in the further you get into it whilst getting darker and darker. Totally jaw dropping stuff. Loved it’ By The Letter Book Reviews ‘Her Last Secret is a dark, unsettling and addictive read that will reel you in and keep you hooked from the very first page.’ Brew and Books Review ‘Shocking, breath taking, gripping and heart-breaking, at one point I was almost in tears. I absolutely loved this well-written, emotional roller coaster, the twists in the story keep you hooked, trying to work out what happened that night. Highly recommended.’ Nicki’s Life of Crime ‘I loved everything about this book from beginning to end… It's with books like this that I wish I could read faster than I do. A simply terrific read.’ Goodreads reviewer ‘This book absolutely consumed me from start to finish and even when I wasn't reading it i was thinking about it. It is totally gripping and there were so many twists my head was spinning – an absolutely fantastic read!’ Goodreads reviewer ‘What a book! I genuinely think this is one of the best books I've ever read, I sat and read it in one go. I couldn't guess how it was going to end and didn't anticipate the epilogue. A gripping page turner that had me in tears towards the end.’ Goodreads reviewer ‘I'm still open mouthed at the finale. It was so cleverly crafted…this book is compelling, unputdownable…if you are a fan of books that surprise you, then this is the book for you.’ Rachel’s Random Reads ‘This book had me gripped from the very first few pages…This really was a page turner - you are desperate to read more.’ Bookworms and Shutterbugs ‘Absolutely superb, she's only gone and done it again - did NOT want to put this book down!!’ Donna’s Book Blog