Crime Files: Books on Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science

Amazon is an incredible resource for anyone interested in the scientific aspects of solving crime. From DNA Evidence and Fingerprinting to Private Investigating and The History of Crime Investigation, we've listed a range of books on crime solving.
We've been adding a lot of new books on forensic science for avid crime readers, try any of our live links (in red) to browse or search for the very latest books online!

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	Blood Evidence: How DNA Is Revolutionizing the Way We Solve Crimes by Henry C. Lee, Frank Tirnady Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Perseus Pr; ISBN: 0738206024; 1st edition (October 2002)	Click for other books on D.N.A Evidence.
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Book Description A startling look at how breakthroughs in DNA testing are having a tumultuous impact on criminal investigations. From O. J. Simpson's "trial of the century" to the recent disappearance of Chandra Levy and the reopening of the Edward De Salvo case, the collection and use of DNA in criminal investigations has become a controversial and often confusing burden of proof. Blood Evidence explains the principles and science behind DNA testing and shows how it has both helped solve some of the most puzzling criminal cases in recent history and been used to discredit eyewitness accounts and physical evidence found at the crime scene. Written specifically for a lay audience, Blood Evidence is the first trade book to explore the complexities of DNA testing and the effect it has had on justice systems worldwide.

Cracking Cases: The Science of Solving Crimes
by Dr. Henry Lee, Thomas W. O'Neil (Contributor)
Hardcover: 316 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.93 x 9.50 x 6.29
Publisher: Prometheus Books; ISBN: 1573929859; (April 2002)

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Book Description
Do police officers make craftier killers? Can police officers thoroughly investigate a fellow member of their force? Can a suspect be found guilty of murder without authorities ever finding a body? And what happens in a case when police detectives miss crucial evidence?

CRACKING CASES takes the reader through the entire investigative process of five murder cases, with world-renowned forensic expert Dr. Henry C. Lee as your guide. Dr. Lee is considered by many to be the greatest criminalist in the world. He gained wide-spread public recognition through his testimony in the televised O.J. Simpson trial and has dedicated his life to establishing the truth at crime scenes no matter where the trail of evidence leads him and no matter which side these scientific findings eventually assist.

These engaging cases include the infamous O.J. Simpson case, in which Dr. Lee's analysis of the blood evidence at the crime scene revealed that the Los Angeles Police Department had missed several blood drops on Nicole Simpson's back, a footprint belonging to a second possible assailant, and the physical improbability of Simpson's climbing a fence to return to his home. Also included are the "woodchipper murder" in which an airline pilot killed his wife and then ground up her body to dispose of the remains; the Mathison murder, in which a veteran Hawaiian police sergeant claimed he accidentally ran over his wife after she fled the family van during a dispute; the Ed Sherman murder, in which a college English professor tried to disguise the time of his wife's death by turning up the air-conditioning unit in their house and then claiming that he was away from the home sailing on the day the crime allegedly took place; and police sergeant MacArthur, who shot and killed his wife, but then tried to make it appear that she had accidentally killed herself.

In each case, Dr. Lee presents an easily understood, detailed scientific explanation of how he investigated the murders, analysed the evidence, and used forensic techniques that played a critical role in finally bringing the criminals to justice. The reader is treated to an absorbing discussion of how forensic experts examine blood-spatter evidence and use blood identification, DNA analysis, and other scientific technologies developed in the world's best laboratories.

CRACKING CASES is a fascinating insider's look by an international authority into the pursuit of justice in some of the most grisly criminal cases of recent times. Anyone who enjoys reading true crime and detective stories will surely find this book captivating.

Blaze: The Forensics of Fire
by Nicholas Faith
Hardcover: 208 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.81 x 8.57 x 5.77
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; ISBN: 0312261284; (August 2000)

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Book Description
I was a little worried as I began this book that it would be a boring list of fire science facts and not much else, I could hardly have been more wrong. While most readers will learn things about how a fire starts spreads and acts Mr. Faith handles these details without missing a beat or boring the reader in the slightest." Blaze" uses real life fires, such as the MGM fire in Las Vegas, the Dupont Plaza fire in San Juan Puerto Rico and the Kings Cross underground station fire in London to detail how fires start, how they spread and most surprisingly how people react to a fire that may endanger their life.

