Crime & Clues

Mute Witnesses: Trace Evidence Analysis

By Max M. Houck

Review by Daryl W. Clemens

The publishers of this book were kind enough to send me a review copy. They probably gave up on me quite some time ago, I've just been too busy with other projects to write this review. Which is a shame. This is one of the best forensic science related books I've ever read. One might think that trace evidence is not the most exciting subject, but once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.

The book is edited by Max Houck (formerly of the FBI lab), and the authors are all among the top names in the trace evidence field. The authors spend some time lamenting the lack of interest in trace evidence now that DNA evidence is on the scene, but they have a point. Some cases aren't going to be solved with DNA and if we don't continue to train people in trace analysis we are going to miss out.

Just reading the introduction to this book gives the reader a valuable lesson in the history of forensic science, the importance of trace evidence, it's recovery and evaluation. It's almost worth it's cover price for the introduction alone.

Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside The Criminal Mind

Edited by: John H. Campbell & Don DeNevi
Published by: Prometheus Books (2004)

Review by Katherine Steck-Flynn

The title of this book is somewhat deceiving. "Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside the Criminal Mind" is what the cover reads. I expected a true life recounting of the fabulous adventures of the world's leading profilers. I guess I thought this might be an inside look at the true life stories of the people on which many movies and TV programs are based. I expected to read about the cases in which the profilers were involved and how they used their skills to develop profiles of unknown killers. The book is not in the least what I expected. This is not to say that I was disappointed with this book. I quite enjoyed some of the articles. I am, however, accustomed to reading and deciphering scientific and statistical jargon.

The Profilers is a compilation of 22 articles which range from some of the classic studies done in the early eighties to more modern research projects. The subject matter ranges widely from serial killers behavioral traits to geographical profiling. All of the research papers in this book were produced with some affiliation to the F.B.I.'s behavioral science unit.