Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Books--I Need More Books!

I started a book called Poison Pen because it claimed to be a "Forensic Handwriting Mystery." I only made it to p. 82 because the author, who claims to be a forensic handwriting expert, has junk science instead of REAL science. She says a handwriting expert, who she calls a "graphologist," can tell someone's personality from their handwriting. No scientific basis for this--it's Junk science! What a real expert can tell is if 2 samples are written by the same person; s/he can see hesitation marks; tracery; and compare samples to authenticate authorship. I really couldn't finish the book because it offended me so much. Having taught forensic science for 2 years & actually spent time talking to handwriting experts who do their work in labs & get paid for it, I know the author's claims simply aren't true. I'm sure the publishers jumped on this book to capitalize on the "CSI Effect" which means the eagerness of the public to have forensic evidence solve murder cases. This author has also written another book about the same character. Please avoid this series, as it paints a false picture of handwriting analysis experts.

1 comment:

  1. Well....that was on my list to read but if it sucks, why bother. Half price books bound! And really? More books? Have you looked at the ones by the sliding door????

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