A fascinating look at some well known crimes in the UK
This is a compelling and interesting book
A great book

Another brilliant and compelling read from a unique and intriguing perspective. I’d love more from the author.

It was interesting to see the real story of some cases I was familiar with and others that I wasn't, we got the propper behind the scenes telling of what happened and all from someone handling the evidence and directly involved with the cases. How ever the constant look at various failings. although startling and in some cases not surprising, was somewhat of a downer. All the organisations and all these people making what are essentially thoughtless mistakes and causing eminence trauma to peoples lives was very disturbing. It was a great read and very interesting without being overly scientific, I just think the focus of the story was in the wrong place.

A fascinating insight into some of the most well known criminal cases in the UK from the pen of a forensic investigator who was involved in them all.

Putting the emotion of it aside must be very difficult but the author manages to teach us something about the realities of the multi layered cases where so many different people of differing perspectives and professionalism come together to try and find the truth.

The science of it is absolutely compelling and not at all as you see it in drama shows. I came away from this one with a better understanding of what can be achieved and it was all entertaining as well.

Recommended. I'll be seeking out more like this.

Thank you to Atlantic Books for the arc of Murder Under the Microscope by Jim Fraser.

5 star read!- This is such a compelling, interesting and intriguing book about Jim's career in forensic science! It is so interesting in reading about real life cases right from the experts and the facts and what actually happened in the forensic side of things!! Such a great read!!

Jim Fraser is a forensic scientist and cold case reviewer, he has been doing this job practically his whole life and in this book he delves into different cases spanning across his career and giving insight into each one of them. In this gripping book Jim examines in detail some of the UK's most high-profile murder investigations in recent decades, including the deaths of Rachel Nickell, Damilola Taylor and Gareth Williams the GCHQ code breaker.
This book was really interesting to read as a true crime fan. There was a lot of information about forensic science and how it plays its role in these types of cases. There was a nice mixture of cases that I have and haven't heard about, some that I had also read in Unnatural Causes by Dr Richard Shepherd, although not as much detail, but it was nice to read about them from a different point of view.
There were some points that I felt like it dragged a little bit in places, sometimes the acronyms were a bit too much and trying to go back and find out what they stood for would take some effort (as I was gifted a copy of this from NetGalley).
I really liked that there were lots of asterisks placed throughout the book so you could read more information about what has been said at your own pace so it didn't take away from what you were reading.
This is a must read for true crime fans, especially those who are interested in the forensic side of things and forensic science history. I would have liked some more examples of what is done for certain tests i.e. looking for DNA and blood sampling etc, but overall it was a good book written by someone who has had a full and fascinating career which shows in his writing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating tale of how evidence detection and analysis is used to add to the evidence given in court to convict (or exonerate) suspects. It was interesting to learn how forensic evidence is not as black and white as one might be led to believe. Really interesting and I learned a lot.

An interesting insight into the role of forensics in several high profile cases and what can happen when findings are misinterpreted or procedures not followed.

Thanks to Netgalley, Atlantic Books, and Jim Fraser for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This was an amazing book! Completely compelling and hugely interesting. Many of the cases featured happened within my lifetime and I was familiar with them, which gave an extra facet to the book, for me at least.

The author obviously had a fantastic career and was clearly an expert in his field. His frank descriptions of the institutionally inflexible, inconceivably incompetent and frequently incomprehensible actions of the Metropolitan police force came as no real surprise, but what was surprising is that the truth is even worse than rumour and conjecture. Fraser exposes the ineptitude of the police investigations behind some of the highest profile murder cases in the United Kingdom, but at no point does one get the impression that he has any particular axe to grind or that he bears any animosity towards the police force. Indeed, his treatment of them comes across as respectful and sincere. He is simply giving us an account of his experiences while working on these cases, and the result is quite shocking. However, Fraser does give away his years of institutional experience by his over-liberal use of acronyms, which I found a little annoying, not to mention unnecessary. There is nothing like the gratuitous use of acronyms to separate those who 'know' from those who don't, and to put those on the outside firmly in their place.

Fraser tells his stories in a dizzily haphazard style, which is somewhat confusing. While writing about one case, he habitually hares off into an account of a completely different case by way of illustrating a particular point, which often had me wondering why we suddenly appeared to have moved on to a new case when the previous one was still unfinished. Although this did make each case study a little difficult to negotiate, it also gave us yet more insight into a fascinating occupation. Also, a little restructuring of the book's chapterisation would also have helped. Currently, a new case begins with a new chapter, but different stages of the same case also have their own chapters. This causes added confusion while the reader attempts to try to ascertain exactly where he is and what is going on. A better way would have been to split the different case studies into separate sections, each of which would then be chapterised.

