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74 reviews for:
The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths are Solving America's Coldest Cases
Deborah Halber
3.18 AVERAGE
74 reviews for:
The Skeleton Crew: How Amateur Sleuths are Solving America's Coldest Cases
Deborah Halber
3.18 AVERAGE
This novel took me quite a bit of time to get through. It's not that the subject matter is boring but, rather, that the book itself is incredibly dense; stocked full of information that made my eyes burn if I read too much of it at once.
If you are interested in true crime, I do believe that this non-fiction is an excellent book, it just took me time to finish it (which isn't always a bad thing). I believe that the author did an excellent job of proving her points through various real life examples but sometimes I forgot just what she was trying to prove because of how long these examples could be.
I found the different stories incredibly interesting and really enjoyed the encouragement it provides to those who are interested in the topic to just go out and try to connect some pieces. In the end, it didn't have an overwhelming effect on me but it did open my eyes a little to certain detective work and how hard cold cases can be to solve.
If you are interested in true crime, I do believe that this non-fiction is an excellent book, it just took me time to finish it (which isn't always a bad thing). I believe that the author did an excellent job of proving her points through various real life examples but sometimes I forgot just what she was trying to prove because of how long these examples could be.
I found the different stories incredibly interesting and really enjoyed the encouragement it provides to those who are interested in the topic to just go out and try to connect some pieces. In the end, it didn't have an overwhelming effect on me but it did open my eyes a little to certain detective work and how hard cold cases can be to solve.
I'm okay with authors switching between story lines to keep things interesting, but the author went way overboard in this one. I've never had to struggle so much to keep up with a narrative, and it definitely took away from my enjoyment of the story.
There are so many aspects of this book that spoke to me. First, one of the main characters, Todd Matthews, is from Tennessee. Livingston, TN in Overton County, to be exact. I also found interesting the concept of crowdsourcing as it relates to matching unidentified remains with known missing persons. It was a fascinating read. Recommended for anyone who enjoys the works of Patricia Cornwell and Bill Bass. The ebook is available on READS.
I was excited for this. I like watching real forensic shows, not the CSI fictional crap. So imagine my disappointment when lots of the cases described in this book continued unsolved! A network of people work on trying to name the unidentified bodies that pop up in the country every day. The people who did end of with a match, were commended and that's it, no further information about the crime. Interesting concept but let down when the stories weren't concluded.
dark
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
2.5 star rating.
Fantastic research and care in assembling the American history of internet cold case sleuthing. Would have been vastly easier to read and assimilate the information in the book if the stories hadn't been chopped up and staggered around.
On a side note, the Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum is a terrific read for old-timey New York true crime.
Fantastic research and care in assembling the American history of internet cold case sleuthing. Would have been vastly easier to read and assimilate the information in the book if the stories hadn't been chopped up and staggered around.
On a side note, the Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum is a terrific read for old-timey New York true crime.
This is one of my new favourite books of all time. The story of how the Internet has transformed us from curious busybodies into armchair detectives who are doggedly chasing clues in order to solve murders that have sat, in some cases, for multiple decades.
As a writer and genealogist, it speaks to that innate need to pick apart the details surrounding the unknown in order to know it as intimately as a lover. I was meant to read this book. It took something I already do -- look for the dead and try to discover their story -- and added a new dimension to the pursuit. It's one thing to answer a question for oneself, but to do so to bring peace and closure to the tormented family of these victims is a noble calling. Kudos to all who engage in it.
And thanks, Andrea, for telling me I needed to read it. <3
As a writer and genealogist, it speaks to that innate need to pick apart the details surrounding the unknown in order to know it as intimately as a lover. I was meant to read this book. It took something I already do -- look for the dead and try to discover their story -- and added a new dimension to the pursuit. It's one thing to answer a question for oneself, but to do so to bring peace and closure to the tormented family of these victims is a noble calling. Kudos to all who engage in it.
And thanks, Andrea, for telling me I needed to read it. <3
Disappointing. The stories themselves are fascinating -- some I knew, some I didn't know. But Halber seems to think that the best way to build tension is to jump between different narratives like crazy. This actually serves to deflate whatever interest is mounting in story X, while also, inadvertently, spoiling a piece of story Y in the frantic dash back and forth between tales. (Tell me that this book would not have been infinitely better if you're weren't told very early on -- in an aside! -- that the Tent Girl mystery gets solved, and who solves it.)
Moreover, Halber has no angle on her story. I know impartiality is supposed to be key to good journalism, but I don't think that's always the case (see the recent trend toward "Here are four experts sharing their knowledge, and for balance, one idiot with an opinion based on nothing"). It's especially not the case in long-form exploratory narrative nonfiction. Are web sleuths good? Bad? Helping? Hurting? Of the oft-discussed two rival approaches -- maverick or trust-building -- is one more effective than another? Instead of answering any of these questions, or making a case for any interesting point of view, Halber seems to strive to avoid arriving at any conclusions about anything. The case of what she was trying to say with this book remains...unsolved.
Moreover, Halber has no angle on her story. I know impartiality is supposed to be key to good journalism, but I don't think that's always the case (see the recent trend toward "Here are four experts sharing their knowledge, and for balance, one idiot with an opinion based on nothing"). It's especially not the case in long-form exploratory narrative nonfiction. Are web sleuths good? Bad? Helping? Hurting? Of the oft-discussed two rival approaches -- maverick or trust-building -- is one more effective than another? Instead of answering any of these questions, or making a case for any interesting point of view, Halber seems to strive to avoid arriving at any conclusions about anything. The case of what she was trying to say with this book remains...unsolved.
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.
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.