While a University of Maryland criminology professor, Mauriello created six dioramas to help teach his students what it takes to investigate and solve crimes. In this volume, aided by novelist Darby (The Orphan Game
), he has turned those classroom lessons into a fictionalized how-to manual of the whats, wheres, whys, whens and hows of detective, forensic and medical crime scene investigation. With the six crime scenes—a living room, garage, store, kitchen, dorm and hotel—already laid out in meticulous detail (and photographed by Consoli), Mauriello's writing mirrors the police examination as he works backward from the ending to the beginning. Complete with characters, dialogue and backstories, each diorama comes to life as clues are examined, leads tracked down and witnesses questioned. Given this book's educational foundation, the writing is decidedly no-nonsense and the story lines lean toward the everyday (i.e., these cases aren't quite the Lindbergh baby or O.J. Simpson investigations). Instead of taking away from the effectiveness of the book's message, its simplicity helps to outline the necessary steps of the investigation process that are routinely overlooked in the chaos usually associated with high-profile and intricate cases. For anyone who has been sucked into an episode of C.S.I.
or The New Detectives
, this book gives a glimpse at the unglamorous factors that go into solving crimes that TV shows often omit. (Nov.)
