The Real Silent Witnesses

Going beyond the popular TV show, this is the true story of forensic science from those who solve crimes without witnesses. 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 A FOREWORD BY NIGEL McCRERY, CREATOR OF SILENT WITNESS Going beyond the popular TV show, this is the true story of forensic science from those who solve crimes without witnesses. 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.

Crime novelist and former police officer Nigel McCrery provides an account of all the major areas of forensic science from around the world over the past two centuries. The book weaves dramatic narrative and scientific principles together in a way that allows readers to figure out crimes along with the experts. Readers are introduced to such fascinating figures as Dr. Edmond Locard, the "French Sherlock Holmes"; Edward Heinrich, "Wizard of Berkeley," who is credited with having solved more than 2,000 crimes; and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle, "no two individuals share the same characteristics," became the core of criminal identification. Landmark crime investigations examined in depth include a notorious murder involving blood evidence and defended by F. Lee Bailey, the seminal 1936 murder that demonstrated the usefulness of the microscope in examining trace evidence, the 1849 murder of a wealthy Boston businessman that demonstrated how difficult it is to successfully dispose of a corpse, and many others.

"It is a fascinating story, and makes for a thoroughly good read." —The Guardian "A convincing and readable history of a science defined by the simple maxim: 'Every contact leaves a trace.'" —The Times Silent Witnesses explores the fascinating progression of forensic science over the last two centuries. In accessible and entertaining prose, former police officer Nigel McCrery weaves together dramatic narrative and scientific principles to explain the major areas of forensics, including ballistics, fiber analysis, and genetic fingerprinting, with reference to the cases and experts that proved their value. Readers are introduced to such fascinating figures as Dr. Edmond Locard, the "French Sherlock Holmes"; Edward Heinrich, who is credited with having solved over 2,000 crimes; and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle, "no two individuals share the same characteristics," became the core of criminal identification. Landmark crime investigations examined in depth include a notorious Ohio murder involving blood evidence and defended by F. Lee Bailey; the 1936 murder of a promising Manhattan novelist that demonstrated the usefulness of the microscope in examining trace evidence; the 1849 murder of a wealthy Boston socialite, businessman, and philanthropist demonstrating how difficult it is to successfully dispose of a corpse, and many others. Nigel McCrery was a police officer before he joined the BBC in 1990. There he has worked on a number of documentaries and created various series, including the crime/forensics drama Silent Witness. He is the author of several crime novels, including Still Waters.

Crime Scene Asia is a casebook written by award winning Australian Author Liz Porter of fascinating true stories throughout Asia. Its opening case begins when the body of a woman is found in a Singapore nature park. Nobody has reported her missing. Nobody knows who she is. The only clue to her identity is a set of tiny numbers etched into a series of implants in her teeth. Police door-knock the dentists of Singapore until they find the one who treated her. Then, following a trail of numbers called from her phone, they unmask her killer. In another case, set 300 kms away, in Kuala Lumpur, a married man is arrested for the murder of his mistress. Police are adamant that he is her killer. But the man’s lawyer can point to forensic evidence that tells a different story altogether. Meanwhile one of the book’s Hong Kong cases tells the story of a humble truck driver facing jail for his apparent involvement in a bombing plot allegedly masterminded by two of the former British colony’s most notorious gangsters. Then the evidence of a forensic scientist sets him free.

Explores how working-class identity in documentary photography and radical literature of the 1930s and 1940s has been repressed and manipulated to fit the expectations of liberal politicians, radical authors, Marxist historians, feminist academics, and contemporary cultural theories. Work analyzed includes photography by Dorothea Lange and Marion Post Wolcott, and writing by Meridel Le Sueur. Work by Esther Bublet and Tillie Olsen is examined to suggest how working- class female identity might be represented in more complicated ways. Includes bandw photos. Paper edition (unseen), $24.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A thrilling debut novel from a real life forensic scientist. SILENT WITNESS. A shocking crime sends the Seattle Police Department searching for answers. Jack Peterson, a decorated Detective, has been shot and is clinging to life. His wife has been murdered. There seems to be more questions than answers as the department struggles to deal with the loss of one of their own.Detective Harriet MacAllister, a Spokane police officer, is called in to uncover the forensic clues. Battling against forces both inside and outside the department, Harriet digs into Jack's life, finding that there may be more to the story than anyone realises and the killer might be closer than she thinks. Can she stop the killer before it's too late or will she become yet another victim?