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kk_bonton's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
lost_luna's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting and in depth analysis of multiple recent crimes in the UK and what went wrong in each situation. This really highlights the issues within the UK justice system and should be read by anyone who has a link to this.
anniereads221's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
HP referenceslunar_glass's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I found this book to be a really interesting read. I have always been interested in forensic science due to my love of crime books and TV shows so I was looking forward to reading this.
Jim Fraser provides an in depth insight into the criminal investigation scene, how evidence is analysed, stored, used and the problems that come with this. Aside from his accounts of six different cases (with short injections of cases similar or where similar problems have arisen), he discusses the issues he has faced when working with police officers and outside companies. It is interesting to read about the lack of consideration that some police officers have for forensic investigators and while it was not all surprising that he'd viewed some officers as incompetent or ignorant, I was surprised at how often this has happened with little or no change to criminal procedures or police training.
Another interesting point I picked up on was the involvement of the media. I was already aware of there being cases of police officers selling/providing the media with sensitive case information however I was unaware that this spanned all the way up the ranks of the justice system. He briefly mentioned how the media prioritise which cases they want to print or focus on. Something I have noticed in news reports is the fact that in murder cases that face high coverage are often of young white females with decent or "socially acceptable" jobs and/or are of children. There is a lot of background information that brings the systematic racism and of the justice system and while improvements have been made in the past years it is not nearly enough.
In conclusion, I found this an incredibly interesting read and would highly recommend. It highlights the many issues the UK's justice system contains and the lack of measures that have been taken to improve this all while providing an in depth look at forensic science and its importance.
Jim Fraser provides an in depth insight into the criminal investigation scene, how evidence is analysed, stored, used and the problems that come with this. Aside from his accounts of six different cases (with short injections of cases similar or where similar problems have arisen), he discusses the issues he has faced when working with police officers and outside companies. It is interesting to read about the lack of consideration that some police officers have for forensic investigators and while it was not all surprising that he'd viewed some officers as incompetent or ignorant, I was surprised at how often this has happened with little or no change to criminal procedures or police training.
Another interesting point I picked up on was the involvement of the media. I was already aware of there being cases of police officers selling/providing the media with sensitive case information however I was unaware that this spanned all the way up the ranks of the justice system. He briefly mentioned how the media prioritise which cases they want to print or focus on. Something I have noticed in news reports is the fact that in murder cases that face high coverage are often of young white females with decent or "socially acceptable" jobs and/or are of children. There is a lot of background information that brings the systematic racism and of the justice system and while improvements have been made in the past years it is not nearly enough.
In conclusion, I found this an incredibly interesting read and would highly recommend. It highlights the many issues the UK's justice system contains and the lack of measures that have been taken to improve this all while providing an in depth look at forensic science and its importance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Sexual violence
librariangeorgia's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, and Murder
tildafin16's review against another edition
3.0
I just ... for me, this was just marred by the author constantly laying into the Police, repetitively so the the title could easily have been ‘why the Police suck at investigating murder’ and that became the main point. It started to really bore me, not because I have any basis to disbelieve him, but because it’s not what I bought the book to read so maybe devoting one chapter to the problems with the system would have been better than bringing up the same gripes continually . I thought it would be about the authors own experiences in forensic science but actually it was more about ‘here are all the ridiculous things the police and other scientists have done over the years’
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