The Illustrated Guide to Forensics: True Crime Scene Investigations

I've had a huge interest in true crime for years, and have also become intrigued by the forensics part of it. I haven't read the full book, but so far it seems very informative.

Starting from the fundamental principle of forensics, that "every contact leaves a trace", this book presents a fascinating study of the techniques that we have all heard about in countless trials and on television dramas and crime reconstruction, but which until now have remained mysteries to the outsider. Chapters on poisons including alcohol and drugs, documents and handwriting, sudden death, fire, blood and other body fluids, identity, trace and contact evidence, ballistics, time of death, criminal psychology and the handling of forensic evidence present a complete picture of a science which involves much more than post-mortems. Recent and earlier famous cases are covered in detail, including those in which Dr. Erzinqlioglu was himself an expert witness. If you've ever wondered how the pattern of blood splatters can yield so many clues, or why it is so difficult to establish exact time of death, you will find the answers here. The author is a leading forensic scientist who carried out more than 500 murder investigations around the world.

Over the years, I have read many books on forensic science. Some are popularizations aimed at the general public, some are textbook-like and aimed at professionals in the field while many others are aimed at various levels somewhere in between those two extremes. I would classify this book in the third category - just short of being a textbook (although I can see this book being recommended as supplementary reading in forensic science courses). The author discusses the basic principles of forensic science. He covers different techniques used in much of the field and offers his professional opinion on many cases that everyone is familiar with. The book has been written with a careful choice of words which is indicative of a careful scientist. Reading this book was both a great pleasure for me as well as a learning experience. It's a real page-turner that is difficult to put down and I strongly recommend it.

The first time I saw this book was on a shelf in a bookstore. It piqued my curiosity and I ordered it. At first I was skeptical, thinking to myself another book that someone cooked up about the field of Forensics; an field known well by those who practice it as being full of myths, misinformations, and misconceptions. I can tell you that this is not the case with this text. Dr. Erzinclioglu has done an outstanding job with not limiting himself to addressing the usual hum-drum subject matter you find in police related publications, but taking it a step further into additional topics. My only complaint is that some of the examples he uses seem to be out of place or long-winded for what they needed to be, and that in some topics he does not devote enough time to them. Be that as it may, this is truly a unique book written from a unique perspective, a perspective of experience and academic savvy, not a formula commonly seen. This is more a publication for the professional, not for the layperson in my estimation. There is subject matter contained in the book that without real world experience probably would make little sense. I have enjoyed reading the book and re-reading many parts of it. Oh one more thing, for a hardback the price is very attractive too.