CSI would have us believe forensics is a science of gleaming labs and infallible findings. The reality, as Dame Sue Black knows from her forty years analyzing human remains, is far grittier and far more interesting. Every tool used today—fiber matching, DNA analysis, fingerprinting and footprinting and even earprinting—had to be established first at the crime scene and then in the courtroom by scientists willing to put their research and reputation on the line in the name of justice.

In An Expert Witness, Black uses her decades of experience to put forensic science itself on trial. Through pivotal criminal cases across history, Black traces the evolution of forensics from nineteenth-century poisonings to modern sex crimes and shows the great lengths its pioneers went to in gaining acceptance for new techniques. While the field has made huge leaps forward—including Black’s own groundbreaking work in vein identification—faulty forensics have also contributed to wrongful convictions and imprisonment. In murder trials, mistakes come at horrifyingly high cost.

To this deep dive into the annals of crime investigation Black brings the wit, compassion and candor that made All That Remains and Written in Bone so beloved. Together with her fascinating history of forensic science is her probing consideration of the many cases she has played a role in: In which did justice prevail? Why do things go wrong? And how can we hold forensic science to account?

Praise for Written in Bone:

Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association ALCS Gold Dagger for Nonfiction

“Gripping from the start, Written in Bone is superb—fascinating in its detail of real life cases and written with a narrative that propels you forward to the next page.”—Dr. Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes

“A fascinating overview of the human skeleton from the forensic anthropologist’s point of view, with case studies that are both pertinent and entertaining.”—Kathy Reichs, New York Times bestselling author

“Sue Black regales us with her greatest hits of forensic detective work . . . Of course, the book is stuffed with corpses, leaking out of suitcases, stuffed in plant pots . . . But my eye was always drawn back to her. Her extraordinarily cool, authoritative, and bloody life leaks out at the sides.”—Times (UK)

“Revealing: about the human body, about the evil that men do, and—in brief, flinty asides—about herself.”—Sunday Times (UK)

Praise for All that Remains:

“Dame Sue Black writes about life and death with great tenderness but no nonsense, with impeccable science lucidly explained, and with moral depths humanely navigated, so that we can all feel better about the path we must all inevitably follow.”—Lee Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels

“Most of us are terrified of death, but Sue Black shows us that death is in fact a wondrous process, intimately tied with life itself. Written with warmth and humanity, All That Remains reveals her life among the dead, who can surely count her as their best friend.”—Tess Gerritsen, author of The Spy Coast

“Black’s utterly gripping account of her life and career as a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology manages to be surprisingly life-affirming. As she herself says, it is ‘as much about life as about death.’”—Guardian

“Black’s testimony to the nobility of her calling is a welcome and compassionate look at death and the mysteries that shroud it.”—Booklist

“Essential . . . an insightful, compelling, and often entertaining memoir about a life spent studying and reckoning with the dead and their secrets.”—CrimeReads, “The Best True-Crime Books of the Month”

“No scientist communicates better than Professor Sue Black. All That Remains is a unique blend of memoir and monograph that admits us into the remarkable world of forensic anthropology.”—Val McDermid, award-winning and bestselling author