Jumped Murders Summary

The nonfiction book, Jumped, Fell, or Pushed: How Forensics Solved 50 “Perfect” Murders, is an informative and well written book by the author, Stephen A. Koehler. Okay, you get two options, take Mr. Laney’s forensic science class at Lincoln High School or read this book. If you don’t know anything about Forensics, this book gives a sufficient overview of the subject and its counterparts.
There is no main plot or developing characters within the book. The type of evidence varies from chapter-to-chapter, as well as the forensic technique implemented to analyze that evidence. Some examples of the different Forensic units covered are: DNA Analysis, Toxicology, Serology, Document Identification, Trace evidence, among others. Personally, I would

Each case wasn’t just set in modern day America, some cases dated all the way back to the 1800s showing the origins of some techniques. The case studies were engrossing, especially since they didn’t all happen in the same place. Individually, the chapters would open with a brief summary about what an expert in that particular field of Forensics would do on a typical day at work. Cases were summarized just enough, while still highlighting the importance of Forensic science in each one. For example revealing the differences between methods such as the difference between chromatography and spectrometry, two important techniques. The Ballistics chapter is to be rather intriguing since it’s something I did not learn about in my forensics class (most likely because it’s not school appropriate). Ballistics in Greek means, “to throw.” This unit is mostly about firearms. In this chapter I found a personal connection to the Kennedy assassination as my family were big supporters of the Kennedy family and still talk about it to this day. I never really understood what had happened,