April 2023 MBR The Criminology Shelf

The Criminology Shelf

Tremors in the Blood
Amit Katwala
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
Dreamscape Media
https://www.dreamscapepublishing.com
9781639103423, $18.99, PB, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Tremors-Blood-Murder-Obsession-Detector/dp/1639103422

Synopsis: Late one evening in the summer of 1922, Henry Wilkens burst through the doors of the emergency room covered in his wife's blood. But was he a grieving husband, or a ruthless killer who conspired with bandits to have her murdered?

To find out, the San Francisco police turned to technology and a new machine that had just been invented in Berkeley by a rookie detective, a visionary police chief, and a teenage magician with a showman's touch.

John Larson, Gus Vollmer and Leonarde Keeler hoped the lie detector would make the justice system fairer -- but their flawed device soon grew too powerful for them to control. It poisoned their lives, turned fast friends into bitter enemies, and as it conquered America and the world, it transformed our relationship with the truth in ways that are still being felt.

As new forms of lie detection gain momentum in the present day, with the publication of "Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector", author Amit Katwala reveals the incredible truth behind the creation of the polygraph, through gripping true crime cases featuring explosive gunfights, shocking twists and high-stakes courtroom drama.

Touching on psychology, technology and the science of the truth, "Tremors in the Blood" is a vibrant, atmospheric thriller, and a warning from history to beware what you believe!

Critique: An exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented contribution to the history of technology and criminology, "Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector" is as inherently fascinating as it is impressively informative. Of special appeal to readers with an interest in the history of the polygraph and its impact on the American judicial systems and use in corporate and governmental screening programs, "Tremors in the Blood" is an original and unreservedly recommended contribution and acquisition for personal, professional, community, and academic library Criminology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "Tremors in the Blood" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781666629101, $22.99, CD)

Editorial Note: Amit Katwala (https://www.amitkatwala.co.uk) is an award-winning journalist and editor. He is a senior writer at WIRED, based in London. He writes about the collision between technology and culture, and has covered everything from the race for quantum supremacy to the hunt for the mysterious Planet Nine. He grew up in Bournemouth, and studied experimental psychology at Oxford University.

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