Murder File: A Killer's Manual

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

From England comes this "Crime Solvers" series for mystery addicts and fans of true crime shows. In eleven spreads, with photographs and maps, each book explores a specific case, describing the crime, the gathering of evidence, the hunt for perpetrators, and their consequent trials and sentencing. This volume details the seemingly unmotivated 2005 murder of an elderly woman in a suburb of London. DNA found on the victim led police to an eighteen-year-old girl who had previously been in jail for shoplifting, though she claimed that she had alibis for the time of the murder. Each spread follows British crime solvers at work, with sidebars on various techniques used: in this case, searching cell phone records, studying a detailed murder manual the girl had written, and careful checking of alibis. Because of her many lies and violent fantasies, psychologists on the case believed the suspect to be a psychopath; found guilty, the girl was sentenced to life in prison. A "Case Closed" section shows a flow chart of events, while a final chapter, "Crime Solving Up Close," provides more information on DNA matching, documentary evidence, and obtaining clues from an autopsy. The series, with its no-nonsense style and abundance of color and black-and-white photos, should prove absorbing for young detectives, though parents and teachers may decide this troubling story is too disturbing for younger readers. The series consultant is a lecturer in forensic science at England's Staffordshire University. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft