Litercurious Book Review
| Title | Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind |
| Author | Sue Black |
| Publisher | Arcade (June 1, 2021) |
| Format | Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover |
| Pages | 336 |
| Genre | Unabridged Adult Non-Fiction, Biographies of Scientists, Scientist Biographies, Women’s Biographies, Biology |
| Language | English |
| ASIN # | B08LDYKCGM |
#Biographies of Scientists #Biology #Scientist Biographies #Women’s Biographies #Forensic Anthropology #Anatomy #Forensic Science #Forensic Anthropology #Forensics
“Dark, mysterious, and enlightening; Written in the Bone is as satisfying as it is truly disturbing; with a shocking personal revelation that comes out of no-where. “
N, Nemo Litercurious.com
AUTHOR
Professor Dame Sue Black DBE, FBA, FRSE, FRCP, FRAI
SYNOPSIS
Written in Bone could be the best non-fiction book you will read this year. A colorful non-fiction dive into the anatomy of crime and all that remains.
Dame Sue Black’s outlines her career as a Forensic Anthropologist (FA) investigating human and non-human remains as well as her work as a professional expert in criminal cases. She cleverly utilizes the skeleton as a roadmap of clinical and not so clinical facts in her investigations. She references historic accounts, such as the one involving Doctor Buck Ruxton who murdered his wife and housekeeper. The investigation that followed utilized some seminal forensic techniques, a number of which are still utilized today by forensic anthropologists.
Black manages to weave scientific fact with legal imperatives against the backdrop of horrific violence that leaves its mark on the bones. A work that is simultaneously chilling and compelling in equal measure. Written in Bone is a skillfully constructed dissection of the human skeleton from zygote [DIPLOID] to birth and on unto death. Black’s book divides the skeleton into three sections beginning with the head, followed by the body, and finally the limbs. She further sub-divides the sections into their constituent parts. Using forensic techniques both new and old, she was a member of an international scientific team that investigated some of the most horrific crimes in our time; including the War Crimes in Bosnia, and the tortures and executions in Syria.
CONCLUSION
Written in Bone is a real life forensic detective account, a tutorial on the human skeleton and a Forensic Anthropologist’s (FA) biography of an incredible career. It is neither dry nor stultifying and contains first-person examples of evil crimes and their terrible tragedies. Written in Bone puts the profession of the FA front and centre instead of in the shadows that the profession once inhabited. There is a consistent message from the author that FA’s should always follow the evidence rather than unsupported assumptions.
Written in Bone manages to convey the reader into the world of the FA in a way never seen before. Hard cold facts meet the warmth of humanity on the frontline of the war on crime. It is accompanied by gallows humor and some slight irreverence for those experts that strayed into the field of FA, and fell flat on their face.
Black’s narrative manages, throughout, to maintain the interest of the reader. She imparts her personality with the imprint. A genuinely remarkable work of non-fiction and definitely one for the true crime community. No true crime library would be complete without a copy of Written in Bone, by Sue Black.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank, Professor Dame Sue Black, NetGalley, and Arcade Publishing for affording me the opportunity to review Written in Bone.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The report download below is mentioned in Written in Bone, it contains details of torture and should only be viewed with discretion. This material is NOT suitable for for children. View at your own discretion.