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How to Solve a Crime: The A-Z of Forensic Science
'Endlessly fascinating...meticulously written and thoroughly absorbing book' Financial Times
Out *Revised and Updated* The gripping new book by the UK's most eminent forensic scientists, Angela Gallop
__________
CRIME [Noun]: An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law
Forensic science is one of the most important aspects of any criminal investigation.The impartial and objective evidence it provides can help convict the guilty. It enables courts to have the confidence in their decisions and to ensure that justice is done.
Professor Angela Gallop has been at the forefront of forensics for more than 45 years. During her remarkable career, she has established and run forensic science laboratories and has worked on thousands of cases in the UK and across the world. In How to Solve a Crime, she describes some of her own and her colleagues most intriguing cases and the wide range of skills and techniques used to solve them.
Whether it's looking at blood patterns and footwear marks at crime scenes to work out what happened, extracting data from suspects mobile phones to discover where they were at critical times, or analysing fragments of textiles fibers, glass or paint to determine where they might have come from, Gallop shows that every contact really does leave a trace and every trace can help to solve a crime.
With unparalleled access and insight across a wide range of specialisms, How to Solve a Crime is a fascinating definitive and authoritative account of real-life forensic science.
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Praise for Angela Gallop
'An hour with Dr Angela Gallop is like a tutorial from a real-life Sherlock Holmes.' Daily Mail
'Thank God we have scientists like here.' The Times
Praise for WHEN THE DOGS DON'T BARK
'Fascinating' Guardian
'Offers a chilling glimpse into her life's work. . . fascinating stuff' Sunday Times
'Compelling' Daily Mirror
'A casebook that reads like The Encyclopaedia of Murder' Daily Express
'One of the professions leading lights' Woman & Home
Out *Revised and Updated* The gripping new book by the UK's most eminent forensic scientists, Angela Gallop
__________
CRIME [Noun]: An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law
Forensic science is one of the most important aspects of any criminal investigation.The impartial and objective evidence it provides can help convict the guilty. It enables courts to have the confidence in their decisions and to ensure that justice is done.
Professor Angela Gallop has been at the forefront of forensics for more than 45 years. During her remarkable career, she has established and run forensic science laboratories and has worked on thousands of cases in the UK and across the world. In How to Solve a Crime, she describes some of her own and her colleagues most intriguing cases and the wide range of skills and techniques used to solve them.
Whether it's looking at blood patterns and footwear marks at crime scenes to work out what happened, extracting data from suspects mobile phones to discover where they were at critical times, or analysing fragments of textiles fibers, glass or paint to determine where they might have come from, Gallop shows that every contact really does leave a trace and every trace can help to solve a crime.
With unparalleled access and insight across a wide range of specialisms, How to Solve a Crime is a fascinating definitive and authoritative account of real-life forensic science.
_________
Praise for Angela Gallop
'An hour with Dr Angela Gallop is like a tutorial from a real-life Sherlock Holmes.' Daily Mail
'Thank God we have scientists like here.' The Times
Praise for WHEN THE DOGS DON'T BARK
'Fascinating' Guardian
'Offers a chilling glimpse into her life's work. . . fascinating stuff' Sunday Times
'Compelling' Daily Mirror
'A casebook that reads like The Encyclopaedia of Murder' Daily Express
'One of the professions leading lights' Woman & Home
288 pages, Paperback
Published May 2, 2023
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32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 24, 2023
A whistle stop tour of all things forensic which doesn't really work. It feels as though Gallop was just milking the field for this one, trying to squeeze as much in as she could to make a quick ££.
There are cases here that have been discussed in other forensic books (including Gallop's other book When the Dogs Don't Bark: A Forensic Scientist’s Search for the Truth), old information about the history of DNA testing, old cases etc.
I got bored quite quickly and ended up skim reading a lot of the sections.
A half-arsed attempt from Gallop.
There are cases here that have been discussed in other forensic books (including Gallop's other book When the Dogs Don't Bark: A Forensic Scientist’s Search for the Truth), old information about the history of DNA testing, old cases etc.
I got bored quite quickly and ended up skim reading a lot of the sections.
A half-arsed attempt from Gallop.
November 14, 2023
A very interesting book to listen to. The author goes through all the different methods which can be used to forensically solve a crime – including, but not restricted to, DNA, insects, vegetation, blood, footprints, fingerprints. She stresses that, although DNA evidence has been a game changer in forensic science – enabling cold cases as well as current crimes to be solved – it is not infallible, and is one tool among many.
In each chapter on a new tool, she gives describes how that tool can be used, and discusses a case where either she or a colleague used it to solve a case.
Highly recommended.
In each chapter on a new tool, she gives describes how that tool can be used, and discusses a case where either she or a colleague used it to solve a case.
Highly recommended.
April 20, 2025
Great book , really enjoyed the cases and all the forensic insight behind it
Read
January 11, 2026Good. Informative… could have been better with more scientific details.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews