This compilation of medical and forensic science questions from crime writers around the world provides insight into medical and forensic science as well as a glimpse into the writer’s creative mind. How do hallucinogenic drugs affect a blind person? Will snake venom injected into fruit cause death? How would you perform CPR in a helicopter? What happens when someone swallows razor blades? How long does it take blood to dry? Can DNA be obtained from a half-eaten bagel? D. P. Lyle, MD, answers these and many more intriguing questions. The book is a useful and entertaining resource for writers and screenwriters, helping them find the information they need to frame a situation and write a convincing description. TV viewers, readers who enjoy crime fiction, and those who want to know more about forensic science can keep up with the news and understand the science behind criminal investigation. From traumatic injuries to the coroner’s office, the questions and answers are divided into five parts, making it a compendium of the incredible information that lies within the world of medicine and forensics.

Answers medical and forensic questions about such topics as doctors and hospitals, poisons and drugs, police and the crime scene, coroners and autopsies, traumatic injuries and illnesses, and the crime lab.

Bestselling author of Broken Ground “offers fascinating glimpses” into the real world of criminal forensics from its beginnings to the modern day (The Boston Globe). The dead can tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them. Using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces, forensic scientists unlock the mysteries of the past and serve justice. In Forensics, international bestselling crime author Val McDermid guides readers through this field, drawing on interviews with top-level professionals, ground-breaking research, and her own experiences on the scene. Along the way, McDermid discovers how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine one’s 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. Prepare to travel to war zones, fire scenes, and autopsy suites as McDermid comes into contact with both extraordinary bravery and wickedness, tracing the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.

Do you want forensics to play a starring role in your fiction, but you find that you're not quite sure what it's all about? Forensic Science for Writers reveals the secrets behind forensic science technology. You'll explore how investigators analyze blood, DNA, fingerprints, hair, documents, ammunition, corpses, and other physical evidence. From the code-breaking tricks of the cyber-sleuth to the traditional procedures of the autopsy room, you'll investigate the strengths and weaknesses of forensic science. Forensic Science for Writers is not just about science. You'll learn how to use forensics to create plot twists. And you'll see how best-selling authors successfully incorporated forensic science in their stories. You'll also learn common misconceptions about forensic analysis that plague films and novels - the types of errors that you'll want to avoid in your own writing. This book is based upon an online course that was offered through colleges and other organizations. More than 800 students took the course, including writers, schoolteachers, law enforcement personnel, and attorneys. "As an already successful writer," one student said, "I am sure I will refer to these lessons over the coming years as I continue to write novels."

"The entries touch on the disciplines of criminal justice, criminal and civil law, literature, and history to provide a broad base for understanding the diverse ways forensic science affects our society."--BOOK JACKET.

Love triangle—motive for double murder? First loves are never forgotten. Ever. Certainly not for Tommy "Pancake" Jeffers. His first-kiss, sixth-grade love, Emily, who he has not seen since grammar school, is sliding toward divorce in the artsy Gulf Coast town of Fairhope, Alabama. Longly Investigations has been charged with looking into the finances involved. When Emily doesn't appear for their nervously anticipated meeting, Pancake's radar goes on high alert. Her body, along with that of Jason––one of two guys she has been dating––is found murdered, execution-style, Pancake calls in Jake, Nicole, and Ray. Who would have done this? Could it be the soon-to-be ex, who has an ironclad alibi; the other guy Emily was seeing––jealousy being a motive for harm; or do the drugs found in Jason's pocket indicate a drug-related hit? That world yields a host of suspects. As they peel back the layers of this idyllic community, dark secrets come to light and convoluted motives and methods of murder are revealed. Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich While all of the novels in the Jake Longly Thriller Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: Deep Six A-List Sunshine State Rigged The OC (coming October 2021)

Nothing is easy in The Big Easy PI Jake Longly and Nicole Jamison head to New Orleans at the behest of Nicole's uncle, movie producer Charles Balfour, when his megastar, A-list actor Kirk Ford, awakens in his hotel bed with the body of Kristi Guidry, a local college coed. Ford, in the Big Easy for a location shoot, remembers little of the evening and nothing of the murder. And, to make matters worse, Kristi is the niece of a local mafioso-type who will do whatever is necessary to avenge her death. Balfour is losing money every day the filming is stalled—he needs his actor cleared, and quickly. Surrounded by glitzy Hollywood stars and intimidated by seedy underworld characters, Jake and Nicole encounter nothing but obstacles. Something isn't right. The facts don't fit. Who would want Kristi dead? Why frame Kirk for the murder? Everyone has an opinion, including Kristi's friends and ex-boyfriend, the local homicide detectives, and a fortune-teller. The clock is ticking as Jake and Nicole struggle to decipher who's lying, who's telling the truth, and exactly who schemed to murder Kristi Guidry. Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich While all of the novels in the Jake Longly Thriller Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is: Deep Six A-List Sunshine State Rigged The OC Cultured (coming 2023)