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The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths are Solving America's Coldest Cases by Deborah Halber
holly_keimig's review
2.0
50 Book Reading Challenge 2015: A book by an author you've never read before
I am pretty into all things Sherlock. I had high hopes for this book. The premise is interesting and there were good parts, but it didn't really hold my attention well. It took me a bit long to read it due to that. The narration jumps from cold case to cold case and follows interesting people. I feel like if the author had just put the stories in order, it would have been easier to follow. Worth a read if you're really into Sherlock, but not one of my favorites.
I am pretty into all things Sherlock. I had high hopes for this book. The premise is interesting and there were good parts, but it didn't really hold my attention well. It took me a bit long to read it due to that. The narration jumps from cold case to cold case and follows interesting people. I feel like if the author had just put the stories in order, it would have been easier to follow. Worth a read if you're really into Sherlock, but not one of my favorites.
cemoses's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe this book is intended for the summer beach crowd; for nonfiction it is very light read. It relies a lot on stories and anecdotes rather than statistics. The book jumps from subject to subject and time period from time period without any logical connection.
The “Skeleton Crew” are amateurs who go through the web trying to match missing persons to unidentified bodies. This matching of unidentified remains to missing persons aids the police in catching the killers and brings closure to the relatives of the missing persons. Despite what one sees on television, forensics is more of an art than a science. Humans are more successful and matching missing persons to unidentified remains than computers because forensic evidence is not clear cut. Forensics in many ways is more like an art then a science. Computers can’t pick up when the forensics is wrong and aren't good at matching sketches to actual human faces.
The book persuaded me that these amateur detectives are quite useful to law enforcement though they are not always liked by the police. Volunteers have the skills the computers don’t have and the time that law enforcement does not have in reviewing records of missing persons and unidentified bodies.
However, the book does have some flaws. It is not clearly organized and it took me awhile to understand the subject. The story jumps from one topic to another with no apparent rhyme or reason. I found the chronologically unclear and I was confused about the different web sites used by the “skeleton crew”. The book goes from one cold case to another without first finishing one.
I would be more critical of the book's organization if I did not learn so much from the book. Despite its organizational problems, the book was able to convey some important information to me. Before I read this book I did not realize that even with modern science it is still hard to identify a body. There are many unidentified bodies is this country. When I was reading the book, I heard about the number of unidentified remains there were from the September 11 World Trade Center. I don't remember what the figure was but it was very high which truly surprised me considering that families and friends would most likely know that the unidentified persons where in the area during September 11.
I liked the in the book the ordinary person has something to contribute to the expert and how the web was being used to gather information. It is also nice to know that humans still have skills that computers don't have.
The “Skeleton Crew” are amateurs who go through the web trying to match missing persons to unidentified bodies. This matching of unidentified remains to missing persons aids the police in catching the killers and brings closure to the relatives of the missing persons. Despite what one sees on television, forensics is more of an art than a science. Humans are more successful and matching missing persons to unidentified remains than computers because forensic evidence is not clear cut. Forensics in many ways is more like an art then a science. Computers can’t pick up when the forensics is wrong and aren't good at matching sketches to actual human faces.
The book persuaded me that these amateur detectives are quite useful to law enforcement though they are not always liked by the police. Volunteers have the skills the computers don’t have and the time that law enforcement does not have in reviewing records of missing persons and unidentified bodies.
However, the book does have some flaws. It is not clearly organized and it took me awhile to understand the subject. The story jumps from one topic to another with no apparent rhyme or reason. I found the chronologically unclear and I was confused about the different web sites used by the “skeleton crew”. The book goes from one cold case to another without first finishing one.
I would be more critical of the book's organization if I did not learn so much from the book. Despite its organizational problems, the book was able to convey some important information to me. Before I read this book I did not realize that even with modern science it is still hard to identify a body. There are many unidentified bodies is this country. When I was reading the book, I heard about the number of unidentified remains there were from the September 11 World Trade Center. I don't remember what the figure was but it was very high which truly surprised me considering that families and friends would most likely know that the unidentified persons where in the area during September 11.
