what a truly fascinating read. I just didn't want to put it down. Jim Fraser worked as a forensic scientist for over 40 years, so has worked many many cases and in this book he tells us of a few. I had even heard of some of the cases! this is an very un-putdown-able book, if you have an interest in criminology/ forensic/true crime then this is a must read. This book has now made me want to change my current degree! a lot of fascinating information that really makes you think!

This was an amazing book! Completely compelling and hugely interesting. Many of the cases featured happened within my lifetime and I was familiar with them, which gave an extra facet to the book, for me at least. The author obviously had a fantastic career and was clearly an expert in his field. His frank descriptions of the institutionally inflexible, inconceivably incompetent and frequently incomprehensible actions of the Metropolitan police force came as no real surprise, but what was surprising is that the truth is even worse than rumour and conjecture. Fraser exposes the ineptitude of the police investigations behind some of the highest profile murder cases in the United Kingdom, but at no point does one get the impression that he has any particular axe to grind or that he bears any animosity towards the police force. Indeed, his treatment of them comes across as respectful and sincere. He is simply giving us an account of his experiences while working on these cases, and the result is quite shocking. However, Fraser does give away his years of institutional experience by his over-liberal use of acronyms, which I found a little annoying, not to mention unnecessary. There is nothing like the gratuitous use of acronyms to separate those who 'know' from those who don't, and to put those on the outside firmly in their place. Fraser tells his stories in a dizzily haphazard style, which is somewhat confusing. While writing about one case, he habitually hares off into an account of a completely different case by way of illustrating a particular point, which often had me wondering why we suddenly appeared to have moved on to a new case when the previous one was still unfinished. Although this did make each case study a little difficult to negotiate, it also gave us yet more insight into a fascinating occupation. Also, a little restructuring of the book's chapterisation would also have helped. Currently, a new case begins with a new chapter, but different stages of the same case also have their own chapters. This causes added confusion while the reader attempts to try to ascertain exactly where he is and what is going on. A better way would have been to split the different case studies into separate sections, each of which would then be chapterised. Despite the disorganised structure and meandering prose-style, this is an exceptionally good book. I read it from cover to cover in two days - foreword, introduction, afterword and all, and I am about to begin it all over again. No mean feat for a non-fiction book to gain my interest so completely. I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

Fraser is a highly experienced forensic scientist and here he uses high profile cases to explain his profession and its successes, challenges and - inevitably - it’s limitations. He worked on high profile investigations such Damilola Taylor, Rachel Nickell and Megan and Lin Russell. He also busts some myths about the case of Gareth Williams - the GCHQ spy - whose body was found in a locked sports holdall. I liked his style which is detailed and does not pull any punches when it comes to criticising key players such as the labs funded by the government to test key evidence. I also liked that Fraser is not at all self-aggrandising. Overall I was left with the understanding that forensic science is painstaking and skilled work. Any errors can jeopardise a whole case and lead to humiliation in court. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes true crime but also has an interest in the science behind it.

I find books like this fascinating. The author has worked as a forensic scientist for over 40 years. He's worked on thousands of cases, and in this book presents a few 'stand out' ones. True crime books are interesting anyway-but rather than just retelling what is generally known about a case or cases-it's so much better to have someone telling us who was right in the middle of the happenings. Someone who tested various evidence. Someone who was instrumental in helping catch the perpetrator. After a bit of a long-winded intro-and I am a person who always has to read prologues/intros etc-it quickly gets going, and is cracking. Informative, yet highly readable. Cases I'd heard of, and a few I hadn't. Crimes in the UK. I give this 4 stars, as there were just two areas which seemed a bit slower to read than the rest of it. A fascinating read for the most part, but I found a few areas a bit tedious. Then it was back to very interesting reading again.