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Blaze Collection
Barriers to Entry
An inquisitive woman defies expectations to become the mother of forensic science in this absorbing short story by New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon.
You will have ninety minutes to solve the murder. A startling declaration by a new Harvard instructor: sixty-seven-year-old Frances Glessner Lee. It’s 1945. Before her, six wary male students given to assumptions—especially when it comes to women without a formal education—are challenged to solve a real-life whodunit using Mrs. Lee’s creation, the crime scene diorama. Every detail is accurate. And every detail matters when solving a crime with no survivors…
Ariel Lawhon’s Barriers to Entry is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.
You will have ninety minutes to solve the murder. A startling declaration by a new Harvard instructor: sixty-seven-year-old Frances Glessner Lee. It’s 1945. Before her, six wary male students given to assumptions—especially when it comes to women without a formal education—are challenged to solve a real-life whodunit using Mrs. Lee’s creation, the crime scene diorama. Every detail is accurate. And every detail matters when solving a crime with no survivors…
Ariel Lawhon’s Barriers to Entry is part of Blaze, a collection of short stories about incendiary women across the decades who dare to defy convention. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.
38 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 22, 2024
457 people are currently reading
5425 people want to read
About the author
Ariel Lawhon
12 books11k followersAriel Lawhon is the critically acclaimed, New York Times Bestselling author of THE WIFE, THE MAID, AND THE MISTRESS, FLIGHT OF DREAMS, I WAS ANASTASIA, and CODE NAME HELENE. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been Library Reads, One Book One County, Indie Next, Costco, and Book of the Month Club selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, four sons, and black Lab—who is, thankfully, a girl. Ariel splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
March 15, 2024
Barriers to Entry by Ariel Lawson. Seminar with law enforcement and medical personnel have 90 minutes to solve a murder. What has been determined? Was it solved?
Bottom line…boring
Bottom line…boring
February 2, 2025
One of seven short stories in the Blaze collection from Amazon, about women who dare to defy convention, some of them historical female pioneers. The stories are not related and can be read in any order.
A very nice historical fiction short story, based on Frances Glessner Lee, known as the "mother of forensic science", who created true crime scene dioramas - dollhouse-like, super detailed, and depicting every little thing you could see in the actual crime scene - used for training homicide investigators.
A very nice historical fiction short story, based on Frances Glessner Lee, known as the "mother of forensic science", who created true crime scene dioramas - dollhouse-like, super detailed, and depicting every little thing you could see in the actual crime scene - used for training homicide investigators.
July 23, 2024
Honestly I kept getting side tracked with this one, but it’s definitely more non-fiction, & what it was about was pretty cool but i legitimately cannot decide if I liked it or not.
June 25, 2024
I really liked this! The description below is far better review than I could ever come up with.
Please read that. You will try along with 3 doctors and 3 policemen/detectives as to what happened. You will know all of the clues and information to figure out who committed the deaths of the mother, father and infant. And the ending? Oh it was good!
Please read that. You will try along with 3 doctors and 3 policemen/detectives as to what happened. You will know all of the clues and information to figure out who committed the deaths of the mother, father and infant. And the ending? Oh it was good!
November 20, 2024
4 stars = Fantastic and easy to recommend.
The best educations are those that happen outside of the classroom. There is no teacher like experience.
If I do not currently have an audiobook going, I will often reach for a short story from one of Amazon’s Originals collections. These are free for Prime members to read and are the perfect length to consume in a single sitting while doing chores. As they are often from established authors, it is also a nice way to sample a writer’s work without committing to a full length book.
This was my 2nd selection from this particular collection, Blaze, which all feature stories about women that have broken through barriers in the past. Both have been excellent. This one is about Frances Glessner Lee, America’s first female police captain, and how she basically created and started the formal study of forensic science. This would be an impressive feat for anyone, but especially so when achieved during a time when women were not even typically allowed to attend university, let alone teach the men.
It is a simple story of a 90 minute seminar she created where she paired up detectives and doctors and tasked them with solving a murder mystery. The crime was based on actual events, and she had painstakingly created an accurate diorama that included the clues that were found at the actual crime scene. These dioramas were handmade works of art that took half a year to build and cost about $6K, which was about what it cost to build an actual single family home in the 1940’s. It helped that Frances was fabulously wealthy, or she likely would have never had the opportunity to break through her barriers.
