Every Contact Leaves a Trace: Crime Scene Experts Talk about Their Work from Discovery Through Verdict

A note to anyone that is a fan of Fletcher's books. This text is the same as another book: (published the same year in paperback version) "Crime Scene: Inside The World of the Real CSIs."

If you want to know what REAL criminalists do and how they behave at a crime scene then this is the book for you. To hear what actual forensic technicians have to say about their craft in their own voices is Connie Fletcher's strength. What makes this book so valuable is the number of experts she interviewed and the range of skills represented. Real criminalistics ain't like CSI and several of the professionals in this book want you to know it!

This is a collection of excerpts from interviews with more than 80 police officers, homicide investigators, prosecutors, defense attorneys and, most importantly, criminal forensics technicians and scientists. There is no "story" here, no unifying theme or grand scheme. It's just bits and pieces about the underlying premise that every contact at a crime scene leaves a trace of itself. Broken into nine chapters, the book covers crime scene processing, crime scene interpretation, trace evidence, evidence from bodies, DNA, what goes on in the crime lab, the reality of cold cases and the rigors of tesifying at trials. In a way, the treatment is almost too light, not really providing detailed information about the various forensic disciplines examined. However, that may be a blessing since many of the disciplines are very, very complex. Instead, Fletcher allows the real-life players to talk about their work, how it fits into the criminal justice process and their own feelings about being confronted with death and mayhem. Some of the interviewees were apparently not very articulate and the excerpts could have benefited from some editing. On the whole, Fletcher provides a solid overview of forensics in the real world and demolishes without trying the myths perpetuated by CSI and other television concoctions. Jerry

This was an interesting book. It was a fascinating look into a world most of us never see. Should be required reading for criminals so they realize that the police will not give up and every crime has evidence left behind.