The photograph on the dustcover and the book blurbs on the back give the reader the impression that this book is completely dedicated to forensic sciences, in particular forensic sculpting.
It looks like a book that will take us through several unsolved cases where the skills of the author, Lisa Bailey, helped bring them to a successful conclusion. We do learn about the work of a forensic sculptor, and how that work is integrated in the FBI’s investigations. However, the dominating story is the bullying the author experienced while working at the FBI and the battle with management.
Either this book should have been a memoir, or a book about forensic sculpting, or a book about harassment at the FBI workplace. Each part on its own would have been a strong story.
In the current format, everything is interwoven as it happened in her life with cases mentioned in between episodes. That, plus the tone in which the book is written, makes the reader think it is a memoir.
If this book was meant to be classified in forensics, it should have included some charts and illustrations to clarify to the reader what the procedure is that forensic artists follow. Take chapter 11 in which Bailey discusses forensic sculpting. It is fascinating but without illustrations someone new to forensic sciences, especially facial anatomy, can easily get lost. Bailey describes pictures taken of skulls at an angle. If the real picture could not be used in the book then an illustration could have explained step-by-step how to make a 2D-approximation if you only have a picture.
This is a missed opportunity. Simple illustrations that follow steps in the text would allow the reader to see the author’s actions when she begins sculpting. The illustration helps the reader to visualize that information and learn in-depth about the job, its difficulties, and especially the moments where during the sculpting process, the author relied more on experience than on charts.
In the book, Lisa Bailey also exposes us to a toxic workplace where she is bullied and harassed. Her harassment is not taken seriously by her FBI superiors. We see dysfunctional management and how they handled her complaints by protecting their own. The author is right to present to us her side of the story and it is a harrowing one. I admire her stamina, endurance, dedication, and strength.
As the author is the first female forensic sculptor in the FBI, I wished the book had a listing of cases she brought to a successful conclusion with references so we can look up those cases online. There are no references, no index, no list of cases.
Had this book been classified as a memoir, I would not have considered the author’s tone disrespectful or insensitive at times when she describes crime scenes or especially finding partial human remains at the site of a plane crash. On several occasions her descriptions and choice of words are unnecessarily graphic and hurtful.
Whenever we write about crime cases there is always the possibility that family of the victims recognize the case. They must then read how the body parts of their loved ones were viewed by technicians on the scene. Even when the partial remains belong to attackers or suspects, their relatives were dragged into a nightmare they did not create. They are often regarded as equally guilty just by association. It is on us to let humanity prevail, especially in public discourse. Family members of criminals are victims too. That is why I have not included examples of those graphic descriptions.
Conclusion
The book has fascinating and insightful parts about the Body Farm, forensic sculpting, sketch compositions, the need for more forensic artists, postmortem retouching of photography, and much more. It also tells the story of escalating harassment at the FBI and the procedures the author had to go through only to unfortunately, end her career. Read it!
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My other book reviews are here.