Her character’s narration is what made the story shine; how the author wrote the likely thought process of an independent and intelligent woman as she tries to win over the respect of people unable to see her value due to being blinded by their bigotry. I have only read one novel by Lawhon, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress, and it was good, but this short story was better.
They do not know what to make of me, a sixty-seven year-old grandmother. A woman dressed as though she no longer cares about the opinions of men. And I don’t.
-------------------------------------------
First Sentence: “You will have ninety minutes to solve the murder,” I tell the class.
Favorite Quote: If only women didn’t have to grow old before the world took note of our achievements instead of our scandals.
The best educations are those that happen outside of the classroom. There is no teacher like experience.
If I do not currently have an audiobook going, I will often reach for a short story from one of Amazon’s Originals collections. These are free for Prime members to read and are the perfect length to consume in a single sitting while doing chores. As they are often from established authors, it is also a nice way to sample a writer’s work without committing to a full length book.
This was my 2nd selection from this particular collection, Blaze, which all feature stories about women that have broken through barriers in the past. Both have been excellent. This one is about Frances Glessner Lee, America’s first female police captain, and how she basically created and started the formal study of forensic science. This would be an impressive feat for anyone, but especially so when achieved during a time when women were not even typically allowed to attend university, let alone teach the men.
It is a simple story of a 90 minute seminar she created where she paired up detectives and doctors and tasked them with solving a murder mystery. The crime was based on actual events, and she had painstakingly created an accurate diorama that included the clues that were found at the actual crime scene. These dioramas were handmade works of art that took half a year to build and cost about $6K, which was about what it cost to build an actual single family home in the 1940’s. It helped that Frances was fabulously wealthy, or she likely would have never had the opportunity to break through her barriers.
Her character’s narration is what made the story shine; how the author wrote the likely thought process of an independent and intelligent woman as she tries to win over the respect of people unable to see her value due to being blinded by their bigotry. I have only read one novel by Lawhon, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress, and it was good, but this short story was better.
They do not know what to make of me, a sixty-seven year-old grandmother. A woman dressed as though she no longer cares about the opinions of men. And I don’t.
-------------------------------------------
First Sentence: “You will have ninety minutes to solve the murder,” I tell the class.
Favorite Quote: If only women didn’t have to grow old before the world took note of our achievements instead of our scandals.
June 30, 2025
I enjoyed this short story. The reader could see this as a story of an elderly teacher using a miniature crime scene to teach medical students and detectives forensic science. However, there is much below the surface. It is the story of a woman who struggled to break into forensic science in the early days of the field's development. At the twilight of her career, she has developed into a strong person. Despite reaching the peak of her profession, she still faces derisive statements from her students.
February 29, 2024
3.5 Stars
Very interesting and fascinating short story, historical fiction/mystery -- lots of information on forensic science investigations. A fictionalized story based on Frances Glessner Lee's studies - she was an American forensic scientist and very influential in developing the science of forensics in the United States. In this story, Frances is 67 years old in 1945, as a new Harvard instructor with 6 male students. She creates a crime scene and gives them 90 minutes to sold a real-life murder mystery.
I enjoyed this overall and while it kept my interest, it just wasn't my absolute favorite. She certainly teaches these men to think outside the box though. I still need to know the answer to who committed the crime though LOL.
Very interesting and fascinating short story, historical fiction/mystery -- lots of information on forensic science investigations. A fictionalized story based on Frances Glessner Lee's studies - she was an American forensic scientist and very influential in developing the science of forensics in the United States. In this story, Frances is 67 years old in 1945, as a new Harvard instructor with 6 male students. She creates a crime scene and gives them 90 minutes to sold a real-life murder mystery.
I enjoyed this overall and while it kept my interest, it just wasn't my absolute favorite. She certainly teaches these men to think outside the box though. I still need to know the answer to who committed the crime though LOL.
March 26, 2025
4⭐️
This was a fun short about a woman schooling a room full of Harvard grads. I was so into the true-crime aspect and examination but it's KILLING me (no pun intended) that we didn’t get to find out what really happened at the crime-scene
This was a fun short about a woman schooling a room full of Harvard grads. I was so into the true-crime aspect and examination but it's KILLING me (no pun intended) that we didn’t get to find out what really happened at the crime-scene
March 1, 2024
Such a good listen on a dreary day. What a brilliant, resourceful, tenacious woman! The narration was perfect.
