Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand:
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4.8 • 6 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“Informative, witty . . . Kollmann delivers terse commentary and gory detail while puncturing common misconceptions about forensics.”
—Booklist
Step past the flashing lights into the true scene of the crime with this frank, unflinching, and unforgettable account of life as a crime scene investigator. Whether explaining rigor mortis or the art of fingerprinting a stiff corpse on the side of the road, Dana Kollmann details her true, unvarnished experiences as a CSI for the Baltimore County Police Department.
“Riveting.”
—M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author of We Thought We Knew You
Unlike the popular crime dramas proliferating on today’s television networks, these forensic tales forgo glitz for grit to show what really goes on. Kollmann recounts stories that the cops and the CSI’s usually leave in the field, bringing the sights, smells, and sounds of a crime scene alive as never before.
“Raw and real.”
—Connie Fletcher, author of Every Contact Leaves a Trace
Unveiling the process and science of crime scene investigation in all its can’t-tear-your-eyes-away fascination, Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand takes you into the strange world behind the yellow tape, offering a truly eye-opening perspective on the day-to-day life of a CSI.
“Gritty, witty, and heartfelt . . . a must-read.”
—Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author of A Perfect Husband
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of CSI and Court TV, your book has arrived: a chronicle of the most unusual, macabre and malodorous experiences from 10-plus years of crime scene investigation. Baltimore Police Department CSI Kollman has the enthusiasm, wit (she dedicates the book "to all the bugs I've loved before") and natural storytelling ability to make this memoir sparkle-not easy for a text devoted largely to death and decay. Kollmann aims to educate those with "a Hollywood mentality about a Hell's Kitchen kind of job," and to that end she accentuates glamourless, largely drama-free case-solving. Thankfully, however, there's no lack of adventure: Kollman gets her title from a mishap she suffered while trying to get prints on a bitterly cold night, huffing on the fingers of an accident fatality. At another scene, a rotating ceiling fan flings down grisly bits of a suicide victim's head; at another, maggots are already devouring a body as Kollman tries to get photos. Amid consideration of office politics and her long-suffering family ("literally sickened by my job"), crime-scene anecdotes can get bogged down in details; luckily, Kollman's bright prose, which achieves an approachable, chick-lit tone without sounding flip, makes this squirm-inducing tale highly enjoyable. Photos.
