Elizabeth Brooks

A Practical Guide to the Forensic Examination of Hair: From Crime Scene to Court presents current best practices and methodologies for forensic microscopists and trace evidence analysts, in addition to lawyers and judges, to detail the utilisation of hair evidence in court cases. The 30-year evolution and development of forensic DNA analysis has placed very heavy focus on its value in identifying the source of biological materials in other evidence. In addition to some recent controversies over the reliability of hair evidence and analysis, the question arises: what to do with hairs and hair evidence presented in court cases? The reality is that this is a fairly common form of evidence present at, and relevant in, many types of crime scenes and scenarios. Are we to simply ignore hairs as an evidence type? This book outlines the case for hair evidence’s continued relevance as a valuable biological source that can contribute to assisting in answering questions of identity and questions of what happened or the criminalistic potential of hairs. The authors present a four-level approach to the case management of recovered hairs. This system, which can be incorporated into contemporary forensic practice, stresses the need for thorough and systematic recording of hairs and their microscopic features and on the need to focus on differences to effectively triage recovered hairs. The approach focuses on the efficient and accurate selection of hairs for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis while addressing the criminalistic potential of hairs. Key Features: Outlines the latest advances in the collection and forensic hair fibres, and includes full-colour illustrative figures throughout. Covers the advances in DNA extraction and analysis of hair samples including nuclear and mt-DNA testing. Addresses all forensic aspects of hair evidence including recovery, collection, examination, analysis, testing and presentation of such results in court. A Practical Guide to the Forensic Examination of Hair is a practical reference written for practitioners and promotes the need for quality assurance measures, process standardization and proficiency testing to ensure the scientific reliability of hair examination. The book discusses how to interpret and report on hair findings to impart to investigators, and to the broader legal system, the appropriate weight that should be attributed to hair findings. It provides invaluable methodologies and guidelines that reinforce the ongoing value and validity of hair examinations.

A Practical Guide to the Forensic Examination of Hair: From Crime Scene to Court presents current best practices and methodologies for forensic microscopists and trace evidence analysts, in addition to lawyers and judges, to detail the utilisation of hair evidence in court cases. The 30-year evolution and development of forensic DNA analysis has placed very heavy focus on its value in identifying the source of biological materials in other evidence. In addition to some recent controversies over the reliability of hair evidence and analysis, the question arises: what to do with hairs and hair evidence presented in court cases? The reality is that this is a fairly common form of evidence present at, and relevant in, many types of crime scenes and scenarios. Are we to simply ignore hairs as an evidence type? This book outlines the case for hair evidence’s continued relevance as a valuable biological source that can contribute to assisting in answering questions of identity and questions of what happened or the criminalistic potential of hairs. The authors present a four-level approach to the case management of recovered hairs. This system, which can be incorporated into contemporary forensic practice, stresses the need for thorough and systematic recording of hairs and their microscopic features and on the need to focus on differences to effectively triage recovered hairs. The approach focuses on the efficient and accurate selection of hairs for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis while addressing the criminalistic potential of hairs. Key Features: Outlines the latest advances in the collection and forensic hair fibres, and includes full-colour illustrative figures throughout. Covers the advances in DNA extraction and analysis of hair samples including nuclear and mt-DNA testing. Addresses all forensic aspects of hair evidence including recovery, collection, examination, analysis, testing and presentation of such results in court. A Practical Guide to the Forensic Examination of Hair is a practical reference written for practitioners and promotes the need for quality assurance measures, process standardization and proficiency testing to ensure the scientific reliability of hair examination. The book discusses how to interpret and report on hair findings to impart to investigators, and to the broader legal system, the appropriate weight that should be attributed to hair findings. It provides invaluable methodologies and guidelines that reinforce the ongoing value and validity of hair examinations.

At the height of the Second World War in England, twenty-two year old Nina Woodrow joins the British Royal Air Force and rebels against her careful upbringing by embarking on an illicit affair with an officer. She risks losing everything for Guy Nicholson: her comfortable home, her childhood friends, and, especially, the love of her father, an enigmatic widower. Meanwhile, in the sleepy village where Nina grew up, where the upheavals of war seem far away and divorce remains taboo, Kate Nicholson struggles to cope with her new role as the wronged wife. She finds an unlikely confidant in Nina's father, Henry, and as they grow closer Kate finds that she's embroiled in something much murkier, and more menacing, than a straightforward friendship. Sweeping and impassioned, with pitch-perfect period detail, Elizabeth Brooks' The Woman in the Sable Coat tells the story of two families fatally entangled in one another's deepest, darkest secrets.

When a World War II widow inherits a dilapidated English estate, she uncovers a diary written by an adolescent girl named Maude Gower. Looking for answers, she begins reading, only to unravel more questions about the mysterious past and many secrets hidden deep within the walls of Orchard House. In 1876, orphaned Maude is forced to leave London, and her adored brother, Frank, to live with a stranger. Everyone?especially Frank?tells her not to trust Miss Greenaway, the enigmatic owner of Orchard House, but Maude can't help warming to her new guardian. Encouraged by Miss Greenaway, Maude finds herself discovering who she is for the first time, and learning to love her new home. But when Frank comes for an unexpected visit, the delicate balance of Maude's life is thrown into disarray. Complicating matters more, Maude witnesses an adult world full of interactions she cannot quite understand. Her efforts to regain control result in a violent tragedy, the repercussions of which will haunt Orchard House for the rest of Maude's life?and beyond. With each psychologically gripping turn, Elizabeth Brooks masterfully explores the blurred lines between truth and manipulation, asking us who we can trust, how to tell guilt from forgiveness, and whether we can ever really separate true love from destruction.

When a World War II widow inherits a dilapidated English estate, she uncovers a diary written by an adolescent girl named Maude Gower. Looking for answers, she begins reading, only to unravel more questions about the mysterious past and many secrets hidden deep within the walls of Orchard House. In 1876, orphaned Maude is forced to leave London, and her adored brother, Frank, to live with a stranger. Everyone--especially Frank--tells her not to trust Miss Greenaway, the enigmatic owner of Orchard House, but Maude can't help warming to her new guardian. Encouraged by Miss Greenaway, Maude finds herself discovering who she is for the first time, and learning to love her new home. But when Frank comes for an unexpected visit, the delicate balance of Maude's life is thrown into disarray. Complicating matters more, Maude witnesses an adult world full of interactions she cannot quite understand. Her efforts to regain control result in a violent tragedy, the repercussions of which will haunt Orchard House for the rest of Maude's life--and beyond. With each psychologically gripping turn, Elizabeth Brooks masterfully explores the blurred lines between truth and manipulation, asking us who we can trust, how to tell guilt from forgiveness, and whether we can ever really separate true love from destruction.

'Shimmering, lush...will keep you up all night' - Rene Denfeld, author of THE ENCHANTED'Eerie and addictive' - New York TimesWhen I think of Byrne Hall - which I do more often than I'd like - it's the dead weight of the heatwave that comes back to me, and the smell of things going rotten. Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella's suicide five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella - a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought. Driven to find out more about her sister's secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya's relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession, the darkness behind the locked doors of Byrne Hall threatens to spill out.

Freya Lyell is struggling to move on from her sister Stella's death five years ago. Visiting the bewitching Byrne Hall, only a few miles from the scene of the tragedy, she discovers a portrait of Stella--a portrait she had no idea existed, in a house Stella never set foot in. Or so she thought. Driven to find out more about her sister's secrets, Freya is drawn into the world of Byrne Hall and its owners: charismatic artist Cory and his sinister, watchful mother. But as Freya lingers in this mysterious, centuries-old house, her relationship with Cory crosses the line into obsession and the darkness behind the locked doors of the estate threatens to spill out. In prose as lush and atmospheric as Byrne Hall itself, Elizabeth Brooks weaves a simmering, propulsive tale of art, sisterhood, and all-consuming love: the ways it can lead us toward tenderness, nostalgia, and longing, as well as shocking acts of violence.

'Unforgettable' - ROSAMUND LUPTONVirginia Wrathmell has always known she will meet her death on the marsh. One snowy New Year's Eve, at the age of eighty-six, Virginia feels the time has finally come. New Year's Eve, 1939. Virginia is ten, an orphan arriving to meet her new parents at their mysterious house, Salt Winds. Her new home sits on the edge of a vast marsh, a beautiful but dangerous place. War feels far away out here amongst the birds and shifting sands - until the day a German fighter plane crashes into the marsh. The people at Salt Winds are the only ones to see it. What happens next is something Virginia will regret for the next seventy-five years, and which will change the whole course of her life.

Where do you go at night, once you have turned out the light and snuggled down under the blankets? Abigail Crabtree's imaginary world is precious to her; an escape from the waking world. That is until one wintry night, when a sinister horseman appears and threatens to wrest it from her in the name of the King of Traumund. Desperate to save her realm from asion, she turns to her godfather - the enchanting Mr. Montefiore - for help. She takes refuge in his desolate country house, where rumours of cruelty and murder abound. Encouraged by his apparent sympathy, Abigail and her giant owl soar beyond the borders of her own imaginary world and into the vast universe of collective dreams. But even as she delights in Traumund's bewildering beauty, she finds herself ever more seduced by the very evil which threatens to destroy it. How can Abigail remember what she is fighting for? How can she even be sure where her loyalties lie? And - the most formidable question of all - will she ever be free of the intensely beguiling Mr. Montefiore?

Take a fantastic trip across the U. S. with stops at 30 famous, man-made American landmarks--from the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. A brief, identifying caption accompanies each easy-to-color illustration in this grand tribute to America's historic past.