July 20, 2025
3.5 stars. Part of Amazon’s Blaze series celebrating trailblazing women, this short but fascinating read tells the story of Frances Glessner Lee—a 67-year-old Harvard instructor who, back in 1945, defied the odds to become known as the “mother of forensic science”.
She built miniature crime scene dioramas to help train police officers in spotting clues and thinking like real investigators. Based on actual cases, each tiny room was packed with detail—and they’re so good, some are still used today!
I’m honestly amazed by her creativity and how much time, effort, and money she poured into making these. But what really blows my mind is that she pulled it all off in the 1940s.
She built miniature crime scene dioramas to help train police officers in spotting clues and thinking like real investigators. Based on actual cases, each tiny room was packed with detail—and they’re so good, some are still used today!
I’m honestly amazed by her creativity and how much time, effort, and money she poured into making these. But what really blows my mind is that she pulled it all off in the 1940s.
March 11, 2024
4.5
I listened to this one free on Amazon Prime. This was a weird one to listen to. I feel like if you do not like true crime you will not like this one. This book is about Frances Glessner Lee who is considered the "mother of forensic science". She was a wealthy woman and founded and funded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard to try to bring police and doctors together to solve crimes. She made models of crime scenes for them to study. The models still live on and you can find pictures of them online. So in this book she brings in police and doctors and shows them her model of a crime scene and gives them ninety minutes to solve the crime. That is the whole book. Now I love watching crime shows so I knew instantly the answer but I don't know if people who do not enjoy crime shows or podcasts would enjoy this book, but who knows. The narrator did a good job and I was glad I listened to this one.
I listened to this one free on Amazon Prime. This was a weird one to listen to. I feel like if you do not like true crime you will not like this one. This book is about Frances Glessner Lee who is considered the "mother of forensic science". She was a wealthy woman and founded and funded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard to try to bring police and doctors together to solve crimes. She made models of crime scenes for them to study. The models still live on and you can find pictures of them online. So in this book she brings in police and doctors and shows them her model of a crime scene and gives them ninety minutes to solve the crime. That is the whole book. Now I love watching crime shows so I knew instantly the answer but I don't know if people who do not enjoy crime shows or podcasts would enjoy this book, but who knows. The narrator did a good job and I was glad I listened to this one.
September 6, 2025
This is my fifth of seven books that I have listened to from Amazon's Blaze series about "unstoppable women igniting change" and it's my favorite so far. It's about Frances Glessner Lee who is known as the mother of forensic science. I'm amazed that I hadn't heard of Frances before--not only because she was a female pioneer in forensic science in the early 1900's but because of her creative approach as well. She created true crime scene dioramas on a dollhouse scale which were used for training homicide detectives! To make this short story even better, it was written in such a unique way. If you haven't heard of Frances Glessner Lee (and maybe even if you have), give this short story a listen. It will be worth every minute of the total 74 minutes!
October 21, 2024
it was okay
June 8, 2025
3.5 stars
About 20 years ago, I worked for an academic book publisher, and one of the books that fascinated me was about crime scene analysis. It contained photographs of dioramas depicting crime scenes scattered with clues. I thought it was such a clever way of teaching forensic science and always wondered who came up with that idea.
Turns out, it was a woman way ahead of her time.
This book outlines the story of a true historical figure, Frances Glessner Lee, who first brought the concept of crime scene analysis, n the form of her Nutshell dioramas, to Harvard.
This novella gives us a fictionalized glimpse of her first class with a select group of students and their interaction with the diorama. They are given 90 minutes to solve the crime depicted.
I was so taken by the story that I googled these Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, and the meticulous detail that Frances infused into each scene is truly staggering.
About 20 years ago, I worked for an academic book publisher, and one of the books that fascinated me was about crime scene analysis. It contained photographs of dioramas depicting crime scenes scattered with clues. I thought it was such a clever way of teaching forensic science and always wondered who came up with that idea.
Turns out, it was a woman way ahead of her time.
This book outlines the story of a true historical figure, Frances Glessner Lee, who first brought the concept of crime scene analysis, n the form of her Nutshell dioramas, to Harvard.
This novella gives us a fictionalized glimpse of her first class with a select group of students and their interaction with the diorama. They are given 90 minutes to solve the crime depicted.
I was so taken by the story that I googled these Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, and the meticulous detail that Frances infused into each scene is truly staggering.
August 8, 2024
Interesting, but I want to know if the crime has been solved.
