"When people ask me what I do for a living, I always get back, “Oh, you’re like CSI,” and I usually answer, “Yeah, something like that.” But, in my mind, I am thinking, “It’s nothing like that.” I remember in the movie Apollo 13, there was a quote: “That’s 3 hours of boredom followed by 7 seconds of sheer terror.” And that strikes a chord with me. Forensics is not boring and there is never really any terror but the quote embraces the aspects of forensics most people don’t think about. That AH HA moment where the evidence discloses its secrets is seen on TV after about 30 seconds of lab work but in real life it is usually preceded by many hours, if not days, of documentation of everything from the chain of custody to a detailed description of the evidence. Lab work can take many hours of prepping the samples, running controls, pipetting standards and yet, it is a very interesting job filled with people dedicated to finding the truth.
When I am writing, I am writing about the things that I know but I am also writing about the people I know, the relationships between officers and lab staff, the struggles that each has working though the evidence but also working through life, as we all do.
I enjoy using forensics in my books but not all forensics is high tech or complicated science and I also try and show that in my writings. When giving talks, I often start with “There are only three types of finger prints: Loops, Whorls and Arches.” (This is the point where everyone looks down at their fingers. Go ahead, you can too. I’ll wait.) Loops are the most common by far and almost every loop starts its loop from the pinky then turns back toward the pinky, giving latent print examiners an idea of which hand the print is on before they start their comparisons. Every person, who has fingers, could probably figure this out, if they spent a lot of time considering their finger prints. It’s not high tech or complicated science but it represents the fundamentals of forensics which is observation. I love to develop that quality in the characters in my books and hopefully in the readers that enjoy them."
No Evidence of a Crime is available from Amazon. "The Evidence is Clear" is also available from Amazon.
You can also enter for a chance to win a copy of No Evidence of a Crime by entering on the Rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Your comment, "Yeah, something like that," cracks me up! I was a criminal prosecutor back in the day when those shows were really popular. People have no idea how ridiculously inaccurate those shows are.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching the news once and they showed a clip of a forensic scientist giving his report in court. You're right, it wasn't the same at all. His report was mainly about the types of cat hairs found at the crime scene.
DeleteThe last mystery book I read??? I really can't remember, but it was probably a Patricia Cornwell book. I'm looking forward to reading yours.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read much of Patricia Cornwell, but I've heard good things about her books. Thanks for stopping by and entering!
DeleteI used to read all of Patricia Cornwell but I am not a big fan of gory, violent crimes. I thought her work became pretty gruesome. We have enough of that in our real world. In forensics, the horror of a crime is something that must be completely removed from thought. I like to focus on the people solving the crime. To me, a good book is when you’re a little sad when you’re finish because you don’t want the story to be over.
DeleteI never watch those shows, but find the real science of forensics fascinating. I wish I had more time to sit down with a mystery book, because I'm sure your insights make for some very good reading:)
ReplyDeleteVondrak definitely teaches you a lot about the real workings of a case. I found it very interesting! Thanks for stopping by, Courtney :)
DeleteI love CSI and find forensics so interesting. Would love to read this book!
ReplyDeleteI hope you give it a try, Cody. It was really fascinating.
DeleteSome CSI shows are better than others. Some of the time, you know the expert advisor was saying, “No! No! No! That cannot be done that way.” And the Director was saying “Sure it can. This is make -believe.” In the CSI shows where Gibbs used to taste things and say, “This is ketchup” or “This is mustard.” That was probably the most accurate method of identifying those substances (although I would never taste evidence). In later shows, they would run the sample on the mass spectrometer and say “It’s ketchup.” To which I would say, “No! No! No! That cannot be done that way.”
Deleteterrific post, I too love csi stuff and mystery is my favorite genre. I'd love to read this book.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great choice for you! You get the behind the scenes aspect and a good story :)
DeleteI love the way fingerprints look when you blow them up to giant proportions!
ReplyDeleteThere's something really intriguing about fingerprints and how no two are alike. Someone told me zebra stripes are the same way. I've always found things like that very interesting :) Thanks for stopping by!
Delete