Product Description

The police are investigating the 1983 murder of Charlotte Stewart. A blood-soaked cloth is found, but they have no leads and no suspects. Soon the case turns colds. Ten years later, DNA evidence links Richard Jackson to the crime; he is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. The real-life crime stories in this book are followed by science experiments and project ideas that highlight the forensic technique used to solve the crime. How do you know if a stain is really blood? How can the shape of a blood splatter tell an investigator what happened during the crime? How does DNA evidence rule out suspects? Take careful notes in your case notebook; your observations could crack the case!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1014931 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8–The appeal of these volumes is in their invitation to become a scientific investigator and their concise instructions on how to simulate some of the tasks involved. Readers are provided with succinct accounts of cases and learn, through meticulous examples, the precise method used in solving them, such as blood-spatter analysis or varying ways of detecting forgery. The author urges the creation of case books and provides clear and accurate charts, photographs, graphs, and lists as aids in the process. Emphasis on the scientific method gives the books a strong sense of validity. The frequent suggestion of teaming with a partner creates a Holmes-and-Watson feel. Hand-printed bold headings guide readers to discussions of investigative techniques and required equipment. Ron Fridell's Forensic Science (Lerner, 2006), intended for the same audience, is more discussion than invitation, and David Owen's Police Lab: How Forensic Science Tracks Down and Convicts Criminals (Firefly, 2002) is an overview with case histories. Rainis's books are substantive and will circulate because of positive word of mouth from those who use them in their own quasi-CSI experiments.–Sheila Fiscus, Our Lady of Peace School, Erie, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Rather than merely explain how cases are solved, this new book in the Forensic Science Projects series invites readers to complete scientific experiments that emulate the solution to actual murders. Each chapter of the book begins with a recounting of a murder--some recent, some from more than 100 years ago--and then relates how the detectives determined whether the bloodstains at the crime scene were human and how their size, shape, and trajectory provided clues to determine the killer. Following each real-life scenario, the book provides a checklist of materials and a step-by-step experiment to get the same results as the detectives. Throughout the text, the author encourages adult supervision, as when readers create simulated blood samples. The format is easy to follow, the scenarios intriguing, and the experiments complex enough for real science buffs to feel challenged. Appendixes include a glossary, lists of further reading, and a list of science-supply companies. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
. . . fascinating resource . . . The well-organized, highly readable text . . . Librarians, who know the challenge of helping unmotivated students find a science fair project, will enjoy helping students choose these. --Library Media Connection, March 2007

. . . fascinating resource . . . The well-organized, highly readable text . . . Librarians, who know the challenge of helping unmotivated students find a science fair project, will enjoy helping students choose these. --Library Media Connection, March 2007

. . . in-depth explorations of DNA testing and document analysis. In each book, detailed background information is followed by a well-sequenced series of case examples and complex projects that involve both experiments and sample analyses. --The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2007

.. . this new book invites readers to complete scientific experiments that emulate the solution to actual murders . . . The format is easy to follow, the scenarios intriguing, and the experiments complex enough for real science buffs to feel challenged --Booklist, October 15, 2006

. . . in-depth explorations of DNA testing and document analysis. In each book, detailed background information is followed by a well-sequenced series of case examples and complex projects that involve both experiments and sample analyses. --The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2007