August 19, 2025
Very, very interesting! I enjoyed the premise for which Lawhon wrote this one. It is a short story based on the teaching methods of Frances Glessner Lee (1878-1962), the mother of forensic science. Ms. Lee used what she liked to call "nutshell dioramas" of the crime scenes in her lessons. Lawhon includes "Author's Notes" at the beginning and end of this story that give some explanations of Lee's theories and background, and information as to where more information and photos of the dioramas can be accessed.
This one is short, but told in such a way to really draw the reader in. And I was glad to learn about Ms. Lee and her crime solving techniques. I will be watching for references to her in my future reading!
This one is short, but told in such a way to really draw the reader in. And I was glad to learn about Ms. Lee and her crime solving techniques. I will be watching for references to her in my future reading!
April 29, 2024
4.5 ⭐️ I really enjoyed this short story. It was one of my favorites in the Amazon Blaze Stories. The idea of recreating a Crime Scene exactly as it was using miniature recreations of the scene was such a novel approach. The students had 90 minutes to Solve the Crime. It taught each one to look for details and think through each plausible idea. The novella is based on a real woman who did exactly this and now is considered The Mother of Forensic Crime. I wish this was a longer book and I did really want to know the ending, who really committed the crime.
March 6, 2024
This was fascinating and expertly written. I had previously heard about these "nutshell" dioramas and how they helped solve crimes, but I didn't know any details. My only quibble is that I now want more, and a full-length novel would be greatly appreciated, especially since Lawhon is a fabulous writer.
August 15, 2024
Just 90 minutes to solve a murder!
This was an intriguing and quick peek inside the use of crime scene dioramas.
FREE for Amazon Prime Members and from the author of Frozen River, Code Name Helene and I Was Anastasia.
This was an intriguing and quick peek inside the use of crime scene dioramas.
FREE for Amazon Prime Members and from the author of Frozen River, Code Name Helene and I Was Anastasia.
March 10, 2024
Enjoyable as a short story!
March 18, 2025
This is one of those read-in-one-sitting Amazon Originals short stories, and it is riveting. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down!
Written by historical fiction novelist Ariel Lawhon, this is the based-on-real-life story of Frances Glessner Lee, a Harvard instructor and heir to the International Harvester fortune. When the story opens in April 1945, she is 67, a grandmother, and rather dumpy looking. Lee is holding a seminar in the relatively new science of legal medicine. Attending are three top third year Harvard medical students and three Massachusetts State Police detectives, all three of whom were recently promoted. All the men are wary—and one openly hostile—to being instructed by a woman. Granted, she is only in this position because of all the money she donated to Harvard, but Lee is smart, savvy, and will teach these six men a lesson they will never forget.
That lesson is how to solve a crime. She has created an intricately detailed diorama of a true crime scene. A married couple and their infant daughter have died by gunshots. Who did it? Was it a homicide? A murder-suicide? Using only what they can see in the diorama in which every possible clue has been included, the six men are given 90 minutes to solve the crime.
This short story is part of the Amazons Original seven-story Blaze collection. Each story features fierce female characters who broke through barriers in their field, be it art, science, war, love, and injustice.
Written by historical fiction novelist Ariel Lawhon, this is the based-on-real-life story of Frances Glessner Lee, a Harvard instructor and heir to the International Harvester fortune. When the story opens in April 1945, she is 67, a grandmother, and rather dumpy looking. Lee is holding a seminar in the relatively new science of legal medicine. Attending are three top third year Harvard medical students and three Massachusetts State Police detectives, all three of whom were recently promoted. All the men are wary—and one openly hostile—to being instructed by a woman. Granted, she is only in this position because of all the money she donated to Harvard, but Lee is smart, savvy, and will teach these six men a lesson they will never forget.
That lesson is how to solve a crime. She has created an intricately detailed diorama of a true crime scene. A married couple and their infant daughter have died by gunshots. Who did it? Was it a homicide? A murder-suicide? Using only what they can see in the diorama in which every possible clue has been included, the six men are given 90 minutes to solve the crime.
This short story is part of the Amazons Original seven-story Blaze collection. Each story features fierce female characters who broke through barriers in their field, be it art, science, war, love, and injustice.
