Blood, Bullets, and Bones: The Story of Forensic Science from Sherlock Holmes to DNA

by Bridget Heos

Ever since the introduction of DNA testing, forensic science has been in the forefront of the public’s imagination, thanks especially to popular television shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. But forensic analysis has been practiced for thousands of years. Ancient Chinese detectives studied dead bodies for signs of foul play, and in Victorian England, officials used crime scene photography and criminal profiling to investigate the Jack the Ripper murders. In the intervening decades, forensic science has evolved to use the most cutting-edge, innovative techniques and technologies.

In this book, acclaimed author Bridget Heos uses real-life cases to tell the fascinating history of modern forensic science, from the first test for arsenic poisoning to fingerprinting, firearm and blood spatter analysis, DNA evidence, and all the important milestones in between. By turns captivating and shocking, Blood, Bullets, and Bones demonstrates the essential role forensic science has played in our criminal justice system.

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

263 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2016

Reviews

[Stacee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books like this because forensic science has always fascinated me.

This book was a perfect blend of history and modern techniques and I was intrigued from the very beginning. The narrative is captivating without being too science-y and I really enjoyed the case selections.

Overall, a quick and interesting read.

**Huge thanks to Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and very interesting! I love the historical instances where forensics is used in crime detection and investigation.

[Bibliovoracious · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Interesting, with lots of gruesome stories illustrating the advances in forensic practices. Sometimes the cases that were solved with new techniques were pretty gross incidents. However, the content is all pretty basic, kind of high school level. I would have liked to have more detail and depth, especially in the science.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting non fiction book about the history of Forensic science! It covered a lot of cases and ways of solving murders and other crimes. I think each chapter flowed nicely into the next, and I learned a lot! Even though I didn't think this book was too graphic, be aware if you are sensitive towards murder and violent descriptions this might not be for you.

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely enough, and I say strangely because honestly I don't read a lot of this kind of non-fiction, this was a very enjoyable and interesting book.

Mostly because the author had an engaging voice throughout that had me alternately chuckling at the foibles and follies of forensic work and surprised that certain people inspired other literary notables.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. It was great and amazing and I just want more of it. I highly recommend it.

[Pandan · Rating 3 out of 5]

หนังสือที่เล่าถึงประวัติของนิติวิทยาศาสตร์และขั้นตอนการสืบสวน โดยหยิบยกคดีต่างๆ ในอดีตขึ้นมาพูดประกอบ รวมๆ ก็อ่านได้เรื่อยๆ แต่วิธีการเรียบเรียงยังขัดเกลาได้อีก เพราะค่อนข้างสะเปะสะปะไปหน่อย บางทียังเล่าประเด็นเก่าไม่จบก็ขึ้นประเด็นใหม่ดื้อๆ ซะงั้น เนื้อหาจะบอกว่าผิวเผินไปหน่อยก็คงได้ เพราะแทบไม่ได้ลงประเด็นไหนลึกซึ้งเลย เน้นพูดถึงโดยรวมเสียมากกว่า จนบางจังหวะก็ได้อารมณ์อย่างกับกำลังอ่านหน้าวิกิ

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t often read non-fiction, and I can’t remember the last time I read a book about history, but when I received this book for Christmas there was no excuse for not reading it. It looked interesting enough, and so I gave it a try.

This book was perfect for me. It quite simply explained not only the history of forensics, (a history I personally found incredibly interesting) but it also goes into so much detail about the different types of forensic science, with oh so many examples.

The only fault I found with this book, the only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was the fact that by the end, I had read so many summaries of gruesome murder cases that I single handedly blame this book for desensitizing me to violence.

On a serious note, if you know anybody who has an interest in forensics, an armchair detective or aspiring police officer (like myself) or even a curious history buff will love this book, well I certainly did.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Some of the first scientific tests related to murder cases were for poison, and arsenic in particular.

Premise/plot: Love true crime stories? Love history? Love forensic science? I do have a book for you. Blood, Bullets, and Bones is the history of forensic science. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific topic or area of forensics. Chapter one discusses the first poison tests. Chapter two presents the history of medical examiners and autopsies. Chapter three focuses on the first detectives. Chapter four focuses the history of analyzing crime scene evidence. Chapter five focuses on the use of fingerprints as evidence. Chapter six is on the history of firearm analysis. Chapter seven is on analyzing blood patterns. Chapter eight focuses on hidden bodies, hidden graves. Chapter nine is devoted to the subject of forensic anthropology. Chapter ten is all about criminal profilers. The final chapter, chapter eleven, is on the use of DNA evidence. Each chapter is packed with information, packed with case examples. For the most part, the cases come from the UK or from the US--though some are European.

