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112 reviews for:
No Stone Unturned: The True Story of NecroSearch International, the World's Premier Forensic Investigators
Steve Jackson
4.18 AVERAGE
112 reviews for:
No Stone Unturned: The True Story of NecroSearch International, the World's Premier Forensic Investigators
Steve Jackson
4.18 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Very well balanced narrative storytelling that incorporates science, murder, and lots of characters. Another goodreads reviewer complained that we spend too much time getting to know the scientists and their back stories. That's part of what drew me in, the multidisciplinary team of not-the-usual detectives. There are a ton of straight up true crime narratives out there if you just want to read about murderers. A few dry portions in the second half and the length of each chapter varies wildly. I don't know why the varying chapter length annoyed me so much, but it did, so if that's a weird issue for you, too, be warned.
Reall cool the level of detail the author went into describing the procedures/methods used by the members of the organization
The beginning of this book is a little slow, as it sets up the origins of Necrosearch and why such a program is so needed and so unique. But this set-up is necessary to make the second half of the book--case-studies where Necrosearch was used to help solve crimes--be breathtaking. I truly cared about all the people represented here, from victims to the most quiet Necrosearch member, and as a native to Colorado I was really surprised I'd never heard of this revolutionary group before. A must-read for true-crime fans!
This is a diamond in the rough for fans of true crime. It’s often overlooked in true crime lists, and that’s a shame because it is interesting, accessible, and emotional; signs of a good true crime book.
The beginning starts with the founding of Necrosearch International in the 1980s (the name came along in 1991.) You bet I gave it a goog, and, yes, it’s still going strong, and, yes, you’ll recognize some of the names after reading this book. The birth of the group is both endearing and hopeful; people who see a problem and work together to solve it, each one using their expertise in law enforcement or science. At one point I was thinking of them as an Avengers/Justice League kind of group, using their technology and experience to find clandestine graves.
Steve Jackson writes about the science in an accessible way, and looks at their efforts through the lens of law enforcement and science coming together in (then) rare teamwork. I used the word hopeful before, and that’s really what these individuals working as a team gave me: hope, and I attribute some of that feeling to the author’s way of telling their story.
And you’re going to need hope because once Jackson starts talking about individual cases the tone changes. He is really, really good at paying tributes to the victims and their families. He’s so good it’s difficult to read because of the level of emotion. But that’s part of what makes this book good. You should be identifying with the victims; not the perpetrators.
The beginning starts with the founding of Necrosearch International in the 1980s (the name came along in 1991.) You bet I gave it a goog, and, yes, it’s still going strong, and, yes, you’ll recognize some of the names after reading this book. The birth of the group is both endearing and hopeful; people who see a problem and work together to solve it, each one using their expertise in law enforcement or science. At one point I was thinking of them as an Avengers/Justice League kind of group, using their technology and experience to find clandestine graves.
Steve Jackson writes about the science in an accessible way, and looks at their efforts through the lens of law enforcement and science coming together in (then) rare teamwork. I used the word hopeful before, and that’s really what these individuals working as a team gave me: hope, and I attribute some of that feeling to the author’s way of telling their story.
And you’re going to need hope because once Jackson starts talking about individual cases the tone changes. He is really, really good at paying tributes to the victims and their families. He’s so good it’s difficult to read because of the level of emotion. But that’s part of what makes this book good. You should be identifying with the victims; not the perpetrators.
A great history about the creation and development of "the pig people" and an easy read. Sometimes things got a bit convoluted due to the many names involved in the series of stories but it was detailed and interesting.
Interesting chronicle of the start of "The Pig People". I had heard about this group in my anthropology classes in college and thought it might be a interesting read that would fulfill one of my reading challenge categories. Some repetition in the telling of the story but it was still intriguing.
Such a good read. Book starts with forensic science history. Gives names and background of each person involved in NecroSearch. Gives several case examples (there’s 5 major cases discussed in depth, but there are several others interspersed throughout), and then how the people/person from NecroSearch were picked to investigate. It had a lot of potential for being hard to understand due to the methods used for investigating, but the author did a really good job in breaking the cases and technology down to layman’s terms. Author also gives background of each detective in each case, so you really understand how grateful they were for NecroSearch’s involvement in finding the victim and being able to put the criminal behind bars. I like that they didn’t shy away from pointing out where in the investigation NecroSearch failed or could’ve improved. Recommended by My Favorite Murder.
adventurous
dark
informative
slow-paced
started this last year physically reading and then switched to audiobook
super interesting subject matter but just felt very long and slow (the audiobook was over 14 hours). everything was so in depth and the anecdotes in first half were very lengthy, then all the cases covered in the second half had 40mins - 2hours of explanation of the murders and timeline before necrosearch even became involved in the cases
disappointed because i wanted to love this, i love true crime and forensics but getting through this felt laborious and like none of the interesting info actually sunk in
super interesting subject matter but just felt very long and slow (the audiobook was over 14 hours). everything was so in depth and the anecdotes in first half were very lengthy, then all the cases covered in the second half had 40mins - 2hours of explanation of the murders and timeline before necrosearch even became involved in the cases
disappointed because i wanted to love this, i love true crime and forensics but getting through this felt laborious and like none of the interesting info actually sunk in
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
dark
informative
medium-paced