Customer Reviews

Handbook for Death Scene Investigators

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This handbook is one of the few books that you can actually take with you out into the field. Ernst and Dix (of the famed St. Louis University School of Medicine's Medico-Legal Death Investigators Training Course) Have packed the basic scene investigation guidelines, medication reference, and reference photos into an interesting and usable form for the rookie and experienced investigator alike.

"Handbook for Death Scene Investigators," Jay Dix & Mary Ernst: 0-8493-0298-6 (1999) has only 66 pages (11 chapters) of basic material on types of deaths, timing of deaths, decompositions, evidence collecting, signs of CPR and suggestions that forensic sub-specialists are needed in some cases. Appendix A has 12 page glossary of terminology, B has 14 page list of Rx medicines and Appendix C has 6 page narrative describing 45 B/W photographs of deaths, decomposition and injuries including 2 damaged vehicles.

The convenience of the small format (about 3.5 in. x 6 in.) is overshadowed by numerous shortcomings that includes print font too small to be easily read, poverty of useful information, 14 (or more) misspelled words and with 8 of 45 photographs totally missing (blank pages). The book appears to have been overly hastily assembled, not speaking too well for forensic scientists.

In short, the book is grossly overpriced. Yes, I sometimes carry it in my coat pocket.

I am a medicolegal death investigator, and this book is an excellent reference for either seasoned investigators or newbies to the field. The size is great for scene travel. However, the photographs are not of the highest quality.