Forensic Crime Solvers: Ballistics

Describes the science of ballistics, including the types of weapons and ammunition used in crimes, clues guns and bullets leave behind, techniques used by ballistics experts, and how ballistics evidence is used to solve crimes.

A bullet lodged in a wooden door. How did it get there? Discover how investigators collect firearm evidence from a crime scene. Then find out how ballistics experts examine cartridge cases, bullets, and gunshot residue to track down the person who pulled the trigger.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Solid, sometimes graphic introductions to crime solving through forensics. Each one starts with a specific scenario and then describes how evidence is secured and evaluated to solve the case. In Death, a photo shows a medical examiner cutting into the chest of a cadaver. While these photographs are not for the squeamish, they do reinforce the serious tone of the narratives. The large type and abundant illustrations make these books fascinating, quick reads. Words such as "bifurcation" and "phenolphthalein" are defined in glossaries. Asides printed on what looks like torn pieces of notebook paper add more details. There is minimal duplication among the texts, and the books are brief, so it's unfortunate that all four were not produced as one volume. Marc P. Friedlander, Jr., and Terry M. Phillips's When Objects Talk (Lerner, 2001) offers much of the same information found in these four volumes. Still, Rollins and Dahl's short, clearly written entries will appeal to browsers, report writers, and hi/lo readers.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.