March 11, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Barriers to Entry#
Author: Ariel Lawhon
Spice: Kindle Unlimited
Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2024
What I like about this Novella is how the author Ariel Lohan depicts strong women who are not subservient or intimidated by the perceived mail superior mental acuity than women. Our female heroine prepares future medical examiners to look at clues and two to discern how murders occur at random. she does not back down from a challenge and opens young detectives and medical. Examiners minds to consider many options. Frances Glessner Lee was a pioneer in the science of forensic pathology and introduced a new system for investigating acts of violence. She trains the young men in the science of three murders and her methods are still used to this day. #forensicscience #criminology #techniques #cuttingedgework #BarrierstoEntry @ariel.lawhon #truecrime
🔪
#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #booklove #bookreader reader #reviewer
Barriers to Entry#
Author: Ariel Lawhon
Spice: Kindle Unlimited
Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2024
What I like about this Novella is how the author Ariel Lohan depicts strong women who are not subservient or intimidated by the perceived mail superior mental acuity than women. Our female heroine prepares future medical examiners to look at clues and two to discern how murders occur at random. she does not back down from a challenge and opens young detectives and medical. Examiners minds to consider many options. Frances Glessner Lee was a pioneer in the science of forensic pathology and introduced a new system for investigating acts of violence. She trains the young men in the science of three murders and her methods are still used to this day. #forensicscience #criminology #techniques #cuttingedgework #BarrierstoEntry @ariel.lawhon #truecrime
🔪
#book #books #bookAddict #BooksOfInstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #reader #booklove #bookreader reader #reviewer
February 26, 2024
This short story was amazing. I wish it continued, and we could see the students in class through the whole week seminar as they are puzzling out the crime and learning. I can see how that would be difficult to write, though, as the author states in her notes that this case and diorama is still being used to teach homicide investigation techniques today, so the outcome to this case is not publicly known.
December 31, 2024
This short really made a difference for me and continues to resonate with me. It sparked my curiosity about the other stories in the series, and I’m eager to explore them now. The portrayal of life’s cruelty and the strength of women was powerful and eye-opening. It reminded me that we often can’t fully understand the hardships others face, but the resilience of women, in particular, is truly remarkable. This story left a lasting impact, and I won’t forget it anytime soon.
February 22, 2024
This was utterly fascinating
January 26, 2025
Well-written, as I would expect with this author. Very interesting tidbit about a slice of the history of American criminal investigation techniques. But, I got more out of the Google search and dive through Reddit threads than I did from this little story. Rather than teach, entertain, reveal, this whisper into history says "hey, Frances Glessner Lee was an interesting person. Spend a few minutes and look her up!" And very little more.
October 20, 2025
Barriers to Entry
is a short story written by Ariel Lawhon, contributing another great read about women who consistently braved the societal conventions of the worlds into which they were born. It is part of the Amazon Original Stories Blaze Collection. This is my second read of such contributions, and so far, they are well worth the time and are a great way to learn more. In both cases I've read and learned about someone of which I had no previous knowledge.
Super short, so 4 super short stars for finding out about Frances Glessner Lee, a pioneer of modern criminology and forensic science.
Super short, so 4 super short stars for finding out about Frances Glessner Lee, a pioneer of modern criminology and forensic science.
March 12, 2025
I actually did an image search of “Three-Room Dwelling" by Frances Glessner Lee” as mentioned in the author's note and found it really interesting.
The blurb mentions about solving a murder using crime scene dioramas. However, i am disappointed as there is no conclusion on how the murder occurred or who is the murderer.
Else, a pretty decent read.
The blurb mentions about solving a murder using crime scene dioramas. However, i am disappointed as there is no conclusion on how the murder occurred or who is the murderer.
Else, a pretty decent read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2026
*4.5 Stars*
This short story needs to be an entire book! Lawhon is so gifted at writing compelling characters, and this short story is no exception. I want more! One of the rare instances when I turned the last page and could not believe how it ended. Even more infuriating, I will NEVER KNOW (you have to read to know what I’m talking about). I’m refusing to give it 5 stars because I want more.
This short story needs to be an entire book! Lawhon is so gifted at writing compelling characters, and this short story is no exception. I want more! One of the rare instances when I turned the last page and could not believe how it ended. Even more infuriating, I will NEVER KNOW (you have to read to know what I’m talking about). I’m refusing to give it 5 stars because I want more.
July 31, 2025
A quick, intriguing read that totally pulled me in. Now I need to go see the dioramas (I had no idea they’re right in Baltimore at the Chief Medical Examiner’s office!). The fact that it’s based on a real case makes it even more fascinating and now I’m dying to know what really happened. Creepy, compelling, and totally bingeable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews