In this compelling and chilling memoir, a top forensic investigator lifts the lid on the most notable and notorious murder investigations of his forty-year career.
How is murder investigated and what role does forensic science play in solving cases? In this gripping book Jim Fraser gives a unique insight into forensic science and examines in detail some of the UK's most high-profile murder investigations in recent decades, including the deaths of Rachel Nickell, Damilola Taylor and Gareth Williams the GCHQ code breaker.
Drawing on his personal experience as a forensic scientist and cold case reviewer, Fraser reveals how each of these cases unfolded as a human, investigative and scientific puzzle, and how some were solved and why others remain unsolved or controversial even today.
About the Author
Jim Fraser is a Research Professor in Forensic Science at the University of Strathclyde. He has forty years' experience in forensic science and has worked on many high profile cases, in various roles, including as an expert witness, case reviewer, senior police manager, policy adviser and researcher. He has also advised many public agencies including police organisations in the UK and abroad, the Home Office, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament.
Industry Reviews
"Jim Fraser has been at the forefront of forensic science in the UK for decades... A fascinating insight into complexities of real-life criminal investigations from their start, often at a blood-stained scene, through the complex laboratory processes to their conclusion in the court room... Totally enthralling."
Dr Richard Shepherd, bestselling author of Unnatural Causes
"In this fascinating account of what really went on behind the scenes of Britain's most famous murder cases, Fraser slides not just the evidence, but the whole criminal legal system, squarely under his forensic microscope. Everyone interested in justice - how it works, and how it fails - should read this compelling book."
Sarah Langford, bestselling author of In Your Defence
"In this engrossing and accessible professional memoir, Jim Fraser opens his forensic files and offers the reader a fascinating insight into some of the most notorious cases that he has worked on during his lifetime."
David Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Criminology Birmingham City University