My thoughts: I LOVED this fascinating book. It was so informative; it was really organized. I just found it to be a compelling read. I'm happy to recommend it.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy nonfiction works that are a progressing series of interesting anecdotes like this!
(I learned about SO MANY murders.)

[Ben Arce]

Blood, Bullets, and Bones by Bridget, gives the reader an interesting inside look on forensic science. In this book, the acclaimed author Bridget Heos uses real-life cases to tell the fascinating history of modern forensic science, from the first test for arsenic poisoning to fingerprinting, firearm and blood spatter analysis, DNA evidence, and all the important milestones in between.

Forensic science has been kept relevant not only because it is vital to crime solving, but by popular tv shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service. This book does a great job at demonstrating the essential role forensic science played in our justice system. In the intervening decades, forensic science has evolved to use the most cutting-edge, innovative techniques and technologies.

This book covers a wide range of real-life cases. From train robberies, to poisonings, to cover ups, and straight up murders. I would recommend the reading level to be 8th grade and up. It is such an interesting read but can become gory in details at points throughout the book. This book packs a punch only being 264 pages it carries the weight of a 400+ page book.

Blood, Bullets, and Bones will keep you entertained from start to finish. It really dives deep into just how far we have come to putting the finishing touches on solving crimes.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nonfiction book, ‘Blood, Bullets, and Bones’ by Bridget Heos is a book on forensic science based on modern-day times. ‘Blood, Bullets, and Bones’ compares and contrasts the different cases from ancient history to recent times such as Jack the Ripper. For example, in Ancient China, they studied dead bodies for foul play while in Victorian England they used various photographs and profiling of victims to trace down Jack the Ripper during his time of reign. All of these techniques build up to the present techniques in forensic science such as fingerprints, ballistic evidence, blood patterns, DNA analysis, etc. I rated this book 5 stars out of 5 stars because it kept the reader engaged with past examples and different cases that made a big impact on history. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in criminal justice and forensic science or just regular crime because this book includes those three and so much more.

[Clued-in With A Book (Elvina Ulrich) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually prefer to listen to audiobooks for non-fiction but this book by Heos just rekindled my love for reading non-fiction. From the writing to storytelling, this is one unbelievably good read! Heos uses real-life cases to tell the marvelous history of forensic science without being too sciency, hence making this such an easy and entertaining read!

This book comprises of 11 chapters that begins from the earliest known forensic analysis (270 CE - Zhang Ju, a Chinese coroner who examined the victims' bodies to solve crimes) to modern forensic science. I love how Heos systematically chronicles crimes that were popular in that era from poison deaths (19th century) to firearms (1920s) to current times; and in each era, we learn about significant discoveries and progresses made in forensic science - World's first detective - Francois Eugene Vidocq who was friends with Victor Hugo and who later based the character of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Vidocq; first female detective - Kate Warne; pioneer of forensic pathology - Alexandre Lacassagne; founder of world's first crime lab - Edmond Locard (French 'Sherlock Holmes'); firearm analysis; blood analysis; criminal profilers; DNA discovery.

In a nutshell, this is a must read if you enjoy history, true crime and forensic science. It's jam-packed with real life cases and Heos narrates the history of forensic science in such an engaging way, akin to reading a fiction. It's a science book without all the science jargons. It's educational and entertaining - all in one!

[Joselyn Bennett · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first started reading “Blood, Bullets, and Bones.” I thought it was going to be about different types of murder stories & investigations but I was highly disappointed with what it was actually about. The book is all about how coroners and their ways of determining the cause of death of bodies, it was pretty boring. The book doesn’t really have a plot, it is just about multiple different stories and how DNA sampling has evolved over the past couple hundred years. There’s not really an end to spoil, and nothing really interesting to talk about. The book starts with telling the reader about how Chinese would determine the cause of death by just examining the body, and compares it to all the tests and things we do to figure out the cause of death. It talks a lot about arsenic, and how it was used very commonly to kill people because then it made it seem like a natural death. Coroners didn’t have the tools and tests they do now to know that the person died from arsenic. I would not recommend reading this book unless you like learning about historic murders.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only was this book really informative, it was entertaining. I really appreciate an author that understands that not everyone who has an interest in science/history is going to be an academic, and that by adding a little humor and narrative into non-fiction makes it more accessible and engaging to us laypeople. This book was humorous and peppered with weird facts, and that kept me engaged in the main body material.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in forensic science. Do you watch police procedural tv shows? Yes? Then you'd probably enjoy this book.

[Dawn Livingston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit it, I read a little then skimmed the rest. A solid book about the basics of forensic science (think CSI). Gives history and the different methods used in forensic science, when they were first used, etc. Solid book on the subject a good stepping stone to the adult books (this is considered a teen book) on the subject, like An Introduction to Crime Scene Investigation by Aric W. Dutelle.

