DOUGLAS CORLEONE

Forensics: The Cutting Edge

DOUGLAS CORLEONE is the author of the Kevin Corvelli crime series published by St. Martin’s Minotaur. His debut novel, One Man’s Paradise, won the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel I Award. His other novels include Night on Fire (2011) and Choice of Evils (2012). A former New York City criminal defense attorney, Corleone now lives in the Hawaiian Islands, where he writes fiction full-time.

 

 

There is no escaping technology. Seasoned writers of crime fiction know this as well as anyone. Today, law enforcement personnel utilize state-of-the-art techniques to solve everything from hit-and-runs to homicides. If your crime story is set in the present (or the future), chances are it is going to include some aspect of forensic science.

In crafting crime fiction, the writer must remember that forensics is used not only in the investigation of criminal activity, but also in the analysis and presentation of evidence before the court. Consider the classic film 12 ANGRY MEN. Fifty years ago, a jury could deliberate on a murder case where the only evidence was a questionable eyewitness and a history of bad blood. Today, even the angriest of the twelve angry men would have to vote “not guilty” from the start, given the evidence in that case. Of course, a case lacking such physical evidence wouldn’t even be tried in the twenty-first century. Today, those twelve angry men would be discussing such things as trace evidence, including hair and fiber analysis; DNA; and the like.

The challenge in using forensics in crafting your crime story is threefold. First, your science must be authentic and your conclusions must be correct. This involves research. While developing my second novel, Night on Fire, I used no less than a half-dozen sources to familiarize myself with arson investigation. I learned how investigators determined a fire’s point of origin, how they ruled out accidents, and what steps they took to discover the identity of the arsonist. In addition to book research, I contacted experts in the field and inquired about their techniques. Much of what I learned never made it into the story, but simply knowing the behind-the-scenes stuff gave me the confidence to write my novel with authority.

The bulk of my research didn’t make it into the book, because much of it was boring. Which leads me to our next challenge—keeping your story dramatic. Science isn’t always sexy, and you must be careful not to bog your readers down with lengthy scientific explanations. Use only enough science to get your point across. One way to do this is to limit your scientific explanations to dialogue. Lengthy exposition may cause your readers to fall asleep. But sharp dialogue keeps the story moving. A fast-paced Q&A between one who knows forensics and one who doesn’t can actually enhance the story while getting your scientific points across.

The third (and probably the toughest) challenge in using forensics in crime fiction is to keep it fresh. I’ve lost count of the CSI spin-offs on television, which is to say nothing of the dozens of CSI knockoffs. If you watch these shows, it may seem impossible to come up with anything fresh in the field of forensics. But that’s precisely where your creativity comes into play. The science itself doesn’t need to be entirely new, but the way in which you use it should be. For example, in my novel One Man’s Paradise, I used lip-print identification (technically termed cheiloscopy) not only as evidence of the suspect’s presence at the crime scene, but also to create a dramatic courtroom hearing to determine whether such evidence should be admissible at trial.

The use of forensics will help you remain on the cutting edge of crime fiction. The following exercise helps me decide whether an area of forensic science can be used dramatically in my story, and whether or not I can present it in a fresh or novel way. See if it helps you employ forensics in your story.

EXERCISE

1. Select an area of forensic science, e.g., fingerprint identification; bloodstain patterns; impression evidence (such as shoes and tires); trace evidence (such as hair and fibers); firearms testing; arson investigation; or autopsy findings (such as identifying wounds and toxicology reports).

2. Research that issue using at least two separate sources. Plenty of information can be found on the Internet, but be certain the sources are reliable. There are also a number of books written specifically for crime writers. You can generally find them in the writers’ reference section of your local bookstore. Also, don’t be afraid to approach a local law enforcement agency or criminal defense attorney. Experts are typically gracious and more than willing to help writers. You can thank them later in the acknowledgments when your book is published.

3. Decide how this area of forensics can be used in a fresh way in your story. Think outside the box. First write down how this sort of forensic science is usually used to solve crimes. For example, impression evidence such as shoe prints is generally used to show that a suspect was present at a crime scene. How can a smart criminal manipulate law enforcement using this knowledge?

4. Finally, stage a scene in which this forensic evidence and its implications are discussed. Do this primarily through the use of dialogue. Try to refrain from using too many technical terms, but don’t condescend to the reader, either. How would two professionals (maybe a forensic scientist and a homicide detective) discuss this evidence? How would they use it to determine the identity of their suspect?