An engrossing read chronicling the life of Edward Oscar Heinrich, a brilliant, pioneering father of American forensics who has fallen into obscurity.

Winkler Dawson’s writing is fast, engaging, and a passionate testament to the importance of Heinrich’s work. Each chapter begins with a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, a nice touch reaffirming Heinrich’s skill and ahead of his time techniques. He wasn’t perfect - some of his techniques are now outdated - but Winkler Dawson pays a great tribute to just how ahead of his time he was.


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"Forensic historians credit Oscar with developing the first method of meticulously sorting, categorising, and cataloguing evidence - a better way to be an organized investigator Oscar's methodology included defining what happened, where it happened, and when (in what order) it happened. His approach has since been used by thousands of investigators."

In 1920s California, Edward Oscar Heinrich (known as Oscar) was a highly organised and intelligent scientist, whose multi-skilled background and experience made him uniquely qualified to change how crimes were solved, before forensic science became crucial to criminal cases. Born to German parents, Oscar didn't have an easy childhood, haunted by his father's suicide due to financial woes, which always weighed on Oscar. With the input and support of a librarian and a police chief, Oscar examined and gave evidence at criminal trials, often struging to convince jurors of the science behind his arguments. His identification of trace evidence located and convicted the Great Train Heist robbers, but failed to prove Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle a murderer.

This book is a real accomplishment, Oscar's collection finally archived and catalogued by Lara Michels at University of California at Berkley, who worked with the author. Fascinating and involving, each chapter covers a different crime Oscar advised on, starting from his most well-known and going back to his early work and moving forwards. Each case study exemplifies a different forensic technique, which Oscar either developed or pioneered; some still used now, others discarded as unreliable (more of the former than the latter, to give Oscar his dues). The crimes are set against the backdrop of early to mid twentieth century America, including the devastating 1929 Great Depression, incorporating social history, true crime and a biography of Oscar. He was complex and influential and his achievements richly deserve the recognition this accomplished and fascinating work grants him.

Many thanks to Penguin Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book, especially being a big fan of crime novels. I thought the book may be a little dry, but the authors writing style saved the day. This is an engrossing read that chronicles the life of Edward Oscar Heinrich, who was a brilliant man, that most of us have probably never heard of. He pioneered so many of the techniques that shaped American forensics. He was nicknamed the “American Sherlock” and in that vein each chapter begins with an Arthur Conan Doyle quote and focuses on a specific case, most often one that illustrates a specific technique Heinrich developed.

Over the years Heinrich, not only did he solve more than 2,000 cases, including some of the most famous crimes of his era, but he also discovered many scientific techniques that are still in use today. The author has based his story on a vast collection of documents and other material that have been stored at UC Berkeley, where Heinrich taught criminology courses for decades.

The book looks at eight crimes from the 1920 and 1930s where Heinrich developed new techniques for detection or improved upon older ones. All the cases are fairly well known. He was one of the first criminologists to successfully profile suspects, to use insects to establish time of death and to study microscopic soil fragments in order to pinpoint the scene of a crime.

This engrossing read ends with a follow up on the major players of the time, and discusses the many methods developed by Heinrich which are still used today, including his meticulous cataloguing of evidence.
If I had one suggestion to make to improve my understanding of the story, it would of helped me if there was an approximate modern day conversion of the monetary values. i.e Salary of $5000 1920 ($66,000 2021)

The biography of this incredible, mainly self-taught man is well presented in an easy to read and understand manner. Highly recommended for those with an interest in the development of forensic science and detecting techniques.

A fascinating book. The biography of the founder of American crime scene investigation. Skilled in chemistry and many other sciences. Building up pictures of what happened and what order it happened. Many of americas major cases in the 1920s and beyond. A look into the history of the man and how his upbringing shaped his ethics and work commitments.
Fascinating. Anyone who has a passing interest in crime and trials will be compelled to turn page after page.
Enjoy I did.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Such an interesting and engaging read. I have learned so much from this book!

'Based on the life and cases of the American father of CSI, Edward Oscar Henreich, who was also apparently known as the American Sherlock. Kate Winkler Dawson discovered that no one had written about him in any depth and set about discovering the man, his life and contribution to forensic science

Although this book made me completely question why is he called Sherlock, sibce The Sherlock Holmes documentaries are my all time favourites are the documentaries and the books of Holme's cases, yet I did not expect of a true story of Henreich being the smartest one in America, who can defend and resolve all the mysteries out there.

But, Henreich died in 1953 at the age of seventy two so the focus of his work was early twentieth century. It’s obvious that a lot of research has been done to uncover these cases and about Henreich himself however these are presented alongside biographical details and social history in a somewhat ‘ illogical’ manner and shoehorned into these are links to Conan Doyle SH books. The best parts are the actual cases although I’m not convinced these would be his most successful work.

Based on the life and cases of the American father of CSI, Edward Oscar Henreich, who was also apparently known as the American Sherlock.
Kate Winkler Dawson discovered that no one had written about him in any depth and set about discovering the man, his life and contribution to forensic science.
Henreich died in 1953 at the age of seventy two so the focus of his work was early twentieth century.
It’s obvious that a lot of research has been done to uncover these cases and about Henreich himself however these are presented alongside biographical details and social history in a somewhat ‘ illogical’ manner and shoehorned into these are links to Conan Doyle SH books.
The best parts are the actual cases although I’m not convinced these would be his most successful work.
Three stars ⭐️

I actually didn’t know anything about Edward Oscar Heinrich before reading American Sherlock. I was mainly attracted to the book because I am a big fan of True Crime and have an interest in forensics. It was very well researched and gave a thorough look at his career. I was particularly interested in the way he pioneered many techniques still being used now – blood-spatter analysis, fingerprints etc. These are all things that I read about and watch all of the time as a crime fan, but it will certainly change the way I view my favourite detective TV shows from now on! A very enjoyable book for anyone with an interest in these areas.

