Crime novelist and former police officer Nigel McCrery provides an account of all the major areas of forensic science from around the world over the past two centuries. The book weaves dramatic narrative and scientific principles together in a way that allows readers to figure out crimes along with the experts. Readers are introduced to such fascinating figures as Dr. Edmond Locard, the "French Sherlock Holmes"; Edward Heinrich, "Wizard of Berkeley," who is credited with having solved more than 2,000 crimes; and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle, "no two individuals share the same characteristics," became the core of criminal identification. Landmark crime investigations examined in depth include a notorious murder involving blood evidence and defended by F. Lee Bailey, the seminal 1936 murder that demonstrated the usefulness of the microscope in examining trace evidence, the 1849 murder of a wealthy Boston businessman that demonstrated how...

The outbreak of the Second World War came towards the closing stages of the 1939 cricket season. ‘Hitler permitted us almost to complete an exceptionally interesting season,’ Sir Home Gordon, wrote in the Cricketer magazine, ‘When shall we see the stumps pitched again?’As the West Indies touring team canceled their last five matches and sailed home before the U-boat threat developed, the treasures at Lord’s, including the Ashes, were sent to a secret location for safekeeping. The Marylebone Cricket Club cancelled its tour to India - England played under the MCC banner then.During the ensuing conflict twelve test cricketers (five English, two South Africans, one Australian and one New Zealander) perished together with 130 first class players. In this superbly researched sequel to Final Wicket, covering cricketing fatalities during The Great War, this book reveals each man’s career details, including cricketing statistics, and the... About the Author: Born in 1953, Nigel McCrery travelled extensively during his childhood as his father was in the RAF. They settled in Nottingham. He served in the Nottinghamshire Constabulary between 1978 and 1987. He then read History at Trinity College, Cambridge and joined the BBC graduate entry course. He has written or been responsible for a number of highly successful BBC series and films including Silent Witness, New Tricks and All The King’s Men. He has written over a dozen novels. Into Touch - Rugby Players Killed in The Great War, Final Wicket - Cricketers Killed in The Great War and The Extinguished Flame - Olympians Killed in the Great War are in print with Pen and Sword Military. Nigel lives in Nottingham.