Despite the disorganised structure and meandering prose-style, this is an exceptionally good book. I read it from cover to cover in two days - foreword, introduction, afterword and all, and I am about to begin it all over again. No mean feat for a non-fiction book to gain my interest so completely.

Murder Under the Microscope is a gripping account of Jim Fraser's career in forensic science. A well respected and highly regarded authority in the field , Fraser was involved in the original investigations or later reviews of some of the most infamous murders in the UK's recent history. It was fascinating to see his perspectives on cases such as that of the murder of Damilola Taylor and those of Lin and Megan Russell which I vividly remember , and also on older but no less famous cases like that of the Yorkshire Ripper or notorious child killer Robert Black. Though clearly a well qualified expert, Fraser is not too jargon heavy and does not belabour the science making the book easy to read for the layman. He is also very forthright about the flaws and failings in the investigations and the limitations of what is achievable by the forensic science ,and critical of how investigations have been handled in past, where flaws such as narrowminded thinking, poor handling of evidence, coercion of confession and antagonism towards experts have been revealed and have compromised convictions.
Although the writing is clear , structurally there could have been some improvements , it would have been better to have each chapter cover a single case, but instead there seemed to be random chapter breaks that interrupted the flow of the case study.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Really fascinating insight into forensic work in general, and specifically some major crime cases that were in the public eye. It debunked the CSI myths, and was really interesting about how human error can have such a big impact on something that is supposed to be infallible. An eye-opening book.

Fascinating read.

I find books like this fascinating. The author has worked as a forensic scientist for over 40 years. He's worked on thousands of cases, and in this book presents a few 'stand out' ones.

True crime books are interesting anyway-but rather than just retelling what is generally known about a case or cases-it's so much better to have someone telling us who was right in the middle of the happenings. Someone who tested various evidence. Someone who was instrumental in helping catch the perpetrator.

After a bit of a long-winded intro-and I am a person who always has to read prologues/intros etc-it quickly gets going, and is cracking. Informative, yet highly readable. Cases I'd heard of, and a few I hadn't. Crimes in the UK.

I give this 4 stars, as there were just two areas which seemed a bit slower to read than the rest of it. A fascinating read for the most part, but I found a few areas a bit tedious. Then it was back to very interesting reading again.

This book is a MUST for true crime/forensic science fanatics!
Fascinating portrayal of crime scene analysis and the logistics involved in gaining evidence, shown through real life true crime stories and the perpetrators.
Shows how easy it is to contaminate evidence or miss essential samples within the investigations. Enlightening.

Fraser is a highly experienced forensic scientist and here he uses high profile cases to explain his profession and its successes, challenges and - inevitably - it’s limitations.
He worked on high profile investigations such Damilola Taylor, Rachel Nickell and Megan and Lin Russell.
He also busts some myths about the case of Gareth Williams - the GCHQ spy - whose body was found in a locked sports holdall.
I liked his style which is detailed and does not pull any punches when it comes to criticising key players such as the labs funded by the government to test key evidence.
I also liked that Fraser is not at all self-aggrandising.
Overall I was left with the understanding that forensic science is painstaking and skilled work. Any errors can jeopardise a whole case and lead to humiliation in court.
I’d recommend this to anyone who likes true crime but also has an interest in the science behind it.

As a forensic scientist for over 40 years, Jim Fraser provides detailed information about his discipline. Through relating cases that were high-profile, bizarre, or particularly challenging Fraser is clear about the capabilities and the limitations of forensic science.

Fraser demonstrates how a lack of knowledge on the part of police officers and the judiciary can lead to confusion with regard to utilising and interpreting forensic evidence, and in the worst cases lead to errors and miscarriages of justice.

I found this extremely interesting and refreshingly direct about what the author has seen in the way of police failings - narrow thinking, unwillingness to cooperate, antagonism towards experts, tendency towards action rather than reflection - however, the emphasis on incompetence and cover-ups did make for a bleak impression overall.

This was an enlightening and illuminating read. The memoirs of a leading forensic scientist who provides his own - forgive me - forsesic account of some of the major cases that he was involved in including Rachel Nickell, Damilola Taylor and Gareth Williams, the GCHQ code breaker.

His accounts are detailed and demonstrate the care and professionalism of his work and he is not slow to criticise the police investigations if he felt this justified.

He helps explain why some cases are solved and others not and his keen eye for detail brings the investigations to life.

Fascinating.