Book reviews

Forensic Chemistry analysis (GHBIGBL, THC and anabolic steroids). Chapter 8 covers the basic drugs broken down into alkaloids and non-

Suzanne Bell alkaloids including appropriate reaction mechanisms. Overall within these chapters there was little in the way of information

Pearson, Prentice Hall regarding the actual analysis of drugs after the presumptive

Prentice Hall, 2005 testing stage and no information presented regarding actual

ISBN: 0-1 31 478354 (Hardback) toxicological analysis of samples.

This book is aimed at "juniors and seniors" in college chemistry courses primarily in the US and is the latest in a growing list of such texts emerging from Prentice Hall. The book is generally well structured and contextualised, however there are a few omissions (such as glass evidence) and different topics are dealt with to varying degrees of depth and breadth. In my view the text fulfils its purpose as an introduction to forensic chemistry for its target audience, though may have less relevance to UK students than those in the US. There are also some nuggets of valuable information for the practitioner.

The text is divided into four parts. The introduction chapter has obvious relevance to the legal system and forensic methodologies followed in the US with some historical references thrown in for good measure, as well as paying some (albeit brief) attention to the professional aspects of forensic practice.

Chapters 2 and 3 give a nice introduction to the topic of statistics and multivariate analysis essential tools for today's forensic chemistry lab and deals with topics such as uncertainty measurements, classical statistics, errors, sampling and even has a brief mention of Bayesian statistics (not always a great favourite with everyone). Chapter 3 focuses on mathematical tools for data analysis and exploration such as cluster analysis (PCA and HCA) and introduces QA, QC and validation. Again nice to see this in an undergraduate text book.

Part 2 (chapters 4-5) addresses the sample preparation and some instrumentation (mainly spectroscopy based) used in Forensic Chemistry laboratories. Topics covered include liquid-liquid and solid phase extraction methods, TLC and Immunoassays. Chapter 5 includes some good basic physical chemistry relating to the different spectroscopic techniques (Jablonski diagrams etc), however I was a little surprised to see the author state that a detailed review of GC and HPLC were beyond the scope of the text as these are the main stay of techniques used in any forensic chemistry laboratory.

Part 3 (chapters 6-8) of the text deals with drug analysis and forensic toxicology. Again legal classifications etc are from the US perspective and will not always be relevant to an international audience. The chapters are well researched and up to date. In chapter 6, the section on drug profiling includes a cursory description of some of the problems in relation to its practical use (this may be outside the scope of the text) but does mention stable isotope ratio measurements as a potential tool in profiling. Some basic pharmacology is also included. Chapter 7 deals with the analysis of drugs of abuse and has some nice discussion and structural mechanisms for presumptive drug testing which in not always in evidence in other textbooks of this nature. The final part of this chapter deals with acidic drug

Part 4 (chapters 9-14) shifts the focus to fires, explosives, colour, polymer and fibre analysis. I was a little surprised to see copies of diagrams relating to aspects of combustion which I recognise from DeHaan's Kirks Fire Investigation which were not specifically referenced, though Kirk was a general reference at the end of the chapter. There was also cursory coverage of fire investigation and debris analysis with little attention being paid to pyrolysis and combustion products, again this may be beyond the scope of the book. The chapter on colour was better with a lot of useful basic information well presented, followed by a chapter on inks and paint (including some discussion on ink ageing). The final chapters deal with polymers and fibres and again present the material in a way that is easily understandable to its target audience.

N Nic Daeid

Practical Analysis and Reconstruction of Shooting Incidents Edward E. Hueske

CRC Taylor & Francis ISBN: 0-8493-23304

Practical Analysis and Reconstruction of Shooting Incidents 'is intended to provide the foundation skills used to investigate shooting incidents' (back cover). The book was written to be a practical guide for both the Crime Scene Investigator and the Forensic Scientist.

The author, Edward E. Hueske, has spent over 30 years as a Criminalist in firearms working in combined government crime laboratory services in Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma. He now works as an independent consultant in firearms examination.

The comprehensive book contains 16 chapters in an easily understandable and well presented format including never-before- published case studies, supported by technical diagrams and also crime scene photographs. The case samples of both JFK and Robert F Kennedy assassinations will prove interesting to readers.

The chapters deal with the theory and practice of shooting incidents and reconstruction and also cover equipment and use, examination and testing of weapons and ammunition components including Gunshot Residue Testing (GSR) and bullet hole and wound characteristics.

Hueske provides useful chapters on the bullet ricochet phenomena; bloodstains and blood spatter analysis at shooting

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Book reviews

scenes. Trigonometry, geometry and calculations of impact angles are discussed in detail.

No book on this subject would be complete without the fundamental study of firearms design, functions and classification.

Worthy of note is the presence of chapters dealing with report writing, demonstrative evidence and courtroom presentation. The complete process from scene to court is described well and the text flows naturally and can be read with ease from cover to cover or each chapter read in isolation.

The book also includes useful exercises, suggested further readings and also lists some useful websites.

Overall this is an excellent book that will be of interest to the ballistics expert. No Crime Scene Manager should be without a copy, who will find that the systematic evaluation and approach invaluable which could equally be applied to any scene examination.

The book will be of interest to anyone who has an interest in reconstruction of shooting incidents and firearms.

Nick Mitchell

The Science of Sherlock Holmes: from Baskenrille Hall to the Valley of Fear, the real forensics behind the great detectives greatest cases E. J. Wagner

John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2006 Hardcover 256 pages El 6.99 ISBN: 0-471 -64879-5

As one inspired by the Sherlock Holmes stories when a teenager, I am always ready to dip into any one of the many books about my hero to see whether it offers insight into how today's forensic reality matches Conan Doyle's fiction.

"The Science of Sherlock Holmes" is essentially a history of forensic science written in an absorbing way. It has lots of real case examples and covers many forensic disciplines, including pathology, entomology, toxicology, crime scenes, anthropometry, fingerprints, ballistics, footwear marks, bare footprints, particulate traces, blood, handwriting and typewriting. Also discussed, among other odd things, are witchcraft, animals and disguise. Each chapter concludes with a Sherlockian postscript called "Whatever remains", where more little-known facts are on offer.

The chapter entitled "A Picture of Guilt", about personal identification, is typical. As well as dealing in an informative way with the likes of Bertillon, Faulds and Locard, it has stories

about them including one about Edmond Locard and an organ grinder. In "Whatever remains" there is a fascinating explanation for identical twins having different fingerprints, namely that within the womb the still-malleable ridges of the foetuses' fingers acquire different shapes according to what they touch.

The book is well-researched in respect of historical sources and is a mine of information on old cases. The author, through her fluent style, is able to conjure up images of bygone days. I particularly liked the account of the bare footprint evidence in the Jessie M'Pherson case.

There is a short glossary, a substantial bibliography and an index that includes all the references to individual Holmes stories: very useful. In fact, several times while going through this book, I did go back to my trusty John Murray "Sherlock Holmes: the Complete Short Stories" and re-read a story for the umpteenth time.

There have been lots of books about the great fictional detective and arguably even more about how we forensic scientists came to be doing things the way we do now. If, like me, you enjoy books on both the history of forensic science and on Sherlock Holmes, then this is the one to read.

Roger J Davis

Scientific Protocols for Fire Investigation John J. Lentini

CRC Press (Taylor & Francis) 2006 Hardcover f 79.99 ISBN 0-849320828

This is a detailed book which is almost 600 pages with 450 colour photographs and diagrams. It is divided into several sections: Fire science and fire dynamics. Fire investigation procedures. The evaluation of ignition sources. Analysis of ignitable liquids. Thirty case histories The mythology and errors in fire investigation. The professional practice of fire investigation.

John Lentini is an analytical chemist who has for the last 25 years carried out on-scene fire investigation, laboratory analysis of fire debris and the review of cases for both criminal and civil defence.

Mr Lentini is known in the fire investigation community as an individual who has worked hard to eliminate the myths and legends that are frequently used by practitioners and may be taught in courses. His concerns regarding the miscamages of justice of arson & arsonlmurder cases are apparent in the text. He

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