Buy used: $26.89

FREE delivery September 14 - 19

Or fastest delivery September 12 - 18

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Pebbles Reads

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

Follow the Authors

Douglas P. Lyle

Howdunit Forensics Paperback – April 4, 2008

by D P Lyle (Author)

4.6 158 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

"Please retry"

—

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$26.89

$30.00

$2.58

Kindle
$6.99 Read with Our Free App
Paperback
$26.89

16 Used from $2.58 5 New from $30.00

Just because you don't have all the tools and training of a full-time medical examiner doesn't mean you can't learn your way around a crime scene.

In Forensics, award-winning author and TV show consultant D.P. Lyle, M.D., takes each area of forensics—from fingerprint analysis to crime scene reconstruction—and discusses its development, how the science works, how it helps in crime solving, and how you as a writer might use this technique in crafting your plot. This comprehensive reference guide includes:

Real-life case files and the role forensic evidence played in solving the crimes
A breakdown of the forensics system from its history and organization to standard evidence classification and collection methods
Detailed information on what a dead body can reveal—including the cause, mechanism, and manner of death
The actual steps taken to preserve a crime scene and the evidence that can be gathered there, such as bloodstains, documents, fingerprints, tire impressions, and more

Forensics is the ultimate resource for learning how to accurately imbue your stories with authentic details of untimely demises.

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Writer's Digest Books
Publication date

April 4, 2008
Dimensions

6 x 1.1 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1582974748
ISBN-13

978-1582974743
See all details

Lee Lofland
245
Paperback
51 offers from $2.88
Benjamin Sobieck
128
Paperback
26 offers from $4.08
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
362
Paperback
13 offers from $8.38
Serita Deborah Stevens
144
Paperback
68 offers from $2.63
D P Lyle
11
Paperback
22 offers from $13.55
Russell Bintliff
39
Paperback
60 offers from $1.49

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

D. P. Lyle, MD 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 and Forensics for Dummies. His published fiction includes the thrillers Devil's Playground and Double Blind. He 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, Monk, Medium and House.
www.dplylemd.com

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Writer's Digest Books; Illustrated edition (April 4, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1582974748
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1582974743
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.32 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.1 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #698,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #220 in Forensic Medicine (Books)
- #853 in Words, Language & Grammar Reference
- #16,761 in Classic Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.6 158 ratings

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Douglas P. Lyle
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
D. P. Lyle is the Amazon #1 Bestselling; Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Award winning; and Edgar(2), Agatha, Anthony, Shamus, Scribe, Silver Falchion, and USA Today Best Book(2) Award nominated author of 17 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the Samantha Cody, Dub Walker, and Jake Longly thriller series and the Royal Pains media tie-in novels. His essay on Jules Verne’s THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND appears in THRILLERS: 100 MUST READS, his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology THRILLER 3: LOVE IS MURDER, and his short story “Bottom Line” in FOR THE SAKE OF THE GAME. He served as editor for and contributed the short story “Splash” to SCWA’s anthology IT’S ALL IN THE STORY.
He is International Thriller Writer’s VP for Education, and runs CraftFest, Master CraftFest, and ITW’s Online Thriller School. Along with Jan Burke, he was co-host of Crime and Science Radio. He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Peacemakers, Cold Case, House, Medium, Women’s Murder Club, 1-800-Missing, The Glades, and Pretty Little Liars.
Website: http://www.dplylemd.com
Blog: http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com
Crime & Science Radio: http://www.dplylemd.com/crime--science-radio.html
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DPLyleMD
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/dplylemd
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dp-lyle-md-5368a816/
See more on the author's page
D. P. Lyle
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

158 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2023

Verified Purchase

Useful information

One person found this helpful

Suspense writer's best friend

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2017

Verified Purchase

DP Lyle is a treasure for suspense writers. His book is a primer on criminal evidence, from arsenic to asphyxiation, bullet holes to bloodstains. What was the cause of death? The time of death? The mechanism? The manner? Did you know a dead body loses heat at the average rate of 1.5 degrees per hour? Or that rigor mortis takes 12 hours to reach its max, stays there for 12 hours, then recedes over next 12 hours? Lyle covers the gamut of basic forensics. And if you have a specific question that his book doesn't cover, there's a good chance he'll give you a personalized answer on his blog.

10 people found this helpful

Getting the Details Right

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2009

Verified Purchase

Have you ever read a book, and you know a certain detail is wrong? It can bring the entire story to a quick stop. You may even feel the author has violated that covenant between writer and reader.

DP Lyle has provided a wonderful assest to writers. His book helps a writer get it right. Those pesky forensics details that can bring a story up short are presented herein. No longer do writers have to worry about the process of preparing DNA or what blood splatter should look like from a certain distance.

Even moreso, the book is fascinating to read. It provides just enough of the science for anyone to understand without going so deep a lay person gets lost. This book should be on the bookshelf of every mystery/thriller writer. And if you have a child who has an interest in science, this book can only increase their interest in science.

