Ilustrated Guide to Home Forensic Science Experiments by Robert Bruce Thompson & Barbara Fritchman Thompson

 

O'Reilly Media Inc
ISBN: 9781449334512
July 2012
Softcover $34.99 US, $36.99 CAN

A detailed lab workbook introducing forensic techniques for collecting, safeguarding and processing potential evidence. This excellent book covers soil, hair and fiber analysis, forensic examination of glass and plastic specimens, how to develop latent fingerprints and reveal blood traces, how to detect drug and toxic materials/chemicals, gunshot analysis and detecting explosive residues, toolmark impressions, matching pollen and diatom samples, extracting, isolating and visualizing dna samples and many other forensic processes.  Complete materials lists precede each lab. Steps are given in a smooth easily followed order. Processes are designed to preserve the evidence and prevent contamination.

As soon as I opened the package, this colorful attractive book drew my interest.  This is my new favorite non-fiction book.

I highly recommend this book to science teachers looking for an interesting subject matter, to those who home-school, and to anyone who is an avid amateur scientist, a writer of crime/mystery fiction, or a reporter who writes about crime and forensics. Since the book is set up in topical sections and is all lab no lecture, it can easily be used for a 4-H project in science or forensics or a science camp topic stream.

*****.

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

ISBN: 978-0-7642-0919-2 hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0498-2 paperback
Bethany House Publishers

Historical novel

Alice, a non-stop reader, is drifting along working as a librarian and being courted by a young man who is a funeral assistant.  Things seem to be satisfactory since Alice is able to read as much as she likes and still have all the socially expected things in life.  Suddenly she loses both her boyfriend and her job.  In trying to escape the local gossip she puts herself in a real life drama, attempted murder, missing treasure and the tangled mysteries of family and life in a small town called Acorn in Kentucky.  This historical novel looks at the packhorse librarian's life in Kentucky.

*****

Guardian by Heather Burch

An interesting YA paranormal action romance.  The main character, Nikki Youngblood, is struggling with a roller-coaster of intense feelings about the loss of her parents, two intensely attractive male halflings, Mace and Raven who compete for her affections and attention at every turn, and the danger she finds herself and others in due to evil forces from hell.

Meanwhile, Damon Vessler pleads with Nikki to return to him and help wreak vengeance on her parents killer. Nikki must choose her path with not only lives but souls at stake.

This is definitely a good read but I do feel I missed crucial information by not having read the first book in this trilogy.  After reading 'Halflings', I will revisit this review.

I am adding this book to the YA section of my lending library.

*****

Guardian
Reading level: Ages 15 and up
Price: $14.99 (USD)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (October 9, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN 13: 9780310728214
UPC: 025986728212