Helpful Score: 3
First admission I'm making is that I love true crime books. The
second admission I'm making is that I love science/scientific proof. This book perfectly combines both. The true story of a murder in England with telltale biological evidence left behind had one obvious suspect that the authorities thought was a dead ringer. All of the men in the entire town helped solve the case by mostly voluntarily participating in a "blooding" which ultimately gave them the proof they needed. Excellent writing by an author more known for his best-selling fiction, mostly police novels.
second admission I'm making is that I love science/scientific proof. This book perfectly combines both. The true story of a murder in England with telltale biological evidence left behind had one obvious suspect that the authorities thought was a dead ringer. All of the men in the entire town helped solve the case by mostly voluntarily participating in a "blooding" which ultimately gave them the proof they needed. Excellent writing by an author more known for his best-selling fiction, mostly police novels.
Helpful Score: 3
An amazingly written true crime book. Don't start this one if you have things to be done, because they won't get done. You think you have it all figured out and wham another piece of the story is dropped.
Helpful Score: 2
an interesting true crime story of one of the first cases to involve DNA and 'genetic fingerprinting'. a quick and easy read and rather facinating!
Helpful Score: 1
i really enjoyed reading this book. it gave a lot of personal details and didn't have a lot of dry legal stuff in it.
Helpful Score: 1
From Library Journal
Wambaugh, best known for his books dealing with American crime and detection, here tells the engrossing story of two British sex murders and the police hunt for the killer. The title stems from a procedure of genetic fingerprinting detected by examining blood samples, and used by the police to catch the murderer. Armed with the new discovery for detection, the police launched a massive drive to "fingerprint" men in the Narborough village area. Wambaugh gives an inside look at the police and their intense and, at last, successful drive to catch the murderer. He also discusses the process, and some of its limitless possibilities. An excellent account of murder, detection, and this amazing scientific discovery. Recommended.
- Sally G. Waters, Stetson Law Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Wambaugh, best known for his books dealing with American crime and detection, here tells the engrossing story of two British sex murders and the police hunt for the killer. The title stems from a procedure of genetic fingerprinting detected by examining blood samples, and used by the police to catch the murderer. Armed with the new discovery for detection, the police launched a massive drive to "fingerprint" men in the Narborough village area. Wambaugh gives an inside look at the police and their intense and, at last, successful drive to catch the murderer. He also discusses the process, and some of its limitless possibilities. An excellent account of murder, detection, and this amazing scientific discovery. Recommended.
- Sally G. Waters, Stetson Law Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Helpful Score: 1
great, couldn't put it down!
Helpful Score: 1
A very interesting look into how DNA profiling began.Horrible case but a great true crime read.
Helpful Score: 1
The begining of modern crime detection.
Helpful Score: 1
This was the first true crime I read and now I am hooked
A true story of a murder solved by "genetic fingerprinting" the forerunner of DNA. Very good book
True crime at it's best by a master of the written word.
Good story, but it could have been a shorter book, My impression was that there was a lot of "filler" material added to make the book long enough for publication. I do enjoy police procedurals, Wambaugh as much as any, and it was a thorough treatment of the case.
This is a true story of the Narborough Murder Enquiry. The worlds first case to be resolved by genetic fingerprinting.
The scientific aspect was interesting. The serial rapes and murders of young teenagers were not.
Intriguing true-crime tale of two murders in a small English village, eventually solved by the development of DNA "fingerprinting".
Wambaugh juggles two distinct plot threads here -- the advances in forensic science, and the search for the killer of two young girls. There's a plot twist of the must-be-true-because-no-one-would-believe-it-in-fiction variety, and a thoughtful study of what became of the victims' families, as well as a professional cop's take on the investigation itself.
Wambaugh juggles two distinct plot threads here -- the advances in forensic science, and the search for the killer of two young girls. There's a plot twist of the must-be-true-because-no-one-would-believe-it-in-fiction variety, and a thoughtful study of what became of the victims' families, as well as a professional cop's take on the investigation itself.
Excellent depiction of the first crime investigated and solved using the DNA process.
I'm not sure why but I couldn't really get into this book. I only read the first few chapters.
THE MURDER HUNT THAT REVOLUTIONIZED MODERN CRIME DETECTION
Fifteen year old Lynda Mann's savagely raped and strangled body is found along a shady footpath near tht English village of Narbourough. Though a massive 150 man police dragnet is launched, the case remains unsolved.
Three years later the killer strikes again, raping and strangling teenager Dawn Ashforth only a stone's throw from where Lynda was so brutally murdered.
But it will take four years, a scientific breakthrough, the largest manhunt in British crime annuals, and the blooding of more than four thousand men before the real killer is found.
Fifteen year old Lynda Mann's savagely raped and strangled body is found along a shady footpath near tht English village of Narbourough. Though a massive 150 man police dragnet is launched, the case remains unsolved.
Three years later the killer strikes again, raping and strangling teenager Dawn Ashforth only a stone's throw from where Lynda was so brutally murdered.
But it will take four years, a scientific breakthrough, the largest manhunt in British crime annuals, and the blooding of more than four thousand men before the real killer is found.
Fiftenn year old Lynda Mann's savagely raped and strangled body is found along a shady footpath near the English village of Narborough. Though a massive 150-man police dragbet is launched, the case remains unsolved.
Three years later the killer strikes again, raping and strangling teenager Dawn Ashforth only a stone's throw from where Lynda was so brutally murdered
But it will take four years, a scientific breakthrough, the largest manhunt in British crime annals, and the blooding of more than four thousand men before the real killer is found.
THE DRAMATIC TRUE STORY OF THE FIRST MURDER CASE SOLVED BY GENETIC "FINGERPRINTING"
Three years later the killer strikes again, raping and strangling teenager Dawn Ashforth only a stone's throw from where Lynda was so brutally murdered
But it will take four years, a scientific breakthrough, the largest manhunt in British crime annals, and the blooding of more than four thousand men before the real killer is found.
THE DRAMATIC TRUE STORY OF THE FIRST MURDER CASE SOLVED BY GENETIC "FINGERPRINTING"
Fifteen-year-old Lynda Mann's savagely raped and strangled body is found along a shady footpath near the English village of Narborough. Though a massive 150-man dragnet is launched, the case remains unsolved. Three years later the killer strikes again, raping and strangling teenager Dawn Ashforth only a stone's throw from where Lynda was so brutally murdered. But it will take four years, a scientific breakthrough, the largest manhunt in British crime annals, and the blooding of more than four thousand men before the real killer is found.
