Book Review: Evidence from the Earth

My husband, who is a geologist by training, found Evidence from the Earth to be rather dry and difficult to read. As a big fan of shows like "CSI" and investigative mystery novels by authors like Patricia Cornwell, I found it to be rather interesting and informative. I did, however, find Murray's real-crime descriptions a bit distracting, and felt that they could have been used more effectively if the book had been arranged differently. Chapter 1, "Forensic Geology in the Headlines" is completely composed of real-life stories and brief descriptions of how forensic geology was used to solve the crimes, with only a small amount of information about the techniques used. Murray also tends to follow one story immediately with another, sometimes within the same paragraph, which I found to be a bit confusing, since the information was not separated into easily discernible segments.

I would recommend Evidence from the Earth to anyone who is interested in the science of forensic investigation, especially since Murray covers so many aspects of forensic science, not just what might strictly be defined as forensic geology. The book can be a bit difficult to get through, simply because Murray covers so much information, and also from an organizational standpoint, but the reader will have a greater understanding of general forensic criminal investigation science after reading Evidence from the Earth.

Raymond C. Murray, Evidence from the Earth: Forensic Geology and Criminal Investigation, Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2004

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