The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie
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- Create Date：2022-07-07 09:52:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Carla Valentine
- ISBN：1728251842
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Summary
Discover the science of forensics through Agatha Christie's novels
Agatha Christie is the bestselling novelist of all time， and nearly every story she ever wrote involves one―or， more commonly， several―dead bodies。 And the cause of death， the motives behind violent crimes， the clues that inevitably are left behind， and the people who put the pieces together to solve the mystery invite the reader to analyze the evidence and race to find the answer before the detective does。 Nearly every step of the way， Christie outlines the nuts and bolts of early 20th-century crime detection， relying on physical evidence to tell the real story behind the facades humans erect to escape detection。
Christie wouldn't have talked of "forensics" as it is understood today―most of her work predates the modern developments of forensics science―but in each tale she harnesses the power of human observation， ingenuity， and scientific developments of the era。 A fascinating， science-based deep dive， The Science of Murder examines the use of fingerprints， firearms， handwriting， blood spatter analysis， toxicology， and more in Christie's beloved works。
Agatha Christie is the bestselling novelist of all time， and nearly every story she ever wrote involves one―or， more commonly， several―dead bodies。 And the cause of death， the motives behind violent crimes， the clues that inevitably are left behind， and the people who put the pieces together to solve the mystery invite the reader to analyze the evidence and race to find the answer before the detective does。 Nearly every step of the way， Christie outlines the nuts and bolts of early 20th-century crime detection， relying on physical evidence to tell the real story behind the facades humans erect to escape detection。
Christie wouldn't have talked of "forensics" as it is understood today―most of her work predates the modern developments of forensics science―but in each tale she harnesses the power of human observation， ingenuity， and scientific developments of the era。 A fascinating， science-based deep dive， The Science of Murder examines the use of fingerprints， firearms， handwriting， blood spatter analysis， toxicology， and more in Christie's beloved works。
Reviews
Carolyn
，
I just couldn’t finish this。 Just …。no
BookClub
，
I really loved the idea of this book as a devoted fan of Christie’s novels。 My main complaint with this book is how it’s organized， by method of crime。 It’s in sections “fingerprints” for example and then jumps around through Christie’s books。 I think it would have been more enjoyable to have it organized by Christie’s works and the methods used。 The stories that focus on poison， the stories that focus on firearms rather than the other way around。 Since it’s by fingerprints， it’s jumps around at I really loved the idea of this book as a devoted fan of Christie’s novels。 My main complaint with this book is how it’s organized， by method of crime。 It’s in sections “fingerprints” for example and then jumps around through Christie’s books。 I think it would have been more enjoyable to have it organized by Christie’s works and the methods used。 The stories that focus on poison， the stories that focus on firearms rather than the other way around。 Since it’s by fingerprints， it’s jumps around at a manic pace that left me dizzy。 This book has an appendix murder method tables that was the best part。 。。。more
Cynthia
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Very thorough， logically presented， & well explained。 My only issue with it is that as I haven't read all of Agatha Christie's works， and there are many spanning decades， I sometimes lost track of which belonged when。 And at times this book reads like a thesis。 But I enjoyed this book immensely & would recommend it to anyone interested in Agatha Christie， Hercule Poirot， Miss Marple， "cozy" mysteries， or forensics in general。 Very thorough， logically presented， & well explained。 My only issue with it is that as I haven't read all of Agatha Christie's works， and there are many spanning decades， I sometimes lost track of which belonged when。 And at times this book reads like a thesis。 But I enjoyed this book immensely & would recommend it to anyone interested in Agatha Christie， Hercule Poirot， Miss Marple， "cozy" mysteries， or forensics in general。 。。。more
oswajamksiazki
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Polecam wszystkim fanom twórczości Agathy Christie<3
Veronica Barton
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Did you ever wonder how the ever-so-clever literary sleuths solve the crimes they stumble upon？ Agatha Christie fans， writers， and readers will delight in this methodical overview of the science behind the methods Dame Agatha utilized in her mystery tales， by author Carla Valentine。 The forensic evolution behind evidence such as fingerprints， ballistics， handwriting， toxicology， and more are explained in the chapters， including examples of each from the books of Dame Christie。 She was an author Did you ever wonder how the ever-so-clever literary sleuths solve the crimes they stumble upon？ Agatha Christie fans， writers， and readers will delight in this methodical overview of the science behind the methods Dame Agatha utilized in her mystery tales， by author Carla Valentine。 The forensic evolution behind evidence such as fingerprints， ballistics， handwriting， toxicology， and more are explained in the chapters， including examples of each from the books of Dame Christie。 She was an author ahead of her time， bringing in the groundbreaking analysis and methods of the day into the story world of her beloved sleuths， including the astutely observant， Miss Marple and renowned detective， Hercule Poirot。Author Valentine's evidence collection provides a scientific view into how the forensic methods evolved for each， with clever use of Christie's life and literary details that were fascinating for this mystery lover！ A unique reference， highly recommended！ 。。。more
Heather
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Nice breakdown of poisons and how they were used in history and in Agatha Christie's books。 Nice breakdown of poisons and how they were used in history and in Agatha Christie's books。 。。。more
Heather Craig
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So much information in a good way。 Makes me want to go back and read all of Agatha Christie's works。 So much information in a good way。 Makes me want to go back and read all of Agatha Christie's works。 。。。more
Jenn Adams
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Loved this - great combo of info about forensics in general told through the lens of Agatha Christie's novels。 Made me excited to read more Christie as well Loved this - great combo of info about forensics in general told through the lens of Agatha Christie's novels。 Made me excited to read more Christie as well 。。。more
Jason Lyons
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Final Review: 3。7/5。0I went in thinking this was going to be a little more "writing guide to murder"， it isn't， but I wasn't disappointed with what I got。 Definitely more forensics based with comparisons between Christie's works and our own history from the view of a real forensic scientist。 Plenty of literary analysis and a good breakdown of everything crime scene。 Final Review: 3。7/5。0I went in thinking this was going to be a little more "writing guide to murder"， it isn't， but I wasn't disappointed with what I got。 Definitely more forensics based with comparisons between Christie's works and our own history from the view of a real forensic scientist。 Plenty of literary analysis and a good breakdown of everything crime scene。 。。。more
J。J。
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Christie readers will love the detail and explanations of the science behind some of her books。 Also will appeal to those interested in forensic science or literature。
Mortisha Cassavetes
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WoW！ What an amazing book that goes into how Agatha Christie's novels were far ahead time in crime scene investigations and processing。 This book dives deep into her novels investigating things such as blood drippings， gun ballistics， fingerprinting and more。 I thought it was interesting to learn that Hercule Poirot carried a small investigation bag long before the real police officers did。 If you love this author's books than I highly recommend the book。 I really loved it but have to say if you WoW！ What an amazing book that goes into how Agatha Christie's novels were far ahead time in crime scene investigations and processing。 This book dives deep into her novels investigating things such as blood drippings， gun ballistics， fingerprinting and more。 I thought it was interesting to learn that Hercule Poirot carried a small investigation bag long before the real police officers did。 If you love this author's books than I highly recommend the book。 I really loved it but have to say if you haven't read Agatha Christie's novels than it may be a bit difficult to follow along and you may get a spoiler。 This book made it to my 2022 Favorites List！ 。。。more
Martina
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A non-fiction deep dive examination of the development of forensic practices particularly as they are found/used in the novels of Agatha Christie。 The book was written by a forensic pathologist who was drawn to that field during her childhood reading of Christie's novels and her study of biology in school。 She found the opportunity to dissect a frog's leg to be a highlight！ In the book she wanted to examine the 'howdunnit' as well as the 'whodunnit' which had been the focus of much crime novels A non-fiction deep dive examination of the development of forensic practices particularly as they are found/used in the novels of Agatha Christie。 The book was written by a forensic pathologist who was drawn to that field during her childhood reading of Christie's novels and her study of biology in school。 She found the opportunity to dissect a frog's leg to be a highlight！ In the book she wanted to examine the 'howdunnit' as well as the 'whodunnit' which had been the focus of much crime novels earlier on。 Christie early placed emphasis on the 'scene of the crime' and on the use of crime scene bags stocked with gloves and other items useful for the collection of evidence at a crime scene。 Valentine traces the development of techniques in the examination of fingerprints， trace evidence， forensic ballistics， documents and handwriting， 'impressions， weapons and words，' blood splatter， toxicology， and the 'zero hour。' There is a lot of great information packed into this book， and also most of it fascinating。 One small point which popped into my mind was a nod to my 8th grade biology teacher who gave each of us a WHOLE frog to dissect！ No wonder I ended up with a lifelong love for forensics and crime novels！ 。。。more
Dennis Hogan