I liked the in the book the ordinary person has something to contribute to the expert and how the web was being used to gather information. It is also nice to know that humans still have skills that computers don't have.
carolpk's review
4.0
The subject matter of Deborah Halber's The skeleton crew : how amateur sleuths are solving America's coldest cases promised to make for an interesting read. I have always been a fan of cold case stories, both fact and fiction. Halber relates the quest to unearth identities of the remains of the unidentified, who might be thought missing but really are not any longer. It's a small distinction but a very important one.
Unlike many of the reviewers here I was not put off by the stories that were told. This is just as I expected. I wanted to get to know the who, the where, the when, and the why of their non-identity. That lay people with the use of the internet and other means would be so dedicated to give these bodies, bones, or even less a name and bring closure to families is fascinating and commendable. Some of the case studies go back as much as 50 years. To see the changes in forensics, and crime solving methods over time is also interesting. The numbers of professionals and volunteers trying to solve identity is amazing. Rather than all working towards a common goal politics and cyberbullying often rear their ugly heads. Thank heavens there were enough people willing to set ego aside to make a difference.
I did find the construction of Halber's book, the jumping around from story to story confusing. In the end I was able to sort these out but a more linear format might have been easier to follow.
I plan to browse some of the websites that have been constructed to identify the numbers of people that are still nameless. It sounds hard to believe that this can happen but it does. What is even more unimaginable is just how many cases go unidentified.
This is the kind of book that should send one on to further research or inquiry. I might begin by visiting Deborah Halber's Website
Unlike many of the reviewers here I was not put off by the stories that were told. This is just as I expected. I wanted to get to know the who, the where, the when, and the why of their non-identity. That lay people with the use of the internet and other means would be so dedicated to give these bodies, bones, or even less a name and bring closure to families is fascinating and commendable. Some of the case studies go back as much as 50 years. To see the changes in forensics, and crime solving methods over time is also interesting. The numbers of professionals and volunteers trying to solve identity is amazing. Rather than all working towards a common goal politics and cyberbullying often rear their ugly heads. Thank heavens there were enough people willing to set ego aside to make a difference.
I did find the construction of Halber's book, the jumping around from story to story confusing. In the end I was able to sort these out but a more linear format might have been easier to follow.
I plan to browse some of the websites that have been constructed to identify the numbers of people that are still nameless. It sounds hard to believe that this can happen but it does. What is even more unimaginable is just how many cases go unidentified.
This is the kind of book that should send one on to further research or inquiry. I might begin by visiting Deborah Halber's Website
colorfulleo92's review
2.0
The topic is very interesting, everyday people solving cold cases that professionals couldn't solve. A premise that could easily have been 4-5 stars. But I didn't like the way book was written, it was to messy and to all over the place and not very readable.
mjwerts's review
2.0
The subject matter of this book is compelling. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite live up to its potential. The book is composed of a series of vignettes, but the vignettes are interwoven, often making it difficult to keep the players and individual stories and facts straight. Frequently, there also were extraneous descriptors and details that detract from the stories. Overall, it's a great concept for a book, but the writing is not as tight as it could be.
ghostrachel's review
3.0
The content is somewhat interesting (second half is better than the first) but the author tried to get fancy and do some Kurt Vonnegut style jumping around between stories. It doesn't work and makes for some annoying reading.
cpalisa's review
3.0
I loved the idea of this book...the fact that there are load of amateur sleuths out there that pore over the Internet, matching unidentified remains with missing persons, is kind of crazy and interesting at the same time. Some of the matches these people have made and the time they spend on it is mind boggling. It definitely sparked me to poke around on the Web a bit, though I draw the line at trying to find photos of remains. The hard part of the book was that it was so non-linear, that it was hard for me to keep track of where the author was. She jumped from case to case and then, mid-case, jumped to another, only to come back to it several chapters later. There were tons of people to keep track of and that made it difficult for me. Also, one of the main cases that she profiled had such an ambiguous resolution that I was left confused. So, mixed review, but worth the read. If you are into this kind of stuff.