truepenny | UBC: Mauriello & Darby, The Dollhouse Murders (Reply)

The Dollhouse Murders: A Forensic Expert Investigates 6 Little Crimes by Thomas Mauriello

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not to be confused with The Dollhouse Murders.

I found this book frustrating, although others might not. Because they (and I have no idea who, between Mauriello, his co-author, and his publisher, came up with the idea) decided to discuss the six scenarios in the book in the format of stories, they don't provide the kind of analytical detail (either forensic or anthropo-/sociological) that I want. Because these aren't stories, but disguised classroom exercises, their didactic purpose precludes any of the kind of character and/or plot development that make stories satisfying. I also find the conceit of "the Detective" and his shifting cast of forensic technicians, medical examiners, uniformed police officers, and (infinitely annoying) "the partner" obtrusive and just a little bit cutesy.

With that said, the idea behind this book is awesome. In his classroom, Mauriello uses six dollhouse dioramas, each of a different crime scene, to get his students to understand the way the different branches of forensic science intertwine and cooperate in processing a crime scene. Each scenario demonstrates what a lead detective does, and for anyone interested in true crime and/or mysteries, I admit that the story format does give a sense of how the forensic and detectional (which is so not a word, I apologize) work flows from the time a crime is discovered. Despite the title, not all of these little scenarios are murder, and each takes place in a different setting with different challenges, so--as one would expect from a didactic exercise--you get a broad spectrum of what forensic police work can be asked to do.

Flawed, but interesting.

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