How To Solve a Murder: The Forensic Handbook [Paperback]

Michael Kurland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0028604105 | ISBN-13: 978-0028604107 | Edition: 1

Michael Kurland takes armchair detectives step by step through the crime lab to find out how today's sleuths solve the most complicated crimes on scraps of evidence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; 1 edition (July 6, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028604105
• ISBN-13: 978-0028604107
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #613,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A plump, middle-aged man with greying hair and mild, hazel eyes looking out from behind wire-rim glasses, Author Michael Kurland has the perpetually nervous look of a rabbit invited to lunch at the Lions' Club. He has been a teacher of obscure subjects to disinterested children, the editor of a magazine even more idiosyncratic than himself, a seeker of absent persons, a magical explainer, and guest lecturer at numerous unrelated events. But he has never wandered far from his chosen profession of scrivener for very long, since he finds the fawning idolatry of his fans a useful counterbalance to the disinterest of landlords and the disapproval of bank managers.

In Kurland's over 30 books he has romped through a variety of fields. His non-fiction works cover topics as diverse as forensic science, criminal law, espionage, amateur radio, and the history of crime in America, and have been selections of the Military Book Club, the Readers' Digest Book Club, the Junior Literary Guild, and the Writers' Digest Book Club, among others.

Kurland has written a dozen or so science fiction and fantasy novels, notably "Ten little Wizards" and "A Study in Sorcery," set in Randall Garrett's Angevin Empire, and "The Unicorn Girl," which was nominated for a Hugo. He now mainly writes mysteries, including "The Infernal Device," the first of (currently) five Professor Moriarty novels, which was nominated for both an Edgar and an American Book award, and "Too Soon Dead" and "The Girls in the High-Heeled Shoes," set in the 1930s and chronicling the mystery-solving talents of Alexander Brass, a columnist for the New York World. A couple of his books, notably "The Last President," and "Button Bright" fit tenuously into that nondescript category known as "mainstream."

The next Moriarty novel, tentatively titled "Who Thinks Evil," is in the works.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start., July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: How To Solve a Murder: The Forensic Handbook (Paperback)

The book How to Solve a Murder is a good book for those looking for the basics of how homicides are solved. It delves into issues such as witnesses, finger printing, and other evidence collection and analysis processes. Though a bit boreing at times, the presentation, a story form, is well done and the information useful. Not for in-depth study needs.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars O.K., June 22, 2001

By 

missdsr (Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Solve a Murder: The Forensic Handbook (Paperback)

I liked the title, and the cute cover, and the idea behind the book (to walk you through an imaginary murder, from beginning to end). The concept was good, but the actual delivery was not. The text is written in what I thought was a very fragmented type thinking process. The train of thought seemed "zig-zag", for lack of a better phrase. It skipped around from one thought or point to another, then would flash sideways, then try to return to what the original story was. The writer probably needed help putting his ideas down on paper in a more interesting way, and in a format that was easier to follow and that held the readers attention. It was hardly intriguing enough to finish, though I did use sheer will power to get to the end.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and well-researched, May 5, 2000

By 

Gordon Graham (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Solve a Murder: The Forensic Handbook (Paperback)

I'd sum up this book as accessible, well-researched, nicely illustrated, and altogether pleasant to read. I bought this book to help research a mystery novel I'm writing myself, and I found it quite adequate for that purpose. The author uses the device of describing a crime and then solving it to help things move along; it's a nice idea, but his crime scenario is really quite pedestrian and the solution quite mundane. Especially compared to some of the more intriguing cases that he describes in the sidebars. These true-life cases are some of the best content in this book, as he shows how forensic evidence was used to clear or convict various suspects. The history of police investigation methods is sketched in nicely, and there is a great deal of information about fingerprints and guns, if you're looking for that in particular. All-around, it's a nice job, well worth the reasonable cost. I was considering spending $75 for a textbook on forensics, and I think this book served me better.