Bones Never Lie by Elizabeth MacLeod is a tween / young adult introduction to the science and technology of forensics. Well, sort of.

Rather than focusing on the achievements made in the field, the book presents the mini-biographies of various famous dead leaders. So there's Tutankhamen, Napoleon, and so forth.

While the how did they die question is interested, it's not the forensics that was promised. A better book on both accounts is How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg. ( )

Readers who are fascinated by the subject of forensics will likely want fuller development and detail, but BONES NEVER LIE provides a good introduction for readers who are simply curious about unusual and topical subjects. The presentation is bright and accessible. This text would make an appropriate free-reading or theme-related book for the classroom or school library.

See my complete review in RESOURCE LINKS 18.5 (June 2013).

BONES NEVER LIE is an interesting mix of 5th/6th grade "ick" appeal, with a writing style that will challenge readers (in a good way) rather than talk down to them. The book is filled with pictures, boxed text and margin notes. Each of the seven chapters covers one investigation, focusing on a specific mystery, and the technique (autopsy, archeology, DNA etc) used to investigate. Chapters are divided into sections such as The Mystery, The History, The Clues and The Suspects, making for manageable chunks of information. Some "cases" come to more of a conclusion than others -- for example, Anastasia Romanov is declared with certainty to have died with her family in 1918, while the forensic investigation into the death of Mayan Kan Maax and his household is inconclusive at this point.

This would be a great choice for a middle schooler with an interest in science (or gory details). The author takes some liberty with setting a scene and imagining what might have happened but she indicates in her writing when she is musing ("Had he rushed through his foul-smelling job and missed a vital symptom or clue?" p. 32) versus presenting research. Easy to recommend for readers on into high school, if they want a readable introduction to forensic techniques.

About me: I'm a middle school/high school librarian.
How I got this book: sent to me by the publisher ( )