Vivien Bowers has done her homework well for this book on forensic science. Admitting she knew little about the specialized field, she gamely interviewed Canadian crime specialists, including pathologists, coroners, forensic odontologists, graphologists, police computer systems managers, and a host of other specialists, who allowed her to examine skulls, bullets, and fingerprint databases. She has compiled her research into an intelligently written, accessible book, illustrated with wit and energy by Martha Newbigging, who also illustrated Owl’s Cybersurfer.

Like that work, this book will appeal to both adults and children. There are various actual and reconstructed mysteries to solve, including DNA patterns, opportunities to match teeth marks, maggot-hatching timelines, and hand-writing forgeries. The author mixes real cases such as those of computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, the Hitler diary forgeries, and the smuggling of peregrine falcons in Britain with hypothetical cases constructed for this book. Canadian examples are used when appropriate, but the inclusion of international and U.S. cases gives the book marketability and an international scope.

Although the layout is attractive, there seems to be a mismatch between content and style. Like other Owl publications, the cartoon graphics and magazine-style format make the book feel quite young in appeal (ages 7-9), while the writing level and sophisticated information are more suited to an older audience (10-14). This book will also be difficult to use for research. There is a quirkily selective index (which includes intaglio and pistachio nuts but omits odontologist), but no glossary. The interior organization of the book is not transparent. Although there are seven broadly logical chapter headings listed in the table of contents, they are not repeated on any of the pages; neither are the chapter subtopics. Finding specific information thus requires a deft combination of search skills probably beyond the intended reading age.

Nonetheless, the book does fill a timely gap between the Usborne detective guides, spying and fingerprint books, and the modern world of international crime. The growing world of computer crime and the use of databases to solve traditional crimes is prime-time coverage these days, and no longer confined to fiction. Interested kids (and adults) who begin with this introductory book will want to pursue these topics in other sources and on the Internet.