Book Review: Skeletons in the Closet: Stories from the County Morgue

By Sandy Amazeen Jan 28, 2008, 3:35 GMT

The coauthors of Cause of Death team up for another look at the frequently convoluted world of forensic investigation with this collection of true-crime cases where “things ain’t always what they seem.” Cases like “the icewoman” Kathy Vroman who’s murder uncovered a tangled web of car thefts perpetrated by a father-son team that vexed prosecutors with conflicting stories over the identity of the murderer and mastermind. Or the tragic tale of a young mother who, despite an infant monitor, just lost her third baby to SIDS. She failed to take into account the computer chip imbedded in the monitor that would reveal a very different sequence of events and help prove the case of Munchausen’s Syndrome by proxy. Genuine mysteries in the guise of unknown identities like the strange “Pigeon Lake Jane Doe” must draw upon the expertise of a range of investigators to put a name to the body and demonstrate the lengths authorities sometimes go to in order to close a case. Crimes like the Linda Teeter’s murder shows the horrors of domestic violence in graphic detail while illustrating the importance of exacting police work in figuring out not only what happened but when and by whom. The detail and nature of these crimes makes some of the accounts difficult to read but it is that depth that CSI and true crime fans will find so fascinating.