Beating the Devil's Game: A History of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation

by Katherine Ramsland

The author of The Human Predator presents an authoritative history of the evolution of forensic science and criminal investigation, tracing the development of such useful tools as fingerprinting, DNA, and ballistics from thirteenth-century Chinese studies of human decomposition rates to the recent technological advancements of today. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Science, History, Research, Crime

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

I've loved books since I was 3, and the library was a highlight of my childhood. I've been fortunate to be able to find great joy in what others have written and sometimes to give this to readers. I follow my own muse, because it leads me on interesting adventures. I began my writing career with "Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice." I had a bestseller with "The Vampire Companion." Since then, I've published 69 books and over 2,500 articles, reviews and short stories. I have also been an executive producer for "Murder House Flip" and "BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer." From ghosts to vampires to serial killers, I have taken on a variety of dark subjects, mostly in crime and forensics. I hold graduate degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, criminal justice, creative writing and philosophy. Currently, I teach forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University. My books include "I Scream Man," "How to Catch a Killer", "Confession of a Serial Killer", "The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds", "The Mind of a Murderer", "The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation", "Inside the Minds of Serial Killers", "Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators", and "Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers". My background in forensic studies positioned me to assist former FBI profiler John Douglas on his book, "The Cases that Haunt Us", and to co-write a book with former FBI profiler, Gregg McCrary, "The Unknown Darkness", as well as "Spree Killers" with Mark Safarik, "The Real Life of a Forensic Scientist" with Henry C. Lee, and "A Voice for the Dead" with James Starrs. I speak internationally about forensic psychology, forensic science, and serial murder, and has appeared on numerous documentaries, as well as such programs as The Today Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, Dr. Oz, Coast to Coast, Montel Williams, Larry King Live and E! True Hollywood. Currently, I'm working on a fiction series, The Nut Cracker Investigations, which features a female forensic psychologist who manages a PI agency. "I Scream Man" is the first one.

Reviews

[Marre Prestigiacomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and educational. Could be used as text book for the history of forensic science and criminal investigation. Fascinating how the science and investigation we hear about on news and in daily life came to be

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief history of the evolution of forensic science. Some very interesting facts in there, including who was the first criminal to be convicted of murder based on DNA evidence (Colin Pitchfork in the U.K.) and the first attempts at lie-detectors tests (13th C. China had the accused chew rice while they were asked questions about the crime, and then required to spit it out--the liars then identified by their inability to spit out the rice because their mouths would've dried up due to the stress of lying).

Things we take for granted in police procedure today, like fingerprinting and mug shots, were piloted by various forward-thinkers over the centuries with varying degrees of success. As science and medicine began to be used in courts to prove or disprove guilt, in earlier times there was even question over whether science itself could be trusted, let alone the forensic method being used.

My only gripe about the book is how it's structured. Ramsland covered all the histories together in chronological order, and it seemed more like a timeline expanded to book-length. I think she could've traced the progression of many of the techniques in separate chapters, e.g. one chapter on toxicology, one on fingerprinting, one on ballistics, etc.

[Kris Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beating the Devil's Game is the story of criminal forensic sciences told through the cases that showed the courts how these sciences could be used to convict or even in some cases to prove Innocence. This book was insanely interesting mostly due to the subject matter. I also think laying out the history through talking through some of the cases was a great choice to keep it engaging. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to understand how forensic sciences came to be how they are today.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun reading this - a nonfiction book, formatted like a bunch of short narrative nonfiction stories in chronological order, with easy to understand evolutions of crime forensics. Nothing that I'd read over again, but I do love learning more about a niche subject. A decent one to add to your shelves if you're all about crime/history/police history/detective work/science/forensics/related subjects.

[Eileen Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an easy non fiction book about the development of forensic science. When the cases that I have heard of ( kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh’s baby, Bonnie and Clyde, assassination of John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, Ted Bundy, OJ Simpson and many more) were explained, it was more interesting.

[Nupur Tustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant account of the history of forensic science, Katherine Ramsland's book reads like a fast-paced thriller. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of criminal investigation from its inception to present times.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked the book. I struggled with how the author decided to present the information (order, etc), but it seems like a good resource and starting point for more research.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure where I heard of Katherine Ramsland, but I really enjoyed Beating the Devil's Game. It's basically a history of forensic science, from its origins in China to the present day.

