How to Solve a Murder

"How To Try A Murder: The Handbook for Armchair Lawyers" by Michael Kurland: NJ, CastleBooks, 2002 - ISBN 0-7858-1532-5 (hc), 6 in. x 9 in., 202 pg.; 149 pg.text, 31 pg. Appendix (301 prospective jury questions of "OJ" Trial, 12 pg. Glossary, 4 pg. biblio., and 4 pg. Index. "HTTAM" has 12 pg. Introduction: -- The Ideal Trial & Courtroom Personnae, & 8 itemized divisions meticulously covered using a fictional crime scene & actors: The Crime, Arrest/Indictment, Trial Prep., Pre-Trial, Trial Begins, Prosecution, Defense, & The Verdict. Kurland has authored 20+ books, is recipient of 2 Edgar Scrolls from MRA: though not a lawyer, he writes better than most lawyers, used excellent citations including references to recent familiar cases. With his fictional crime scene he comes off well in educating the reader of the ins & outs of the courtroom & he answers the many questions you always wanted to know but forgot or were afraid to ask. After reading this superb & well-written narrative, one's comfort zone for much courtroom mystery has been expanded. The author has a thin veil of humor adding to the book's merit: it includes a re-statement of the "Law of Holes". Highly recommended for insight into: jury selection, viewing trial as chess versus poker match, juror instructions, discovery, & legalese defined in text & in glossary. My daughter who is in law school said the book is excellent.

If the 15-year-old kid who became a legal `expert' on Askme.com could do it by just watching TV, imagine what he could have done with this! Michael Kurland does a great job of explaining all the steps in a murder investigation and trial. Anyone who has watched Law & Order or another crime series will know most of the aspects of the process but he sheds some light on some aspects of the investigation process and courtroom rules that you might not know about. He also manages to throw some interesting historical references to where the laws and rules came from. It may not provide you with any knowledge that you'll turn around and use tomorrow, but you'll be able to hold your own at a cocktail party when the conversation turns to a famous case in the news.

This book contains information essential to creating a courtroom drama.Within the pages of this book you will find everything from the prospective jury questionnaire of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial to a glossary of legal terms.If you are planning to write (or are even working on) a courtroom drama, I highly suggest purchasing this book to help you along. It will take you step by step through the process of trying a case.Michael Kurland gives you practically everything you need to know about the persona you will find in a courtroom and what their specific jobs are in the court.Reading this book will not make you a legal expert but it will give you a very good start!

I'd sum up this book as accessible, well-researched, nicely illustrated, and altogether pleasant to read. I bought this book to help research a mystery novel I'm writing myself, and I found it quite adequate for that purpose. The author uses the device of describing a crime and then solving it to help things move along; it's a nice idea, but his crime scenario is really quite pedestrian and the solution quite mundane. Especially compared to some of the more intriguing cases that he describes in the sidebars. These true-life cases are some of the best content in this book, as he shows how forensic evidence was used to clear or convict various suspects. The history of police investigation methods is sketched in nicely, and there is a great deal of information about fingerprints and guns, if you're looking for that in particular. All-around, it's a nice job, well worth the reasonable cost. I was considering spending $75 for a textbook on forensics, and I think this book served me better.