19 people found this helpful

More Than I Expected

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2009

Verified Purchase

The Howdunit Forensics book covers everything from DNA testing, to forgery, to asphyxia, and it covers it thoroughly.
For testing methods (i.e. paternity, DNA, etc.), the book will give you procedures, uses, how long they take, what kind of materials can be used to carry out the tests, the shortcomings of each test, and more.
For murder situations such as asphyxia and gunshot wounds, "Forensics" covers different types of strangulation and goes into how investigators can tell them apart. It's very specific, very informative, but not so informative that the reference feels like a textbook. There were times when I looked up a couple of things on the internet to supplement the information in the book, but it's a reference book, and in that regard, it does its job extremely well. And it definitely makes research a lot easier.
I really don't have anything to complain about with the book. Great for writers, easy to read/understand, just an all around good reference book.

35 people found this helpful

Great resource for authors

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2016

Verified Purchase

How does one review a book that is not fiction, and that is strictly informative? First, let me explain that I am an author, and I bought this book to make certain my police scenes and facts were correct. I found the book informative, well organized and quite detailed.There were a few things I would have liked to know that weren't covered by this book, but no one book can answer all questions. However, of all books of this type, this one was by far the best.

14 people found this helpful

A complete introduction to the field of Forensics written for ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

A complete introduction to the field of Forensics written for beginners. If you are talking about police investigations you will need to read this book front-to-back so you don't accidentally call someone a Pathologist instead of a Coroner. I rated this book at 5 stars for completeness but I was tempted to deduct a star for the awful publishing quality. The printer of this book reminds me of an old photocopy machine where solid blocks of colour have ink streaking and there are occasional inks spots, actually, this book was printed with an old photocopy machine.

4 people found this helpful

Deborah K. Dobbins

Howdunit Forensics.....

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2009

Verified Purchase

This book has greatly exceeded the expectations as a reference guide for my writing adventures. It is very detailed, organized and well thought out. It is very detailed and not for the faint of heart... so if in depth details about an autopsy or evidence collection is too much for you, you shouldn't read this.

I also place this book beyond a wrtiers guide. Though this is not a "textbook" by any means, this is great for anyone interested in a possible career in forensics as this would be a good way to learn about some generalized topics.

5 people found this helpful

Kristina Whisman

The crime writer's Science of solving Crimes

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

Real-life case files and the role forensic evidence played in solving the crimes. A breakdown of the forensics system from its history and organization to standard evidence classification and collection methods. Detailed information on what a dead body can reveal- including the cause, mechanism, and manner of death. The steps taken to preserve a crime scene and the evidence that can be gathered there, such as bloodstains, document tampering, tire impressions,and more. Forensics is the ultimate resource for learning how to write your stories with authentic details of untimely demises.

Forensics the easy way.

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

An outstanding read. Clear and to the point, no wasted verbiage. If you are a student of forensics or any criminal justice course for that matter, this is a must have. While so many of the texts on forensics are dry and complex, this book explains it all in a straightforward manner. or if you plan to just write a "who done it" story, this is the resource book for you to put all the technical stuff together. More than worth the price.

Great for Forensic students and professionals

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book was required for a masters level course I was taking. Normally required texts are barely used and are frustratingly expensive. I'm very glad this book was required! It is a GREAT resource for those studying forensics and those who are working professionals in the field. Usually I return texts that I do not feel will offer real assistance at some point in the future. I kept this text, and I have it downloaded on my kindle.

One person found this helpful

Readable Coverage of Forensics for Writers

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

The book covers the basics and touches on the pitfalls that writers can avoid in writing forensic narratives. It's coverage falls behind the proliferation of changes in a technical field evolving under Moore's Law, so I am looking for a follow-on volume detailing what only a few years ago seemed the fantasies of speculative fiction.

One person found this helpful

The Crime Writer's Bible

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

DP Lyle is a medical doctor and forensics expert who grants his time to answering writer's questions and producing work that helps those writers get the details correct in their books. Anyone writing any forensic scene should have this book on their shelf (or in the Kindle collection). Lyle's blog is a staple of mystery and crime writers and books like this provide great reference material for your work.

One person found this helpful

Forensics: A guide for writers IBSN 978-1-58297-474-3

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is a fantistic book for anyone who is into crime novel writing or crime reporting or for the forensic student as well. I teach crime scene technologies and forensic investigations so I can state that the information in the book that Dr. Douglas Lyle has presented is accurate and will be easly understood. This is a must read and you will not be disappointed.

Perry Lyle, Ph.D. Candidate

Well Written, Informarive

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

The author writes very clearly, thus making technical material easily accessible. The book is well organized, informative, and an exciting, pleasant read.

One person found this helpful

Jacqueline Klueh

Great resource to own

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

I am working on a series of mysteries and this is one of those very helpful books I keep on hand for reference material. I like the organization of the book and the information is relevant. Glad to include this in my list of reference material. If you are an up and coming writer this book is wonderful for the mystery genre.

One person found this helpful

Get to Know Us

Make Money with Us

Amazon Payment Products

Let Us Help You

English United States

© 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates