Reviews

Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black

asaimegumi's review against another edition

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4.0

My inner child devoured this book, because she used to want to be a forensic scientist on csi at some point.

deviouspigeon's review against another edition

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4.0

Delightful. That might be weird to say considering the content. I do think the audiobooks saved me because the format of the text itself was too dense to tackle. Very informative, some heartstrings were pulled, and laughs were had. It gave me some Mary Roach vibes.

just_icecream's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional

4.0

liberchiropter's review against another edition

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5.0

4,5 stars!

Sue Black is a forensic anthropologist and has gained quite a lot of fame and awards through her work. Her previous book, All That Remains, is popular but I haven't read it yet - I definitely will though! Written in Bone focuses on the human skeleton and how different bones tell a story of who you are. The book is divided into parts and sections and Sue Black goes through the skeleton from the skull down. She tells us how a fetus' bones start to develop and how age affects them through our life, which can be used to tell the age of an unidentified body. She focuses on how violence leaves its mark on different bones and can be a telltale sign of the way a person has died. Throughout this book I was absolutely amazed by how much you can tell from a single bone, sometimes even just a tiny fragment of bone.
 
This is definitely not a light read and if you're at all squeamish or have a problem reading about certain topics, I would advice to (t)read with caution. Sue Black doesn't sugarcoat the crimes she writes about, and there are descriptions of murder, violence, torture and child abuse.

jinmichae's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring reflective

5.0

jacqui242's review against another edition

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5.0

Sue Black’s deep expertise and dry humour make for a most engaging read. She writes beautifully, with colourful anecdotes and thought provoking insights.

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erikaalex's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

howdyitshunter's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative medium-paced

4.0

You can tell she is an expert in her field because she made such a complex field accessible to learn about. I felt like I learnt so much even if I was a bit too queasy for some of it..

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zuv's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

Interesting collection of stories from a forensic anthropologist who details her fascinating cases that took her all over the UK, not for the faint of heart! Well written and often funny, keeps your interest and can be read in parts as each chapter details a different case.

jensimmonds's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0