As an avid fan of forensic crime drama CSI, NCIS, Bones etc. this book immediately peaked my interest.

I was hoping to gleam more on an insight into Heinrich, this so called "American Sherlock", but the book rather details some of his cases and his relationship with peers and as well 'enemies', other scientists he deemed to be fools and below him. The mentions of his family life don't particularly add to the narrative or reveal much about the man himself. Or maybe I'm not so good at reading between the lines.

Was it just me or is there hints of more than a friendship between Heinrich and the librarian? Though I guess it was more common that a man would have a male confidant than discuss things with his wife at the time.

Though I was interested by the subject and some of the cases covered were quite interesting, the book as a whole just wasn't that interesting a read.

**Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
Some interesting parts here but on the whole I found it dull and lacking an edge to take it to the next level.
An OK read.

**Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I've been interested in forensics and true crime for many years so when I initially heard about this book on the author's excellent podcast (Tenfold More Wicked), I knew I would enjoy it. There are so many forensic techniques open to modern-day investigators but when / where did they begin? Who discovered them?

This book takes us through the fascinating story of Edward Oscar Heinrich - "America's Sherlock Holmes" - who discovered and developed areas of crime-scene analysis such as fingerprints, blood-spatter and ballistics while struggling to be taken seriously as an expert witness.

Thoroughly recommended.

This book is a fascinating insight into one of the most important characters in the history of crime solving techniques. The author worked closely with the librarian who at Kate's insistence cataloged his many boxes of artefacts and documents, whilst also researching other sources to create an engrossing account of his most famous and groundbreaking cases. She turns what could be dry and factual into something which could be made into a film!

Thank you to @iconbooks and @netgalley for this copy of American Sherlock. This was a fantastic book👌 This is the story of Oscar Heinrich, the American Pioneer of most of the forensic crime scene techniques still used to this day. As a forensics student myself I was so so shocked I hadn't heard more about him. The book was so well researched and delved into the life and science of this amazingly intelligent man. The case studies were so well explained and interesting. Absolutely recommend to anyone who loves true crime and forensics👌 A 5 star read for me!

I was kindly gifted this book by netgalley in return for an honest review.

I have to be honest and say I loved parts of this book, the indepth look at Heinrich's methods in relation to cases was fascinating and some of his biographical information gave a real insight to him and his choices.

However, I found that the author jumped from interesting and engaging information to seemingly pointless and disjointed tangents. This lead me more than once to stop mid chapter and put the book down as I had lost interest in the topic.

I didn’t know anything about Oscar Heinrich before reading this book. The description of the book lured me in but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations, I found it very repetitive.
Edward Oscar Heinrich is an early pioneer of forensics in America, the book is a biography of his life and cases he was involved in.

The author has researched her subject well and in her description of Heinrich’s criminal cases the writing flows well and the chapters pass by quickly. The organisation of the book left me confused at times and the constant reminder of Heinrich’s financial worries didn’t add to the book.
All in all an ok read but left me feeling less engaged than I had hoped to be.

Thanks to NetGalley and Icon books for this arc copy.

Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I wasn't sure what to think of this one, I couldn't get into it. I found it quite repetitive so I ended up skimming a good bit of it. Kept talking about things I wasn't interested but didn't spend enough time on the forensics which made Edward Oscar Heinrich known as the American Sherlock

This book appears to be well researched by an enthusiastic writer. Learning about the developments made in forensic science, in crime scene processing, in pathology tests etc was fascinating. I enjoyed reading this and realising how recently many of the advances in forensic science that we take for granted have taken place.

Knowing nothing about Oscar Heinrich - the American Sherlock of the title - or his work going in, this was an interesting read, Heinrich worked on more than 2,000 cases during his career and helped develop advancements in the fields of ballistics, blood spatter analysis and fingerprinting. The book mixes stories of the cases he investigated with tales of Heinrich's life, the latter didn't hold my interest as much as the case stories. It's obviously meticulously researched but quite frustratingly the author 'name drops' or uses a 'cliffhanger' which aren't resolved for a while later or the resolution doesn't really deserve the build-up it;s been given.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

A true must read for fans of crime books, fictional or true crime.
I spent hours on the internet looking at the Crimes Mentioned in this book.
Edward Oscar Heinrich was the grandfather of US Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science. For years his work has been stored away in boxes.
Now, Thanks to Kate Winkler Dawson, his name will be out there where it belongs
An absolutely brilliant, engrossing read that will lead everybody down internet wormholes for hours

The author clearly loves the subject matter here - her passion is shown in her research that was clearly undertaken with a fine tooth comb.

I love the backgrounds given to each of the cases discussed in the book - it made the people and places involved come alive even though they are decades old.

I think it’s to the authors credit that they also discuss some of the negative effects they had on forensic science - it’s all too easy to focus on the positives without giving it a critical appraisal and it’s so refreshing that this book explores both facets.