It's a frankly awe inspiring book. I had a general interest in the subject matter (forensic investigation), but since reading it I've seem the field differently. The narrative way of telling a story, the cold cases, the explanations, it has me hooked. And the Meek and Jennings case! Cold case with so many threads it's hard to explain in 4 hours, yet in a chapter I feel I understand. The author worked on it as one of the main investigators, and the insight! I've checked it out of the library at least 3 times so far.
It's a summary of his time working as a forensic investigator with narrative elements. It covers how he got into the field, murder, how they identify children's deaths, charts of bones cut with different tools, cremation, and so many cold cases. You become detached from the subject matter in a clinical way sometimes, but it pulls you back in with another detail. The last Tsar and Anastasia, death written about with care for emotions, but also for the physical world: why where the bodies the way they were, how did they get there. His firsthand accounts about uncovering a gang murder are also amazing.
I want more books like this, troves of knowledge and exciting. The full title is Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R. Maples.
by u_don_see_will