The strength of this book is in the way Mr. Faith puts it all together. Most of the chapters read like a good short mystery novel, Where did the fire start? how did it start? was it arson? if so who set it? why did they set it? Faith takes you step by step through the investigation until all the answers that that can be found are found. Many chapters also contain high drama: daring rescues, narrow escapes and all too often tragic and unnecessary loss of life. I highly recommend this book for all fire-fighters, fire investigators, fire buffs or anyone who enjoys reading a good mystery.

	Silent Witness: How Forensic Anthropology Is Used to Solve the Worlds Toughest Crimes by Roxana Ferllini, Cyril Wecht Hardcover Publisher: Firefly Books; ISBN: 1552976254; (September 2002)
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Book Description "Bones have an uncanny knack of holding important clues as to the fate of the individuals to whom they belonged." As portrayed in mystery novels and more than nine television shows including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, American Justice and City Confidential, forensic anthropologists work in an environment where the stakes are high, the pressure is intense, and their findings are vital in criminal investigations. It’s a fascinating and often dramatic world. Go behind the scenes with forensic anthropologists and learn about their techniques, how they locate a body, how they carefully uncover evidence, and how the unique characteristics of each body bears silent witness to age, sex, cause of death and clues as to who or what was responsible. With 29 real-life case studies and more than 350 colour photographs and illustrations, Silent Witness is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the world of forensics.

Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death
by Jessica Snyder Sachs
Hardcover: 240 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.97 x 8.56 x 5.86
Publisher: Perseus Books; ISBN: 073820336X; (October 16, 2001)

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Book Description
How the hot new science of forensic ecology is cracking some of the world's toughest criminal cases.
When detectives come upon a murder victim, there's one thing they want to know above all else: When did the victim die? The answer can narrow a group of suspects, make or break an alibi-even assign a name to an unidentified body. But outside the fictional world of murder mysteries, time-of-death determinations have remained infamously elusive, bedevilling forensic pathologists throughout history. Scientists are doing their best to right this situation, using DNA testing and other high-tech investigative methods. But as Jessica Snyder Sachs argues in Corpse, this is one case in which nature might just trump technology: plants, chemicals, and insects found near the body are turning out to be the fiercest weapons in our crime-fighting arsenal.

In this highly original book, Sachs accompanies an eccentric group of entomologists, anthropologists, and botanists-a new kind of biological "Mod Squad"-on some of their grisliest, most intractable cases. She also takes us into the courtroom, where "post-O.J." forensic science as a whole is coming under fire and the new multidisciplinary art of forensic ecology is struggling to establish its credibility. Corpse is the fascinating story of the 2000-year-old search to pinpoint time of death. It is also the terrible and beautiful story of what happens to our bodies when we die.

	Fingerprints : The Origins of Crime Detection and the Murder Case That Launched Forensic Science by Colin Beavan Hardcover: 256 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.84 x 8.57 x 5.86 Publisher: Hyperion; ISBN: 0786866071; (May 2001)	Click for other books on Fingerprints as Evidence.
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Book Description In the tradition of Longitude and The Professor and the Madman, the fascinating story of a scientific breakthrough that solved one of the most brutal murders in England's history and forever changed the criminal justice system. It is almost impossible to imagine that prior to the 20th century, there was no reliable way to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. All that changed in Britain in 1905, when the bloody bodies of an elderly couple were discovered in their shop. A solitary fingerprint was the only piece of evidence. For fifteen years, Dr. Henry Faulds had been trying to convince Scotland Yard to adopt his system of identification. But when an elite society scientist, Francis Galton, stumbled across Faulds's idea and claimed it as his own, his lofty status quickly convinced Scotland Yard to attempt prosecuting its first murder case using fingerprint evidence. There was one problem, though. Henry Faulds was on the side of the defence. The very father of fingerprinting said that the fingerprint found at the scene did not belong to the accused. Fingerprints is the dramatic human story of how technology found its way into the criminal justice system, of one brilliant, flawed man's struggle to retain rightful credit for his discovery, and of a difficult murder case. Impeccably researched and dramatically told, it traces fingerprinting to its present-day applications and illustrates why the unique tracks we leave with our fingers continue to be one of the most important means of identifying criminals.

