Just ok. The science was interesting, but comparing it to Sherlock Holmes felt like a stretch. There often wasn't much of a connection--it felt like Wagner searched for Holmes stories that could be used as an intro after having already written some of the chapters.

It was okay; didn't really engaged with it. Maybe if I was more of a Sherlock Holmes fan it might have been more interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. I am a student of history and I especially like the Victorian period. I like all the connections the author made between comments of Sherlock Holmes and cases he solved and the real life research that was going on and similar real life crimes. The book was a pretty light read; at an adult level, but not master's thesis level. It gives a good overview of the history and specific cases without getting bogged down in every little detail. Also there is a helpful glossary in the back along with an extensive bibliography so you know where to go if you want more information.

While discussing the crimes the author does get rather graphic in her descriptions, so if that makes you squemish you might want to skip it. However if you are interested in how crime scene investgation has evolved and when new advancements were incorporated this is an excellent book.

Very interesting. E.J. Wagner did an amazing job integrating the stories into the history and showing how they influenced each other.

I loved this book. It was so interesting to read about how crimes were solved in the Victorian era.
Very readable and full of true anticdotes about true crimes and Real Life "Sherlocks" that solved them. A must read for any fan of the Great Detective and the world he lived in.

Sherlock Holmes is regarded as the world's greatest detective. More than that, he is that rare instance of a fictional character who has not only become a household word, not only become a part of popular culture and folklore, but has joined that elite group of characters whom many people firmly believe really existed.

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now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

This one is fun for any Holmes fan, or for anyone interested in the history of forensic detection. Very readable and accessible. The better you remember the stories, the better you'll like this. As I read of each advance in forensics, I found myself wondering how Doyle heard of it, and how long it took him to work it into a story.

Crime historian EJ Wagner has given Sherlockians a fascinating and richly detailed account of the development of forensic science up to the time of Doyle's classic and highly popular consulting detective. Each chapter references a story, incident or quote from the Canon and uses that as a starting point for a careful and often drily humorous analysis of the forensic knowledge that might have been applied by Holmes or one of his contemporaries.

Autopsies, superstition (with emphasis on the role of ghostly black dogs in myth and legend: antecedents of the Hound of the Baskervilles), the confounding but sometimes useful effect of insect activity, and the role of poisons are discussed in the first four chapters. Chapter 5 delves into the role of disguises in criminal investigation. The French forensic pioneer Vidocq was skillful in disguise, and the notorious murderer Hawley Crippen was nearly successful in using a disguise to evade the police. Chapter 6 discusses the nascent techniques of crime scene investigation, pointing out their ineffectiveness in Scotland Yard's attempts to identify Jack the Ripper. Chapter 7 looks at methods used to identify criminals, from the anthropometry of Alphonse Bertillon to the early use of fingerprints (suggested first by a missionary in China who noted the unique patters left on pottery by its long-deceased makers). Ballistics and footprint analysis are looked at in chapters 8 and 9. Edmund Locard and the role of trace evidence are the subject of chapter 10, and handwriting analysis (Remember the anonymous note to Sir Henry Baskerville?) is discussed in the 11th chapter. The role of blood in analyzing a crime scene and identifying the murderer is analyzed in chapter 12, with a detailed account of it failure to reveal useful clues in the case of Lizzie Borden. The final chapter deals with myths, pseudo-science, and superstition that have had an impact on criminal investigation over the years: phrenology, atavism, the assumed inheritance of criminal traits, retinal image retention, cadaveric spasm (a favorite dramatic device of Conan Doyle), and the putative curative powers of nicotine.

There is also a glossary, an extensive list of references, and a workable index; as well as an invitation to the author's very interesting web page.

If you are a fan of Doyle, the TV series CSI, the novels of Kathy Reichs or Patricia Cornwell, or just enjoy a well-researched and articulately presented history of this field of science, this book is well worth your time.

Interesting read about the history of forensics that uses Sherlock Holmes as a hook. I found it to be a nice balance of history and examples from the sherlock Holmes story.

This is a very interesting discourse on the investigation procedures and breakthroughs during the Victorian Era. The writing style is engaging and informative.

This shows how hard it was to solve crimes then making Sherlock even more amazing