Val McDermid is one of the finest crime writers we have whose novels have captivated millions of readers worldwide with their riveting narratives of characters who solve complex crimes and confront unimaginable evil In the course of researching her bestselling novels McDermid has become familiar with every branch of forensics and now she uncovers the history of this science real-world murders and the people who must solve them The dead talkto the right listener They can tell us all about themselves where they came from how they lived how they died and of course who killed them Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help serve justice using the messages left by a corpse a crime scene or the faintest of human traces Forensics draws on interviews with some of these top-level professionals ground-breaking research and McDermids own original interviews and firsthand experience on scene with top forensic scientistsAlong the way McDermid discovers how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine ones time of death how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist were able to uncover the victims of a genocide Its a journey that will take McDermid to war zones fire scenes and autopsy suites and bring her into contact with both extraordinary bravery and wickedness as she traces the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.