	The Process of Investigation : Concepts and Strategies for Investigators in the Private Sector by Charles A. Sennewald, John Tsukayama Hardcover: 348 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.90 x 9.54 x 6.38 Publisher: BH Security; ISBN: 0750673990; 2nd edition (March 24, 2001)
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Book Description -Practical, timely, and incisive information that can be put to use in real situations -Easily understood style that will appeal to both students and professionals in the field -Two new added chapters on Imagery and Computers -Valuable information for law enforcement professionals who want to transition into private sector careers. The field of professional investigation has long been considered the private domain of the public sector. Members of private enforcement agencies have been overlooked in recent books in favour of their public counterparts. With professionalism making a new era in private security, the author feels it's time to draw the line and clearly define the private sector as an individual investigative arm. The Process of Investigation, Second Edition, zeroes in on the specific areas of concern to the private investigator. The new edition covers a wide range of subjects such as the fundamentals of investigation, legal aspects, organisational objectives and strategies. Two new chapters have been added on Imagery and Computers as well containing all new updated information on the Internet, Private Information Providers, Resource references, digital imaging, documenting crime scenes, and managing and analysing investigation information. The Process of Investigations is co-authored by professionals with broad experience in both private and public sector investigations spanning five decades. Drawing on their extensive experience, the authors have updated and revised all chapters, targeting corporate executives, shoplifters, organized burglary rings, warehouse thieves, cashiers, workplace drug dealers, and corrupt public officials. Written for both the student and professional alike, this book compares and contrasts public and private sector enforcers, pinpoints the unique problems facing the investigator in a private agency, and provides updated case studies that illustrate the theories and techniques discussed.

	What the Corpse Revealed: Murder and the Science of Forensic Detection by Hugh Miller Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.89 x 6.74 x 4.16 Publisher: St Martins Mass Market Paper; ISBN: 0312975732; (December 2000)
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Book Description Presented here in dramatic detail are sixteen riveting, real-life criminal cases taken from the files of forensic scientists all over the world. In What the Corpse Revealed, bestselling author and forensic expert Hugh Miller collects these incredible true-crime stories that confounded traditional police detection. Including only those cases solved on the basis of scientific investigation, Miller takes us through each one from the viewpoint of the key actors, and in detailed procedural stages shows how the perpetrators of the crimes were found. Using the faintest fingerprints and often minute samples of blood, hair, and saliva to identify their quarry, the scientists in What the Corpse Revealed pursue the truth with the intensity of obsession. These pages depict the inhuman worst in human nature, yet the investigation of each case reveals forensic scientists at their best. What the Corpse Revealed is a penetrating look at the work of people for whom nightmare and taboo are the stuff of everyday life.

Flesh and Bone : An Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
by Myriam Nafte
Paperback: 173 pages
Publisher: Carolina Academic Press; ISBN: 0890896380; (October 2000)

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Book Description
The first of four sections introduces the context for the book - the definition and development of forensic science. Then, the author moves to anthropology and its sub-disciplines. This provides the backdrop for understanding the context of forensic anthropology.
Section two covers the human body. Some of the pictures in the book are a little upsetting to look at, but after a while, they become a little less disturbing.
Section three deals with the mysteries to be uncovered through the examination of human remains. This part of the book is fascinating and provides some great examples of actual cases. Differences between male and female skeletons and ages are interesting, as is the whole discussion about what death is and what happens to the body afterward.
Section four focuses on the human rights aspect of this type of work.