What I really liked about this book was that it was told through cases. So it wasn't a dry recital of which discovery came when it was case after gruesome case of how certain technologies helped (or did not help) solve crimes and get justice.

The cases also prove that mankind has been twisted for as long as history. The recent cases definitely weren't more ghoulish than the previous ones. (And on a related note, it also proves that terrible crimes aren't committed by only one race/country)

Apart from China, which was one of the early readers, the book didn't really touch on developments in Asia. I'm not an expert, though, so I can't tell if it's because Asia didn't progress or if it's an unconscious bias.

Overall, though, this is an easy to read and interesting book. It doesn't only talk about the successful methodologies - it mentioned the now-obsolete and ineffective ones (that were used for a time). If you're interested in how forensic science works and the history behind it, this is a good book to read. (Although fans of shows like CSI or Bones - and don't get me wrong, I love both as well - may get disappointed that the science isn't as cool as the shows. Hence the whole 'CSI effect' thing)

This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Sarah Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Crime has been part of human society since Cain slew Abe, and identifying perpetrators has challenged the greatest minds to develop reliable techniques for investigation and prosecution." This was certainly the most gruesome book I've ever read due to its graphic descriptions of countless murders. Yet I found the slow development of scientific means to determine guilt interesting. We've certainly come a long way from the original crime detection technique of confessions via torture. What disturbed me the most were the crimes recounted where the true killer was never found and innocents were jailed or executed for another's crimes.

[Anita Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, at this point in my reading life, there is nothing new under the sun where forensics books are concerned. I learned very little new reading this book. But I am a Katherine Ramsland fan girl. Her worst book is still better than 90% of the books available on paranormal or true crime themes. So while I did not learn much new, the fact is that this book is well-researched and wonderfully written. And as usual, I found many new books to read exploring the selected bibliography in her book.

[Emily Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

the part i was interested in, the very early history of forensics, is incredibly fascinating! there are short reviews of the crimes that led to progress and even a history of chinese forensics (though the rest is mainly western science). i stopped reading after the history of fingerprinting, as that part of forensics i know much better and reading it was redundant (for me!). this book is definitely for the expert and layman alike, definitely worth reading!!

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people may find this book rather "dry," as it is hundreds of pages of "facts of the case," with little to no sensationalism and a high level of attention to detail. Since this book was written about the *science* of forensics, however, I was glad to see that the author kept her focus fact driven. Very interesting read.

[Viktória Larišová · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of (mainly) early forensics' history I was delighted to find a book such as this one. It may seem a bit dry for someone outside the forensics-criminal law field, but for anyone acquianted with general tone of books on the matter the writing style is surely something like fresh orange juice. Loved it to bits! And molecules! :)

[Jennifer T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book so fascinating, it gives an in depth look into the evolution of Forensics.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the history of forensics--fingerprinting, blood analysis, forensic entomology, etc.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the large print edition. I think it's the same as the conventional-print edition, except cover image and font size. I guess I could try to find another edition and compare the two, but I cannot be bothered.



This is a so-so history of forensic science in fact and fiction -- but mostly fact. It begins well and then it seems as if the author was getting bored of the project and finished it up as quickly as she could. The level of detail at the beginning of the book is much deeper than at the end.

The sentence structures can be pretty awkward at times. Sometimes I had to go back a few paragraphs just to figure out who was killing whom. There are a lot of names and details thrown around so the jumbled sentences made it a mystery to find out what mystery she was writing about. She also mentions "truth serum" once as a interrogation device and does not mention it again. Considering the attention and detail placed on other investigative procedures like fingerprinting, ballistics or DNA evidence and even the pseudo-science of lie detector tests, this brief mention seemed jarring and out of place. What IS truth serum, anyway? Sodium pentathol? I don't know what she meant -- she never says.



Another example is mentioning mtDNA testing -- and never explaining that this means mitochondrial DNA testing. She just assumes all readers know what the mt stands for. I'm not so sure about that.

The book does have a nice bibliography which lists some books more interesting than this one that focuses on a small aspect of this forensic science history.