Forensics: True Stories from Australian Police Files

by Vikki Petraitis

A fingerprint, DNA screening, strange indentations, and scratches. These are the things that can crack a case that seems impossible to solve.

Vikki Petraitis has interviewed police from Australian forensics, fingerprints, homicide and criminal investigation units, resulting in stories such as the woman who drugged and robbed lonely, vulnerable men, the forensic evidence that found the killer of three family members, the hit-run driver who killed a child, and other engrossing true crime stories.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

[Nez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading if you are interested in true crime and forensics.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of cases of Australian crimes and the forensics and police who worked very hard to close the cases and catch the perpetrators. Written a little dryly, still it caught my attention and I enjoyed it.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This carefully details several individual cases and is not of necessity a 'cover to cover' read. A significant amount was new though me and was easy to follow reading.

[Bear Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book with some compelling stories.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting. Amazing the dedication to the smallest of details to catch the offender

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting read.

[TheCosyDragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.

This is a non-fiction expose of some of the forensic techniques Australian Crime Scene Investigators use. It has 7 true life crimes, ranging from a hit-run to an ‘accidental’ stabbing.

This was impressive because Petraitis had obviously done her work well (as she has in her other books, which I now want to get my hands on), and she places the emphasis on the human touch. Humans are fallible, and criminal ones even more so. The book also highlighted the impact on police officers’ family lives in the days after a crime.

There was just a single chapter that annoyed me, and that was the one where it was a series of shorter events. I must preferred when I could ride on the back of a longer case, and feel like I was right there in the action and come to my own conclusions.

Something that came through to me was the shortcomings of the Australian justice system. First, it’s that most of these criminals are really dumb, and yet police officers have to try build an ‘airtight’ case around them. A confession of guilt isn’t enough to actually pin the charge on someone! Half the time they can tell the truth and get out of most of their sentence anyway.

My other complaint is that many people are reoffenders – what does it take to put them behind bars permanently when they will just continue to reoffend? Sexual assault, murder, killing just for the hell of it, they can all get out and do it again.

I picked this up for 50c at a garage sale, and it was totally worth it! It took me around 2 hours to read on, and with the exceptions I have mentioned, it was good. 4 stars from me.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written account of some true Australian crimes. I loved the level of information we were given as a reader and the fact that it wasn't all general facts. It actually was told through the eyes of police officers and showed the depth that some of these officers go to in trying to solve these crimes and how attached they can get to a case. Even years later and some of these crimes still have an impact on these people.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recounts of Australian crime stories

[Kathy Schuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. The dedication & patience of the various investigating teams is nothing short of amazing.