Сам или помогли? Как криминалисты раскрыли 50 «идеальных» убийств

by Stephen A. Koehler

Любое преступление оставляет следы. Задача криминалиста — найти и разгадать их, и для этого в арсенале профессионалов есть инструменты и приемы, помогающие вывести на чистую воду даже самых хитрых, жестоких и изворотливых преступников. Вас ждет пошаговое изучение 50 «идеальных» преступлений, широко освещавшихся в мировой прессе и раскрытых исключительно благодаря опыту, мастерству и таланту криминалистов. Вы узнаете увлекательные подробности об отпечатках пальцев, оттисках инструментов и самых разных следах, о ДНК, брызгах крови, баллистике, ядах и наркотиках, а также анализе почерка и голоса. В каждой главе рассматриваются различные виды доказательств и методы, используемые для обнаружения анализа улик. Авторы книги рассказывают, как складывается обычный рабочий день сотрудников отдела криминалистики.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Science, Crime, Mystery

172 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Nadia]

Название книги вводит в заблуждение. Кажется, что рассказ в ней должен идти о 50 преступлениях, которые обставленны так, чтоыб выглядеть несчастными случаями или же вовсе самоубийствами, но на самом деле в каждой истории идет упор на те или иные типы улик, которые помогли детективам / криминалистам доказать вину преступника.
Для человека, который много лет читал детективы и смотрел процедуалы, в этой книге будет мало каких-то открытий, но написано интересно, а "примеры из жизни" показывают, как развивались методы сбора и обработки всевозможных улик.
Книга довольно поверхностная, но это было ясно уже из объема.

[Angela]

The science-y sections were suspect, with some truly bogus information, but the case studies were interesting. Find another book if you want an overview of the Forensic world.

[Tara]

This is a perfectly serviceable book on forensic science as it relates to criminal investigations. The data is most certainly out of date in some respects, particularly related to DNA testing and digital databases, but the underlying premises are still relevant. Each chapter focused on a different discipline, such as bloodwork, ballistics, or toxicology. Within these chapters, a background on the history of the scientific underpinnings and advancements is presented, followed by a "day in the life" of a practitioner, and a series of case files in which that particular form of evidence was used to solve the case. As someone who has studied forensic psychology, and watched many episodes of shows such as forensic files, there was not much here that was new to me. Perhaps the most interesting chapter due to its relative obscurity was on handwriting and vocal analysis. I can't imagine too many courts allowing testimony on unique voice signatures, but it was illuminating nonetheless. The parts of the book I enjoyed the most, or perhaps found to be the most educational, were the historical cases presented at the end of each chapter. Specifically, the cases which were centuries old, and utilized the most rudimentary forms of the science were the most interesting. All in all worth a read, if nothing else for the history of the science more than anything else.

[Linda]

If you like Forensic Files, you'll enjoy this compact overview of the major subjects covered in Criminal Forensics. Each section has several "case studies" showing how that particular subject helped detectives and scientists to solve baffling cases.

I found only a few errors in the Hardcover version of this book: Page 32, One of Gouffe's work colleague revealed / One of Gouffe's work COLLEAGUES revealed ; 102, by London chemist, James Marsh / by A London chemist, James Marsh ; 109, on to a zinc plate / onto a zinc plate ; 124, with a bullet found in body / with a bullet found in THE body ; 149, and pick out the hiding place / and PICKED out the hiding place ; 149, His prints were the 46,253 set taken / His prints were the 46,253RD set taken .

[Amy P]

Simple read on a fifth-sixth grader level. Written in a forensics textbook fashion. The title has absolutely nothing to do with any of this anecdotes relayed in this book. Although it explains different methods of forensic science and incorporates advancements in technology, it misses crucial details and elements. The murder stories are brief and lacking, because they relay only partial information from each case. Mirroring an unsolved case, it lacks evidence and closure.

[Dragonglimer Lisa Z]

I bought this one a few months ago, it was a relative quick read. There was 1-2 pages of different cases that were solved. I read it in the car on trips or waiting.. if you’re a true crime buff this may be one you’d like. Both my daughters want to read it as well as the other 2.

[Jamie]

Enjoyable but pretty basic and surface level. A lot of the highlighted cases were already known to me. Guess I watch too much true crime tv!!! 😁😆

[Karina]

3.5 ⭐️

[Anne]

3.5

[Sarai]

This is a Reader's Digest book, so it's not long on detail. If you have not read anything forensic before and are not a follower of shows like CSI, there will be lots of new information presented here. If you have read other nonfiction forensic books or have watched shows like CSI where the terms and equipment are thrown about on a regular basis, there will be nothing new here.

Of the most interest to me were the brief page-long descriptions of actual crimes and how they solved them. However, some of those left me wanting more information.

Overall, not a bad read. If you're coming to the subject new, this is a good place to start.

[Richard Martin]

Another admirable book from Reader's Digest. The subject here being forensic science. There are eight chapters covering various aspects of forensics. Each chapter contains a brief discussion divided into subtopics for readability. Also included is a day's log of an expert in that field. Finally, there are case studies, fifty in all, of supposedly "perfect murders" subdivided into the crime, the case, the evidence, and the outcome. The book is copiously illustrated with drawings, charts/graphs, and photographs. The book is ideal for anyone interested in forensics.

[Hy-C]

For someone who watches C.S.I,it contains nothing new. The methods of handling a crime scene,the evidence and other valuable things are put into details,which is good because on TV crime dramas you just see it you don't know what the evidence goes through to extract a valuable sample. Set in a textbook style which makes it easier to read. I was just bit dissapointed that the title didn't exactly matched the contents of the book. All in all it's very informative.

[Monica]

An interesting look into the various methods of forensics investigation used to solve crimes, along with case studies that illustrate these methods, some cases are well-known, other's are not. But I was intrigued by all of them.

The only downside was since there were so many case studies they weren't very detailed although they covered the basics and the forensics.

I'd recommend this book to people interesting in forensic investigation.

[Danielle]

A quick read I picked up off the bargain table at Barnes & Noble. Some interesting murder cases out there....

[Big H]

Good information, set up in a textbook format. I was disappointed in a major historical mistake of one of the case histories based on the Romanov family, though.

[Sky]

this book was okay, but not what I expected. it seemed written more for a 6th grader than an adult. the best part of it was the case studies.

[Uwe Windhoven]

Didn't live up to the hype on the jacket. Written for a 12 year old.