In my mind, the CSI techniques of a hundred years ago would have been rudimentary at best but this narrative nonfiction book seeks to show that the 1930s in America was actually where CSI was born. I would argue that it made great strides under Edward Oscar Heinrich (mostly because I've read other books on how CSI started in the 1800s-- but the subtitle does say of
American CSI.)
The writing is generally very readable but, wow, did the author gloss over some things about EOH that the modern reader might not like about him. For instance, there's one sentence where she mentions that he at one point "blamed the modern woman for America's crime wave." Um, what now? This and other little notes make it pretty clear that the dude wasn't quite the all-right guy that is being portrayed in most of the book. I generally like nonfiction books where the author is a little removed and this author obviously wasn't.
Three stars
This book came out February 11th
ARC kindly provided by Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
Naomi and Nicholas are supposed to get married in three months but neither of them especially likes the other. Naomi wants out but she can't afford to help out with any of the money that's already gone into the wedding planning (mostly done by his mother) since her job is currently precarious at best. She also has no family and her best friend hates Naomi after having been set up on a date with a friend of Nicholas's who turned out to be a scumbag. The more she thinks about it, the more Naomi realizes that she really doesn't like Nicholas and she really hates his overbearing and controlling mother. So she decides to sabotage the marriage. While doing that, she starts to notice that he may have been ahead of her.