Do not read this if you're squeamish!

I might have mentioned that I'm taking a free online forensics class called "Identifying the Dead," which involves work similar to what happens on the TV show "Bones."

The course, which features the involvement of the wonderful Scottish crime writer Val McDermid, author of the Wire in the Blood series, revolves around a case study involving human remains discovered in a shallow grave on a Scottish hill.

This week we are learning how to clean the bones that were found in the grave and look for damage to them. We have discovered that the murderer cut some of the bones so the body would fit in the grave, thus we are learning how to tell what kind of implement makes what kind of cut marks so we can figure out what he did.

Right after we viewed a video and read an article on the subject, they asked us what kinds of knives and saws we have around the house. Yikes!

I don't think I'll ever be able to slice a pineapple in quite the same way again.

If you're going to write crime novels, it doesn't hurt to get first-hand experience. Well, since the course is online, I don't actually get to handle the bones, but maybe some day I will.

Stay tuned for more about the class!