Attention authors and morbidly curious readers! This is a (forgive the cliché) must-have. I own a few other forensics books by Lyle. I love those and am now adding this newest one to the forensic family on my bookshelf.
First, broaden your minds. The questions asked and answered in Lyle’s newest are not just typical how-tos. For example, who would have thought to ask: ‘Can injected alcohol kill an already intoxicated person?’ Here are few others I’ll share as proof positive of the ‘morbidly curious’: ‘Can beach sand be used to connect a killer to his crime?’ ‘What substance available in 1924 would prevent blood clotting?’ ‘Before the invention of the stethoscope, how did a physician determine if someone was dead?’ (Please don’t tell me they guessed!) ‘Could DNA from spontaneously combusted vampires reveal their age?’
What blows me away is not just the questions asked. It is also that Lyle is able to not only answer them but do so intelligently and very thoroughly. He gives examples and ideas, depending upon how it’s being used in the author’s story. If you need to know how to make something “forensically-fictionally correct,” (adverb on adverb-cringe here!) Lyle is definitely the one to go to.
As an author, this book is a very valuable resource, as are his other forensic books and Lyle himself. 8 STARS.
Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “Deadly Decisions”
1 comment:
I've had the opportunity to read and use some of D.P. Lyle's work in "Forensics for Dummies". I've had the honor of reading the articles he contributes to Suspense Magazine and I've even had the distinct privilege of speaking with him via email. He's intelligent, insightful and generous with his expertise. Take some time to read his work, he's very informative and entertaining.
Terri Ann Armstrong, author of "How to Plant a Body" and the Menace Trilogy
Post a Comment