Carla Valentine – Carol's Notebook

Author: Carla Valentine

Carla Valentine is a qualified Anatomical Pathology Technologist (Mortuary Technician or ‘Mortician’) holding both the Certificate and Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology. She is also curator of Barts Pathology Museum and author of ‘Past Mortems’ and ‘Murder Isn’t Easy’. Professionally she’s passionate about the history of forensic science, Agatha Christie, and vintage murders.

Through the course of her eight-year career in the post-mortem room she carried out autopsies on Coronial, hospital, and forensic cases, including pediatric and adult. This work also involved CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) and other high-risk cases such as SARS, Swine Flu and CJD. In her spare time, she studied Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology which led her to excavate plague graves in Venice and WWI graves in Belgium, as well as medieval burials in Chester. She also assists in dissection of donated cadavers for medical students and was consultant for the Bodyworlds plastinate exhibit in London. She’s therefore dealt with the dead in all their forms.

I am a huge Agatha Christie and read a ton of mysteries, so I couldn't pass up The Science of Murder. The author, Carla Valentine, is a forensic pathology technician and the curator of Barts Pathology Museum in London. She also clearly loves Agatha Christie's work. The book is a fascinating look at the forensics behind Christie’s mysteries and examples from real crimes of the past. The Science of Murder moves through eight chapters that focus on various areas of forensic study like fingerprints, trace evidence, ballistics, handwriting, impressions, blood splatter, and toxicology. While discussing the technical side of gathering and studying these types of evidence, we also get details from Christie's books and her real life. The author talks about some of Christie's most famous plots, without giving too much away. We also learn about Christie's wartime occupations, memberships in murder mystery writer clubs, and work on her second husband’s archeological digs. We also get details about modern forensics and...