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I tried valiantly to finish The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie by Carla Valentine， a non fiction account of the forensics from Agatha Christie’s novels。 The concept is sound， the explanations of Christie’s use of science and crime scene investigation technique in building her literary canon。 Sadly， for me it was more of a catalogue than insights and I gave up。
LdyGray
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This book is specifically written for anyone who loves Agatha Christie and wants more information about how forensic techniques work in the real world。 It's divided up into sections on different techniques， interspersed with times Poirot or Marple used or discussed that specific tool。 （i。e。， here's how fingerprints work， and how they were discovered， and this one time Poirot talked about fingerprints in the Murder of Roger Ackroyd。） I found the writing engaging and loved the references to Christ This book is specifically written for anyone who loves Agatha Christie and wants more information about how forensic techniques work in the real world。 It's divided up into sections on different techniques， interspersed with times Poirot or Marple used or discussed that specific tool。 （i。e。， here's how fingerprints work， and how they were discovered， and this one time Poirot talked about fingerprints in the Murder of Roger Ackroyd。） I found the writing engaging and loved the references to Christie。 。。。more
Lyra
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Perfect for fans of golden age detective stories and also for those interested in the history of forensics。 The writing is a bit uneven - with the sort of overly long paragraphs more common in academic writing rather than most mysteries - but worth reading。
H
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I really wanted to like this book。 I’m new to Christie novels but a longtime fan of all things criminal。 Carla Valentine’s Instagram is certainly worth a follow as she provides interesting content in bite sized bits。 This book’s subject matter is so interesting， but it reads as if it had no editor。 The number of exclamation points （at one point I counted four on one page alone） strikes me as one of the most annoying ways for an author to insert themselves into someone else’s story。 I expected th I really wanted to like this book。 I’m new to Christie novels but a longtime fan of all things criminal。 Carla Valentine’s Instagram is certainly worth a follow as she provides interesting content in bite sized bits。 This book’s subject matter is so interesting， but it reads as if it had no editor。 The number of exclamation points （at one point I counted four on one page alone） strikes me as one of the most annoying ways for an author to insert themselves into someone else’s story。 I expected this book to be a quick and interesting read， but instead it took me quite a while to finish it and I skimmed over a lot。 This is a shame because her knowledge base is broad and the subject is fascinating。 She just needed a much better editor。 。。。more
Mary
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Is there such a thing as fan-non-fic？ You know like fan-fic？。。。 That's the vibe for this one。Carla Valentine does an amazing job of gathering the facts， defending the facts all the while not spoiling Agatha Christie's work。 I'm no forensics person， nor is that a particular interest of mine， so I can't say how "credible" or "resourceful" this is -- I mean， she's a mortician -- she knows her dead bodies （right。。。）。I picked this book up because of the title。 Once I got the book， I realized it had a Is there such a thing as fan-non-fic？ You know like fan-fic？。。。 That's the vibe for this one。Carla Valentine does an amazing job of gathering the facts， defending the facts all the while not spoiling Agatha Christie's work。 I'm no forensics person， nor is that a particular interest of mine， so I can't say how "credible" or "resourceful" this is -- I mean， she's a mortician -- she knows her dead bodies （right。。。）。I picked this book up because of the title。 Once I got the book， I realized it had a sub-title。 It was interesting how a mortician is able to nit-pick the inaccuracies （or lack there of） from Agatha Christie's mystery books （series and all）。 Valentine breaks down the book into sections based on method of "killing" and method of "investigation。" Within each of these sections， Valentine refers to the books in which such techniques were used （don't worry， if you're uncultured like me and have not read any of her books， nothing was spoiled -- but I am assuming that for those who have， this is like an Easter egg field）。I did like the tid-bits of history sprinkled throughout the sections -- from when the first case of a certain death occurred， to how Christie would have even known about it （'cuz you know， it's like the early 1900's）。I liked it， but it was just too dry for my taste。 I don't know if I just wasn't in the mood for this， or maybe， "true" true crime books just aren't my thing （which is dumb because I can do true crime documentaries & docu-series）。 I will still recommend it to people， especially if you're an Agatha Christie fan or just like to know how to certain murder techniques were used （does that sound weird？） 。。。more
Teresa
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Five well-earned stars to this meticulously researched study on the forensics that Agatha Christie applied in her crime fiction。 I found this book completely fascinating from beginning to end -- top notch！！
Joey G
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Good read！ Makes me want to read more Christie books。 Also made me re-engage in more apt critique of movies/crime shows which is exhilarating。 Do wish they’d gone more into the complexity of modern improvements， but I get that that wasn’t an issue in the context of the golden age stories。
Ryan Hoffman
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Being a huge fan of Agatha Christie and having an interest in Forensic Science。 This book is very informative of interesting。 It's definitely one I will look back upon。 Being a huge fan of Agatha Christie and having an interest in Forensic Science。 This book is very informative of interesting。 It's definitely one I will look back upon。 。。。more
Darcia Helle
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𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 examines the development and evolution of forensics in relation to Agatha Christie's books。Christie was incredibly smart about criminal science， often referencing newly developed techniques before they were in widespread use。I had no idea！The content is divided into chapters according to the type of forensic science， such as fingerprints， toxicology， blood spatter， etc。 This formatting gives the content clear focus， making it easy for readers to follow along。You don't have 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 examines the development and evolution of forensics in relation to Agatha Christie's books。Christie was incredibly smart about criminal science， often referencing newly developed techniques before they were in widespread use。I had no idea！The content is divided into chapters according to the type of forensic science， such as fingerprints， toxicology， blood spatter， etc。 This formatting gives the content clear focus， making it easy for readers to follow along。You don't have to be familiar with Christie's books in order to read this one。 The forensic journey is fascinating in itself。 Also， Valentine carefully avoids spoilers， so you can read Agatha Christie's books afterward without already knowing the whodunit of each one。*I received a free copy from Sourcebooks， with no obligation to review。* 。。。more
Zaczytana_olcia
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Nie spodziewałam się， że można w tak ciekawy sposób połączyć wiedzę kryminalistyczną z twórczością Agathy Christie。 Carla Valentine w swojej publikacji pokazuje pełnię wiedzy， którą posiadła jako specjalista w swojej dziedzinie。 Tę książkę można określić jako swojego rodzaju kompendium podstawowej wiedzy z zakresu kryminalistyki。 Rozdziały podzielone tematycznie， wyjaśnione najważniejsze definicje， od śladów kryminalistycznych， przez temat balistyki i badanie miejsca zbrodni。 I to wszystko okras Nie spodziewałam się， że można w tak ciekawy sposób połączyć wiedzę kryminalistyczną z twórczością Agathy Christie。 Carla Valentine w swojej publikacji pokazuje pełnię wiedzy， którą posiadła jako specjalista w swojej dziedzinie。 Tę książkę można określić jako swojego rodzaju kompendium podstawowej wiedzy z zakresu kryminalistyki。 Rozdziały podzielone tematycznie， wyjaśnione najważniejsze definicje， od śladów kryminalistycznych， przez temat balistyki i badanie miejsca zbrodni。 I to wszystko okraszone historiami z praktycznie wszystkich książek Agathy Christie！ Autorka pokazuje， jak aktualną i niezwykle obszerną wiedzę miała Królowa Kryminału podczas tworzenia kolejnych bestsellerowych historii。 Valentine naprawdę dokładnie musiała czytać wszystkie książki Christie， bo opisując tematy kryminalistyczne， potrafi przytoczyć dosłownie jedno zdanie z książek Agathy by pokazać， że pisarka włożyła naprawdę mnóstwo czasu w research， tworząc historie dla Poirota czy panny Marple。 Przy okazji warto dodać， że Christie musiała swoją wiedzę na bieżąco aktualizować， bo Valentine wskazuje， że znała ona najnowsze nowinki z zakresu kryminalistyki， jak choćby użycie luminolu， opatentowanego w 1951 roku。 Już rok później w swojej książce Christie zawarła wątek właśnie związany z luminolem。 I choć momentami książka ułożona była nieco chaotycznie， a kilka elementów powtarzało się w różnych rozdziałach， to była to ciekawa lektura。 Na tyle， by namówić mnie do bliższego zapoznania się z twórczością Agathy Christie， z którą do czynienia miałam ostatnio jakąś dekadę， jak nie więcej temu。 。。。more
Sylvia
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I have a love of forensics。 But I mostly like to watch it。 Investigation Discovery is my favorite channel and I must say that I feel quite confident in my ability to guess whodunit in any book I read or fiction crime show I watch。 Non-fiction is not typically my cup of tea when it comes to writing。 But when I was given the opportunity to learn how the great Agatha Christie worked…。I had to！ This was a great， and informative read。 Any true crime buff would enjoy and appreciate this book。 I sure d I have a love of forensics。 But I mostly like to watch it。 Investigation Discovery is my favorite channel and I must say that I feel quite confident in my ability to guess whodunit in any book I read or fiction crime show I watch。 Non-fiction is not typically my cup of tea when it comes to writing。 But when I was given the opportunity to learn how the great Agatha Christie worked…。I had to！ This was a great， and informative read。 Any true crime buff would enjoy and appreciate this book。 I sure did！ 。。。more
Annarella
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This is a great read and a treat if you are an Agatha Christie fan。 I thoroughly enjoyed it as it's well researched and I loved the author's voice and her passion。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine This is a great read and a treat if you are an Agatha Christie fan。 I thoroughly enjoyed it as it's well researched and I loved the author's voice and her passion。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Taylor Walworth
，