Unfortunately, there have been too many 'for instances' to illustrate when and why this work is so critical lately.
It provides a good base from which to follow discussions on criminal matters, read detective stories with a new eye and follow new developments in dating and understanding early historical mysteries such as the illness that supposedly threatened King Tut's family.
It is an academic book with many good references and hints for further reading as well as ideas on interesting collections to visit on your travels! All in all, a great book to add to your library.

	Hidden Evidence: Forty True Crimes and How Forensic Science Helped to Solve Them by David Owen, Thomas T. Noguchi, Kathy Reichs (Preface) Paperback: 240 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.65 x 10.02 x 7.04 Publisher: Firefly Books; ISBN: 1552094839; (September 2, 2000)
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Book Description "Hidden Evidence" takes you to the scenes of 40 infamous crimes and into the heart of the forensic investigations. These are the true crime shockers that have grabbed headlines and aroused public passions. David Owen explains the scientific procedures that helped crack every one of these cases -- from the gathering of elusive physical clues to the examination of weapons and bodies, to the use of sophisticated scientific analysis. Threaded throughout the book is the history of forensic science and the technologies that support it, including: fingerprinting, autopsies, handwriting analysis, ballistics, hair sampling, blood typing, DNA testing, dental records, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, compound and electron microscopes, and toxicology. The high-profile cases David Owen used to illustrate forensic developments are from as early as 1775, when Paul Revere used dentures to identify a slain soldier, to the latest developments in the Oklahoma bombing. Most will be familiar to readers, such as: The Lindbergh Kidnapping, Pan Am Flight 103, The Kennedy Investigation, The Hitler Diaries, Wayne Williams, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey MacDonald, Dr. Josef Mengele, Robert Maxwell's suicide, Tsar Nicholas II, and The World Trade Centre bombing. David Owen presents the facts, steering clear of speculation. Comprehensive in scope, thoroughly researched and expertly compiled, "Hidden Evidence" is, in the words of former Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas T. Noguchi," a fascinating book ... [and] an excellent mini-encyclopaedia of widely discussed, high-profile cases."

	Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law by Terrence F. Kiely Hardcover: 368 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.97 x 9.53 x 6.47 Publisher: CRC Press; ISBN: 0849318963; (August 28, 2000)
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Book Description Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law is a comprehensive analysis of the most recent state and federal court decisions addressing the use of forensic science in the investigation and trial of criminal cases. Each case provides a complete overview and analysis of the relevant scientific issues debated by the court in that particular case. These science-related discussions present the court's most recent positions on ballistics, blood analysis, forensic anthropology, and other scientific applications. Each case also provides a thorough examination of the legal aspects of its relevant science-related issues. These legal analyses focus on issues of criminal discovery, the debate over the legal requirements for utilization of an area of medical or other forensic science at trial, and the appellate court's acceptance in whole, in part, or not at all, of the scientist's factual findings and opinions in a wide variety of science-based settings. The author gives special attention to the latest decisions addressing the applicability of the famous Daubert case. Here, he offers a thorough analysis of what constitutes and what does not constitute acceptable science for the basis of an expert's opinion. Against this background, Forensic Evidence: Science and the Criminal Law will aid you tremendously in discerning these intricate factors, thereby boosting your understanding and analysis of science-based criminal cases on both the federal and state levels.

	Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation by Barry A.J. Fisher Hardcover: 552 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.37 x 9.53 x 6.47 Publisher: CRC Press; ISBN: 0849381193; 6th edition (January 26, 2000)	Click here to see the general range of books on Crime Scene Investigation.
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Book Description Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, Sixth Edition examines concepts, field-tested techniques and procedures, and technical information concerning crime scene investigation. This comprehensive text has been widely adopted by police academies, community colleges, and universities. Three professional organizations-the International Association for Identification, the American Board of Criminalistics, and the Forensic Science Society-recommend this book as a text to prepare for their certification examinations. Examines the concepts, field-tested techniques and procedures, and technical information that constitute the backbone of crime scene investigation. Includes check-off lists, crime scene investigation processes as seen after the O.J. Simpson trial, case studies, illustrated photos, and an appendix on equipment for crime scene investigations.


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