The Dollhouse Murders: A Forensic Expert Investigates 6 Little Crimes (Hardcover)

by Thomas Mauriello (Author), Ann Darby (Author), Photographs by John Consoli (Author) "The camera flashed repeatedly in the dimness as the evidence technician walked slowly around the living room at 6903 Pleasant Street, stopping every few inches..." (more)
Key Phrases: evidence tech, first tech, night manager, Mary Campbell, Hazel Washington, Sally Johnson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
While a University of Maryland criminology professor, Mauriello created six dioramas to help teach his students what it takes to investigate and solve crimes. In this volume, aided by novelist Darby (The Orphan Game), he has turned those classroom lessons into a fictionalized how-to manual of the whats, wheres, whys, whens and hows of detective, forensic and medical crime scene investigation. With the six crime scenes-a living room, garage, store, kitchen, dorm and hotel-already laid out in meticulous detail (and photographed by Consoli), Mauriello's writing mirrors the police examination as he works backward from the ending to the beginning. Complete with characters, dialogue and backstories, each diorama comes to life as clues are examined, leads tracked down and witnesses questioned. Given this book's educational foundation, the writing is decidedly no-nonsense and the story lines lean toward the everyday (i.e., these cases aren't quite the Lindbergh baby or O.J. Simpson investigations). Instead of taking away from the effectiveness of the book's message, its simplicity helps to outline the necessary steps of the investigation process that are routinely overlooked in the chaos usually associated with high-profile and intricate cases. For anyone who has been sucked into an episode of C.S.I. or The New Detectives, this book gives a glimpse at the unglamorous factors that go into solving crimes that TV shows often omit.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

The doll is dead. Did Ken do it? Six stories of miniature crimes illustrated in gorgeous color reveal real CSI techniques.

Thomas Mauriello, preeminent expert on crime scene investigation, has been teaching modern CSI techniques for 26 years--how to "peel" a crime scene on a tiny scale including pulling back the bed sheets, turning over the victim, examining the body, etc. Now he uses his tried and tested crime scene dioramas to bring the science of modern crime investigation to everyone. Each of his six miniature crime scene dioramas contains clues to preliminarily determine cause of death--accident, suicide or homicide. A large photo of the dollhouse scene including murder weapons, victims, obvious clues and red herrings introduces each crime.

The text, written by bestelling author and award-winning journalist Ann Darby, takes the reader through what the detective learns when he arrives at the scene to the key questions and clues and then finally to the investigator's explanation of what really happened. After the first wide-angle photo, five follow-up photos focus on key clues spreading out through the remaining chapter. A total of 36 full-color photos from a professional photographer provide stunning visual compliment to the six investigative narratives.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Pi Press; 1st edition (October 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131451650
• ISBN-13: 978-0131451650
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #535,063 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!, November 7, 2003

By A Customer

In light of the recent trend on televison and in movies to whet our appetite for crime scene investigation methods, I found "The Dollhouse Murders" to be just what the M.E. ordered. I discovered there's still much to be learned, and the dollhouse scenarios, so cleverly contrived, are full of details which the other mediums of delivery simply don't have time to explore. Mr. Mauriello and Miss Darby have wedded their talents admirably and with seamless success.

A great read!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Incisive Examination, July 9, 2004

By	William Peschel (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The epidemic of doll-on-doll crime is a fading memory, as real in America's collective memory as the crack epidemic and the O.J. Simpson trials, and all that's left is for the books to come out, letting us look back at those terrible tragedies that riveted the nation. Books like Ann Rule's "The Vinyl-Coated Killer" and Joe McGinnis' "How, Now, Mistress Doll" were excellent contributions to the genre. Now, "The Dollhouse Murders" adds a different perspective by telling the story of six deaths through the eyes of the investigators.

Author Thomas P. Mauriello has taken pains to disguise the names and locations of these crimes, to the point of changing the detective's name to "the Detective." But no matter, these stories retain their dark edge of madness and tragedy, and the plethora of crime-scene photos adds a visceral kick in the gut to even the most jaded true-crime aficionado.

Doll-on-doll crime may occur on a smaller scale, but that doesn't make them any less horrific. There's the attempted robbery at the family store. Amid the cash register and grocery shelves, two men lay dead. We follow the detective as he works the scene, attempting to deduce the chain of events that led to the tragedy: a cracked pane in the pastry case; the pattern of money thrown from the till; the splatter of blood-like paint by the corpses. These are the red threads that must be knitted together to create a satisfying narrative.

Readers interested in learning step-by-step how a scene is "processed" will see that there is no one right method of working, and explains why some crimes don't get solved, how guilt cannot be proven. Clues are gathered using observation, intuition and an intimate knowledge of forensics, such as the way blood gathers where the body meets the floor, or what the size of the entry wound implies. Miss a clue, and the narrative will still be created, but it won't be accurate. Fail to look around at the right time, or fail to keep an open mind as to suspects, and you have another JonBenet Ramsey case on your hand.

Murder freezes a moment in time and the detective is its archivist. "The Dollhouse Murders" opens a window into the lives of dolls, seeing them at work and at home, in places we never see. By placing their deaths in the context of their lives, Mauriello is also issuing a plea for empathy and tolerance, in effect, putting a human face on the vinyl victims. But even more, these are taut, grim tales of violence and death, told with an eye for observation and an ear for detail that recall the best of Joseph Waumbaugh, Ed McBain and Elmore Leonard. These stories pack a punch. And Judy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It, December 20, 2006

By	Judith L. Edwards "mini mama" (Grand Rapids, Mi USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dollhouse Murders: A Forensic Expert Investigates 6 Little Crimes (Hardcover)

The photos in this book are wonderful sharp. Each murder scene has a full photo of the room in which the murder took place with plenty of photos of clues. The format for each model contains a "story line" and goes into detail re the clues & evidence with accompanying details. I enjoy the story lines as they make the scenes more real - kind of like CSI but without finding out who-dun-it. The dioramas were made by the author as a teaching device for crime lab students. Because the aim of these dioramas is help his students "peel" a crime scene, the stories do not contain the answers to the mysteries.