Can’t lie， I skimmed the fuck out of this。 I really wanted it to be more interesting than it was， but oh boy， she read like an academic dissertation！ Brought back fond memories of the frantic overnight I pulled trying to finish my own thesis on Virginia Woolf， feminism， and phenomenology。 In short: I was triggered。
Cindyann
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Audio 3。5I REALLY wanted to like this book more and it may be that I used the wrong format for it。 It would make a nice addition to my Christie shelf （books I've had for almost 50 years！）。 While it was interesting， I couldn't follow along as well as if I had the physical book in front of me and could grab whatever Christie book being referenced。 I did remember most of the plot points mentioned and that made my little mystery loving heart happy！ Also， listening through Hoopla with all of the stut Audio 3。5I REALLY wanted to like this book more and it may be that I used the wrong format for it。 It would make a nice addition to my Christie shelf （books I've had for almost 50 years！）。 While it was interesting， I couldn't follow along as well as if I had the physical book in front of me and could grab whatever Christie book being referenced。 I did remember most of the plot points mentioned and that made my little mystery loving heart happy！ Also， listening through Hoopla with all of the stuttering may have affected my patience。 Get it together Hoopla！ 。。。more
Deb Kiley
，
Thank you Net Galley and Sourcebooks for an ARC of The Science of Murder by Carla Valentine for an honest review。 Wow， if you are an Agatha Christie fan or a fan of forensic science， this is the book for you。 The author did a tremendous amount of research to identify all the types of crimes and how they could be solved from all of Christie's books。 The author dove into how Christie used fingerprinting， trace evidence， ballistics， documents/handwriting， impressions/weapons/wounds， blood spatter， Thank you Net Galley and Sourcebooks for an ARC of The Science of Murder by Carla Valentine for an honest review。 Wow， if you are an Agatha Christie fan or a fan of forensic science， this is the book for you。 The author did a tremendous amount of research to identify all the types of crimes and how they could be solved from all of Christie's books。 The author dove into how Christie used fingerprinting， trace evidence， ballistics， documents/handwriting， impressions/weapons/wounds， blood spatter， autopsy， and toxicology in her numerous murders written about and solved in her books。 The author also connected to some history and evolution of the science and real life cases that could have influenced Christie。 My favorite unique feature of this book is the appendix about the Murder Methods for each one of Christie's books-it has icons to show what type of murder was used。 Christie was ahead of her time employing all of these types of detection for each murder and her background in a dispensary helped her with the toxicology episodes。 I rated this a 3 stars overall because as much as I enjoyed all of the research， science and connections to the forensics （5 stars）， it was a little too much detail in each chapter。 。。。more
Tina Rae
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So this book is EXCELLENT！！ I’ve been a Christie fan since I was very young and grew up with her mysteries。 And I also deeply love both true crime and crime television。 So this book just had my name aaaall over it。I learned a lot from this both about forensics and about Christie herself。 I have mostly read her books out of publication order （though I’m working on reading Poirot in order！） so I never noticed how her knowledge of forensics changed throughout her writing career。 I love that this po So this book is EXCELLENT！！ I’ve been a Christie fan since I was very young and grew up with her mysteries。 And I also deeply love both true crime and crime television。 So this book just had my name aaaall over it。I learned a lot from this both about forensics and about Christie herself。 I have mostly read her books out of publication order （though I’m working on reading Poirot in order！） so I never noticed how her knowledge of forensics changed throughout her writing career。 I love that this pointed out the subtle changes that she made in her works as her own knowledge grew but also her callbacks to early works after she'd discovered some of her own mistakes。I also love that this referenced so many of her books （I definitely have a long list of Christie books I now need to prioritize！） and gave more background information on her process and her inspiration。 I also had no idea that she alluded to so many real crimes in many of her books and even based some of her own stories on real cases！So while this book was mostly about Christie and her works and elements of forensics， it also covered a lot of true crime as well。 I really loved reading about so many real cases！ I also wish I could visit the forensics museum mentioned throughout this book and was very sad to learn that it's only open to those who work in the field。 But I'm glad it was referenced so much in this book！ I learned so much just from the mentions of all of those real cases！So this book is just excellent all around and I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it！ If you’re also a Christie fan， this is definitely a must read！ I know I’ll be picking up a physical copy for my shelves！！Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks for allowing me to read this one in exchange for an honest review！ 。。。more
Emma Oldham
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Not at all what I expected。 However it was very interesting。 Definitely would recommend it to someone who is interested in learning more about forensics。
Diane
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