[Harryo]

Quick read, written with teenage forensic dreamers in mind. Short sentences. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book written for kids, and I found the pacing was irritating to my nerves. But I can imagine it would be great for the kids.

[Maddy Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to learn about nearly anything. But forensic science has a special place in my heart (just beside history). Despite the fact that the informations in this book are pretty basic, it was a really cool read that had me interested from the very first page. It's fascinating how forensic science evolved. And I love gruesome/crime/investigation stories so consider me happy.

[Audrey Lee]

3 stars. Interesting but fast paced and slightly scattered. Lots of information just crammed into pages. I have some issues with the organization and formatting of this book, but it's a YA book so it gets some slack.

[Lavender · Rating 5 out of 5]

full of crime stories and explanations of forensic science

[Hailie Roblyer]

Fascinating and thorough exploration of the invention and evolution of criminal forensics. This is a great non-fiction book for teens.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet, morbidly entertaining, fascinating, and educational.

[Katie Dodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very educational and well written. Very interesting if you love forensics.

[Melisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read about the beginnings of forensic science. This book covers many different forms of forensics and gives many interesting case examples for each.

[Chel (The Procrastinator's Corner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also posted on The Procrastinator's Corner

This is my first time to review a nonfiction book and this is also the first nonfiction I've read this year! I'm not big on nonfics but after seeing this on Edelweiss, I just couldn't not read it because forensic science!

After reading Blood, Bullets, and Bones, I feel like I now have what it takes to solve a cold case. But of course that's a stretch.

Point is: I learned so many things from this book. From the science of murder investigations to the State laws (which doesn't really have any significance to me unless Philippines and USA have the same laws but it's nonetheless interesting.)

Serial killers stories have always fascinated (and terrified) me. Sometimes, I'd spend several hours on r/unsolvedmystery and other parts of the Internet just reading about real life murder stories and cold cases. But reading this book, I have come to the conclusion that murder investigations are 10000000x even more captivating and impressive. Science truly is amazing. But even if it has greatly evolved compared to centuries ago, it's true that it's still lacking in some aspects and the state laws still have several loopholes.

It's so depressing to read about people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes they didn't commit only to be exonerated 30 years later. In worse cases, they die from death sentence before their innocence is proved several years later. But, it's also terrifying when the ones who truly committed the crime gets acquitted only to confess to it after.

This book is very fast paced. There were no dull moments because it doesn't linger very long on any one case and the accounts are all brief and straight to the point, and neutral too. The transitions between stories are very smooth as well which made this unputdownable.

I rarely read nonfiction books (If I do at all) but for me this was a really good read.

Disclaimer: An early review copy was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Veronique · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really interesting. I loved how they showed the evolution of forensic science with the use of criminal cases and also show how sometimes the evidence isn't reliable

definitely a recommendation for someone who is interested in forensic sciences or really loves the crime TV shows and would love to know how it is in real life.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always a sucker for these forensic books as I work closely with some of our forensic science teachers and I'm always looking to add to the booklist. This one will be no exception as it presents a very solid look at all of the history of forensic science as it developed with a few cherry-picked examples demonstrating their discovery or use. Some obscure cases that I learned something new and some famous or generally understood cases as well including popular references to television shows (what to believe and not believe), but also for students being able to provide some context to their learning, so for this I also enjoyed. There is quite a bit of backmatter including a good glossary and notes, plenty of pictures (though generally of people who discovered things rather than crime-scene photos that might disappoint some), but overall a great introduction with a pinch of detail to pique anyone's curiosity.

[Hannah Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The grammar was off at points and it really bugged me. The writing style was also not very clear at times (particularly in the case with the father Samual, referred to as Sam at times, and the son, also Sam, but occasionally referred to as Chip??). Anyway, I found it dragged on a bit compared to similar books I've read on the subject and was not as clearly described which is why it took me so long to finish (I had to leave it for weeks at a time because of how uninteresting certain parts were). I have also studied and researched the Jack the Ripper case myself and found some discrepancies and elements missing in this version, although I do understand it was a summary of the case and couldn't include everything. The sources, bibliography and glossary were extensive and I found to be very thorough. 2/5

[anne⁷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

SCIENCE IS SO AMAZING! Yet the fact that there are still sooo many cold cases now suggest that our knowledge of forensic science is still lacking. That, or there really are so many perfect crimes. Nevertheless, the evolution of forensic science is awe-inspiring. This was a really enjoyable read. The featured murder stories are well-narrated; though all are short, they never lacked the essential details and are very informative.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love true crime for kids (probably older kids in this case - there are a lot of rape cases), so I'm overlooking the occasional sloppy pronoun antecedent or klutzy sentence. The cases chosen for review include a fair number of the usual suspects - Sam Sheppard, Jack the Ripper - but also a number of cases I was not as familiar with.