Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers [Hardcover]

D. P. Lyle (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312365519 | ISBN-13: 978-0312365516 | Publication Date: August 21, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

How long can someone survive in a cold, damp cave without food or water? How was diphtheria treated in 1886? Can Botox kill? Can DNA be found on a knife years later? How are mummified corpses identified? How long does it take blood to clot when spilled on a tile floor? What happens in death from electrocution?
 
As a consultant to many novelists around the world and to the writers of such popular TV shows as Monk, Law & Order, House, and CSI: Miami, D. P. Lyle, M.D., has answered many cool, clever, and oddball questions over the years. Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers is a collection of the best of these questions. The answers are provided in a concise and entertaining fashion that will keep you wide awake so you can read "just one more."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Indispensable . . . Don't even think of writing a medical mystery without the wise counsel of Dr. D. P. Lyle."
- Lee Goldberg, author of the Diagnosis Murder and Monk novels
 
"A terrific resource for crime writers and anyone interested in forensics . . . will jump-start your imagination about all kinds of ingenious crimes, crime-solving techniques, and plot twists."
- Matt Witten, supervising producer of the Fox TV show House
 
"Every crime-fiction author's best friend . . . as essential to my library as my Strunk and White."
- Hallie Ephron, author of Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel
 
"There's damn good reason why Dr. Doug Lyle's e-mail is in every crime writer's address book and why his reference books belong on every aspiring writer's book shelf: His advice comes from the head of a medical expert but also from the heart and imagination of a writer. Whenever I paint myself into a forensic corner, Dr. Doug is always there to rescue me."
- P. J. Parrish, author of An Unquiet Grave

About the Author

D. P. Lyle, M.D., is the Macavity Award-winning and Edgar Award-nominated author of the nonfiction books Murder and Mayhem: A Doctor Answers Medical and Forensic Questions for Mystery Writers, a compilation of the most interesting questions he has received over the years, and Forensics for Dummies, an in-depth look into the world of forensic science.
            Dr. Lyle is a practicing cardiologist in Orange County, California, and has worked as a story and technical consultant with many published authors and with the writers and producers of several popular television shows, including Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Cold Case, Peacemakers, House, Medium, and 1-800-Missing.
            Through his Web site, the Writer's Medical and Forensics Lab (www.dplylemd.com), Dr. Lyle works with writers and readers to enrich the authenticity of stories they write and read.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312365519
• ISBN-13: 978-0312365516
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable resource for writers and an entertaining book for readers, September 3, 2007

By 

David Montgomery "Book Critic" (davidjmontgomery.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers (Hardcover)

Nothing ruins a good crime novel faster than factual errors or logical mistakes. That's why so many writers turn to Dr. D.P. Lyle for help. A practicing physician, Lyle is a writer himself, and he helps his colleagues figure out inventive (and accurate) ways of doing mayhem to the human body. "Forensics and Fiction" collects some of the most interesting questions Lyle has answered. Want to know how long a human head immersed in the North Sea would remain recognizable? This is the place to look. Not only is the book valuable for all the useful, obscure information it contains, it's also fascinating to see what kinds of questions writers ask. (Some of them, as you might expect, are rather strange.) "Forensics and Fiction" is an excellent resource for writers and an entertaining, informative read for fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, August 26, 2009

By 

Peggy Blann Phifer "Peg" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers (Hardcover)

This is one of those books you don't just sit down and read. It's a reference book that you reach for when you come to a bump int the road during your manuscript.

I've already found it quite useful ih my writing and I recommend it to anyone who is writing mystery, suspense, thriller-type fiction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and fact filled book, May 5, 2011

By 

Angelus1967 "Angelus1967" (W/S, NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers (Hardcover)

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to write mystery fiction and even to those who are just interested in how the human body reacts to different stressors. Most any way that you could think of to kill someone is here as well as pleanty of information about what happens to the body after death occurs. Freat reference material for writer and reader alike.