The extraordinary first hand account of Dr. Jim Donovan's life and work as head of Ireland's Forensic Science Laboratory.
Category: True Crime
Cracking Crime by Niamh O'Connor, best selling author of The Black Widow, explores the fascinating and ground breaking work of Dr. Jim Donovan and his forensics team. A relatively new and intriguing science, Dr Donovan outlines the history of the development of various aspects of forensics and the sciences involved, from the study of dust to criminal profiling.
Since its introduction in Ireland, forensics has solved hundreds of crimes, with often the tiniest of clues leading to convictions. Some of the more notable cases of true life crimes solved by the use of forensics include:
Niamh O’Connor is the author of the best-selling book on the life and crimes of Catherine Nevin, The Black Widow. She is also Crime Correspondent with Ireland on Sunday. She has previously worked for The Examiner and RTÉ. Her experience in print journalism is extensive, and she has turned her talent to reporting in several different areas with great flair and precision. She lives in Wicklow.
"An absolutely brilliant read ... a fascinating book"
'An intriguing subject and thoughtful, yet dramatic, writing makes Cracking Crime a worthy read ... Opening up this fascinating subject for the fireside detective, it outlines the growing role of forensics in solving crime in Ireland over the past two decades'
'Extraordinary account of his life and work as head of the Forensic Laboratory.'
'A fascinating trawl through the developing Irish crime scene over the past 30 years, seen through the eyes of the forensic detective ... Jim Donovan's descriptions of the detailed detective work makes fascinating, and disturbing, reading ... A chilling tale, told compellingly, a great read.'
'Cracking Crime ... is a wonderful read, particularly for anyone with an interest in the past 25 years of our criminal history ... I can recommend it as a cracking good read. So good, in fact, that I was looking for another book the following day.'
'A unique, fascinating and compelling insight into Ireland's most notorious crimes and criminals.'
'Niamh O'Connor writes in a journalistic style, that is to say that she is careful to retain her readers' interest ... clear and precise and easy to understand. She is to be congratulated in bringing into the light one of the unsung heroes of our time, Dr Jim Donovan.'
