6. William Maples:
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
7. Clea Koff: “The Bone Woman,”
Clea Koff, is well-known for her work on behalf of the United Nations. She worked for the Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and also for the tribal for the formal Yugoslavia. She is a well-known forensic anthropologist who used her skills to help bring some of the perpetrators of genocide to trial. Her autobiography is The Bone Woman: Among the dead in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Croatia. She also founded the Missing Persons Identification Resource Center that focuses on helping families match up with the U.S. Coroner’s Office in order to identify bodies that are so for unidentified.
Seven Ways To Die Featured in Atlanta Magazine!
SEVEN WAYS TO DIE by William Diehl with Kenneth John Atchity AEI/Story Merchant Books Before he died in 2006, Diehl (Sharky's Machine and Primal Fear) had written more than 400 pages of his tenth novel, about a captain in the NYPD on the trail of a serial killer in Manhattan. Using an outline and notes that Diehl left behind, Atchity finished the thriller, staying very true to the fast-paced, screenplay-ready plot that was the author's trademark. It's a fitting posthumous tribute to the former journalist-and first managing editor of Atlanta magazine who left his day job in his fifties to pursue his dream of writing fiction.
FIRST LOOK: As always his psyche was momentarily askew. He performed each autopsy compassionately. They were constant reminders of the finite line between life and death, between the human body and a corpse without a soul.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
8. Cyril Wecht:
Cyril Wecht is one of the most interesting forensic scientists alive today. He has consulted on a number of high profile cases, including speculation about the death of president John Kennedy. He has also shared thoughts on Vincent Foster, Anna Nicole Smith and Sharon Tate. He was also a consultant in the Branch Davidian case. He does private consultations, and was even charged with fraud at one point, though those charges were dropped. Wecht was concertmaster at the University of Pittsburgh (he wanted to be a musician), but he went on to get his M.D. and to serve as a coroner.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
9. Henry Lee:
Known for his work on the JonBenét Ramsey case, as well as the Laci Peterson case, Henry Lee is almost as high profile as they come. He even worked on the O.J. Simpson case, consulted on the Vincent Foster case, and was asked for insights in the D.C. sniper shootings. He was born in China, but fled with his family to Taiwan. He has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and came to the U.S. specifically to study Forensic Science. The main blot on his career is that he is accused of evidence tampering in the Phil Spector case.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
10. Michael Baden:
As the host of the HBO show Autopsy, many people recognize Michael Baden.
He is also an author, writing popular non-fiction books about his work
as a coroner and board certified forensic pathologist. He contributes to
Fox News as an expert, and is a M.D. He has looked into past cases of
murder, including those of John Belushi, JFK, Czar Nicholas II
and his family, and looked into the cases of Phil Spector and O.J.
Simpson. (The overlap on such cases is common; many forensic experts
often go over the same cases — especially if the cases are famous. Baden
is a consulting pathologist with a private practice, as well as
providing expert witness testimony in court, and professional analysis
on television. For one year, he was the Chief Medical Examiner for New
York City.Seven Ways to Die Reader's Review
By Mary C
Loved
this book. It brought me to places I'd never been, the back alleys of
Manhattan, the wilds of Central Park, not to mention the wolves and Nez
Perce reservation. I didn't know murder could be such a sick work of
art, and respect the detectives who analyze it and bring the offenders
to justice.
The Last From One of The Greats
By Larry D. Thompson "Larry" (Houston TX)
When you write thrillers
yourself, it's hard not to see the thread beneath the tapestry. But I read this
one without being able to tell where Bill Diehl's distinctive voice faltered,
so well did Atchity capture it and continue the story to the spectacular ending
without a hitch. If you are into serial killers and police who track them down,
this one will take you to places you've never been--because this one is truly
unique.
Delicious Images That Peel Away the Mystery and Leave You Wanting More
By Milton lyles (UPLAND, CALIFORNIA, US
William Diehl is a master story teller. His writing is beautifully layered with rich visual images and a sense of mystery that carries the book's artful, insightful, hero, Cody, swiftly to its seventh way to die
Awesome thriller! Great writing. Want more from this author!
By Laurie A. Dressman
This isn't usually the kind
of book I read, and it was a little racy for me in spots, but when I saw the
rave review on Nancy Grace CNN, I thought I'd download it and take a chance.
Well, my face was red off and on, but I was sucked right into the meticulous
procedures of the NYPD homicide detectives trying to put an end to these
murders "by the book." It makes you look at things through the eyes
of the police and notice things you'd never otherwise notice, not to mention
the cast of great characters whose lives you get entwined with as the pages
turn. I hated to see it end! if you like excitement, you'll love this book.
