Murder Under the Microscope.
Time and again it is the most minute scraps of evidence that yield results. The Nancy Titterton case, a sexually motivated murder that took place in New York in 1936, has all the classic simplicity of detective fiction - the murderer was betrayed by a single horsehair.
Many such dramatic tales appear in this new and updated edition of the most gripping catalogue of crimes by acclaimed criminologist Colin Wilson. The book follows the progress of forensic science from the first cases of suspected arsenic poisoning right up to investigations using today's impressive armoury of high-tech methods: ballistic analysis, blood typing, voice printing, textile analysis, psychological profiling and genetic fingerprinting.
The surprisingly modern phenomenon of serial sex crime is covered in depth, from Jack the Ripper through to Lucie Berlin, Mary Phagan, the Black Dahlia, Charles Manson and Peter Sutcliffe - the so-called Yorkshire Ripper. Though sexual crimes are on the increase, Wilson shows that odds are increasingly stacked against the sex killer with the introduction of computerised information retrieval and other fast developing techniques.
This massive and compelling account of forensic crime detection recounts the sometimes unbelievable details of extraordinary cases through history, from poisoners in ancient Rome to modern day serial murders.