Fascinating Book - Reader's Review
This was a fascinating book & it made me more than a little sad to read it was W. Diehl's final writing effort. K.J. Atchity & his "team" did an admirable job of completing this book for all of us to read. The storyline & writing style are truly seamless, & it certainly lived up to the crime-thriller genre.
My only regret ... I feel a sense of loss over the fact that Micah Cody & his super-talented & hand-picked investigative team of characters will not be a part of my reading future.
Book Review: Seven Ways To Die by William Diehl with Kenneth John Atchity
William Diehl was a New York Times bestselling author. He passed away almost five years ago and his last book, Seven Ways To Die, begins with a touching note written by his widow, Virginia Gunn Diehl. She writes: “He completed over four hundred pages of Seven Ways To Die. He loved this book…He was sorry that he couldn’t complete his final project. He worked so hard on it for several years. He was proud of it.”
His widow goes on to say that her husband’s friend of twenty-five years, Ken Atchity, did his best to “make sure that Bill’s book would see the light of day.” Ken Atchity is a talented author himself, having written fifteen of his own books, and he is the producer of thirty films. Atchity understood his friend’s writing style and used notes and an outline left by Bill Diehl to complete the book. Ken Atchity’s contribution doesn’t disappoint the reader and he fulfilled Virginia Diehl’s wish; that her husband’s fans would have one more opportunity to enjoy his craft.
Seven Ways To Die is a work of fiction, written in third person, published by AEI/Story Merchant Books. It’s a suspenseful, crime whodunit, laced with colorful characters and an intriguing plot. The main character, Cody, is a 30-something NYPD captain of homicide, who founded a special unit known as TAZ which stands for “The Tactical Assistance Squad.” He’s trying to catch a serial killer, all the while being hounded by a pompous crime writer named Ward Hamilton.
The reader learns that Cody grew up in Idaho on the Nez Perce Reservation. As a boy, he learned to be in tune with nature. He had a special connection, even mystical tie, with animals, and was mysteriously able to communicate with them. Cody learned at a young age to read “signs” of nature and this innate skill helped him later as a homicide detective.
We are introduced to Cody at age thirteen but the story quickly jumps to the present; Cody working Homicide with the NYPD. The author’s spine tingling descriptions make the reader feel like they are in the room with the first victim, Melinda. As the tension builds, you quickly feel Melinda’s terror and won’t want to put the book down (I had to keep flipping the pages to see what would happen next).
Bill Diehl had a powerful gift for creating images painted with his words. Be it the beautiful Nez Perce Reservation, the dark and secretive sex clubs, victim number two’s posh brownstone or the ghoulish murder scenes, each chapter descriptively sets the stage for a story that moves at top speed.
William Diehl was a master at character development. He’s able to make you feel the melancholy of the tough and now sober Detective Frank Rizzo, as he enters his small apartment, on the anniversary of his wife’s passing.
On page 160, Diehl writes:
“He got a glass, pored himself a glass of ginger ale, went in the living room and turned on the television set. When the remote turned up nothing of interest, he put on the DVD of “West Side Story” and as the overture began, he slumped down in his easy chair and let memories envelope him like a warm blanket.” (The reader learned earlier that the couple’s first date was spent seeing the movie, “West Side Story”).
The characters in this novel amuse, entertain, confuse and mesmerize. From Amelie Cluett, the exotically beautiful masseuse, to Victoria, the sexually deviant lover of crime writer and flamboyant columnist, Ward Hamilton, each character packs a punch, adding dazzle to this superb drama.
Seven Ways To Die was William Diehl’s last (literary) love and the people who loved him made sure his hard work was to no avail. It was the inspiration of Virginia Gunn Diehl, the dedication of Ken Atchity, the forensics contributions from Dr. Brett Bartlett, M.D., and the persistence and hard work of others that made Seven Ways To Die more than a suspenseful, top notch thriller. It is a labor of love, and like a diamond, it’s a brilliant and valuable gift left by Diehl and his wife to all his fans.
William Diehl
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of William Diehl’s New York Times Best Sellers (Primal Fear or Sharky’s Machine), I urge you to pick up Seven Ways To Die. It’s a fabulous read and in my opinion, if ever made into a movie, would become a box office hit.
In closing, I’d like to point out that Bill Diehl dedicated Seven Ways To Die as follows: “For Virginia-She endured.” And because of Virginia’s great love for her husband, William Diehl’s last writing will endure and be enjoyed for eternity.
Please visit the author’s website and that of his wife:
Seven Ways To Die
The Virginia Gunn’s Website
This post was written by:
Lu - who has written 140 posts on Essence Of Life Chronicles.Lu is a freelance writer in the Boston area and the VP of Editing for DocUmeant Publishing. She's a published ghost writer and has other magazine publications to her credit. She writes book reviews for publishers and their authors. In her free time, she contributes to blogcritics.org.