This was informative but I think it would have been more interesting if I had been familiar with any of the cases the author was giving specifics about. The majority of the forensic anthropology cases took place in the United Kingdom. I was not prepared for the author's own traumatic telling of being sexually assaulted as a nine year old. I would give a trigger warning to others thinking about reading this book.

Sue Black does a wonderful job teaching the importance of forensic anthropology from head to toe. As a long-time crime drama fan, I was fascinated by the way Black was able to use her fruitful career as a catalyst to introduce or explain the human anatomy. The information was dumbed down enough for most people to understand what part of the anatomy was being described and was easy enough to follow along with very little medical background. I would recommend this for any aspiring forensic investigator or, like me, the average crime enthusiast.

This was an excellent non-fiction book written by a forensic Anthropologist working in Scotland. I will say that a regular audience picking this book up might find it a bit boring and morbid. But if you are someone that finds medical content fascinating and enjoys anatomy, this is definitely the book for you. I have a background in Anthropology (including some forensic Anthropology), so I was able to connect with a lot of what the author discussed. If you have that background, I highly recommend this book. It was absolutely amazing to hear the very important work that forensic Anthropologists are able to do. With only fragments of bone, they can often determine how someone died and give a body back its identity. They are even able to do this in cold case from decades past. Truly remarkable.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

This book was written by a forensic anthropologist. She explains each of the bones, or at least in groups with their function, and at the same time, she tells you one, or several, criminal cases or stories from her investigations that focus specifically on said bone or set of bones.

The bones she hates the most are the ones in the foot, haha.

I loved it; I really liked the description of criminal cases, how anthropology helps to solve murders and the author, having a PhD, explains things in a very simple and funny way.

Criminal law is my jam, so it was not difficult for me to understand, but I deeply believe that even if you are not an expert on the subject, it is very easy to understand and like it, but keep in mind that it is quite scientific and not only about cases and mysteries.

This is the second of Sue Black's publications that I have read and I found it of the same interest. I loved the abundance of facts and anecdotes it included about what the deceased body has to tell those still-living through everything it leaves behind upon its destruction. Every area of the skeleton was focused on and I appreciated every insight garnered here.

I enjoyed this book…I honestly thought I was going to love it based on how it started and I loved certain stories like the one in which she had to take a human head through an airport with her….but the book became monotonous after awhile. The various murder cases began to all blur together over the final third of the book.

I’m not denying Sue Black’s abilities…I honestly believe she is one of the best at what she does in the world. I just think the book should have had less stories or at least more variety among the stories.

Amazing nonfiction!
I was hooked from the very first pages. It's so interesting how the science of human skeleton and stories of real life crime cases were intertwined in this book.
What I loved the most is that the science part in this book is accesible to absolutely every single person because everything is explained so thorougly. Author did an amazing job.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I liked the science parts, but I struggled to keep reading this. Lovers of true crime shows may like it a lot more, especially if you prefer British or European cases. The author is funny at times, but also speaks about others in a way that often made me uncomfortable. In particular, she seemed quite pleased about a resolution that included deadnaming a trans person. She also seemed more concerned about the fairness and rehabilitation of criminals than about victim shaming. So this wasn't for me, but I can see how others may like it.

This was a really fun mix of scientific knowledge, personal narrative and true crime. I really enjoyed learning about the different parts of the human skeleton and how they've been important in solving some brutal crimes in Europe. Sue Black's personal narrative was witty and fun and just so knowledgeable. Think my only critique is the off handed comment at the end of the book when Sue Black mention's she'd like to donate her body to science, which, fine. I get it. But to say that burial is "useless" felt like misinformation.

The overall feel of this book was one of academia mixed with morbidity. I generally enjoyed it, though I am doubtful of my ability to retain many of the anatomical terms that are used. The author clearly knows their stuff, as is to be expected from someone of their stature, and that did lend a satisfying bent to the book.

Updated 16/02/22
I purchased a copy and so now I am able to review this book properly. In the genre of true crime, forensic anthropologist, Sue Black made the story of human bones come alive. Or I guess it kept me mesmerized over my supper time readings these last few nights. Infused with humour and entertaining stories about real crime scenes this was a good read.



Thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately, I failed to register that my download hadn't gone on my device and then the license expired and I missed my chance to read it. So I am not going to rate it as that would be unfair to the author and publisher.

Publication Date 01/06/21
Goodreads review 07/06/21

This is Sue Black's second book and is just as good as the first.
Sue Black tells us all about what the bones tell forensic anthropologists after death.
Each series of bones is described and tales of cases she has worked on illustrate the narration.
A fascinating, detailed and accessible book.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

Well-written book on a fascinating topic. If you are interested in forensic pathology and not particularly squeamish, you will want to read this book. I really liked the structure of the book, with chapters divided to different parts of the body. Sue Black explains everything clearly and writes with empathy and a pinch of dry humour that I appreciate very much.

Written in Bone is a good mix of scientific information about human bones and true crime case studies to illustrate how that information can be used in crime investigation. It's more of a mainstream introduction to the use of bones in forensics than I expected, and at times, it felt both too general and too detailed. The stories and facts are interesting, but there's no real flow in the writing except in the movement from the skull down through the skeleton as the focus of each chapter.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and the authors for the chance to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I actually listened to this author's previous book, All That Remains, on audio book which is read by Sue Black. I'm glad I did that, as both books are written quite conversationally and it helped to have the author's 'voice in my head'.

Once again the author brings empathy and compassion to her favourite subject, forensic anthropology, making what could be a rather dull subject relatable and interesting. There's even some self-deprecating humour in there, which is quite in keeping with the author's style.

A great read.

To put it simply, I loved this book. It's a non-fiction that takes the reader through a series of cases that have made up the author's career as a forensic anthropologist, but the events are all categorised into areas of the human body.
The stories themselves are a fascinating look into what has clearly been an illustrious career with much variation. The author takes the readers through everything from murder cases to historical mysteries and to be honest some stories that simply seemed unbelievable. Unbelievable, that is, until Sue Black steps in to explain it all and suddenly I'm totally convinced (I was so impressed I very nearly applauded a couple of times).
Every step of every case is thoroughly examined and explained taking you through the anatomy as well as context and back story and it truly felt like I was there piecing everything together with her.
The stories are broken up with in-depth looks at the part of the body we're focusing on in each particular section and I was simply fascinated. The format of this book was truly genius; not only was it fun but it made it all so much easier to digest as sections with overlapping parts or information related to one another were grouped together. It definitely made all the information I was taking in less intimidating and easier to remember, putting all the information in context.
Despite the writing being quite dense with facts and clues I sped through each chapter, my mind regularly being blown by the true cases being shared. I honestly don't know how she cherry picked the stories she wanted to tell as I could honestly have read a thousand pages of this and I would still be on the edge of my seat.
I also appreciated the small personal anecdotes Black added in about her own life, they really brought everything together making it that last bit more cohesive for me, and showing the human being behind all the genius within these pages helped to drive home to me how incredible some of the stories are.
An excellent book that I will definitely be revisiting and buying for friends. One of the best non-fictions I've read. Perfectly informative and irresistibly intriguing, I now have to go back and read her first book! 5✨

I was so excited to read this after reading 'All that remains' and Written in bone definitely didn't disappoint. Filled with science yet still easily digestible for the reader, I loved the case studies and learned so so much from this book. This should be on every True crime fanatic's book shelf!

I love the way this book is broken up by sections of the body. It feels reminiscent of everything I loved about reading Mary Roach's Stiff. The details are incredibly accessible and would translate easily to a younger audience since each section begins talking about the part of the body and ends with a few real-life examples of cases involving that section of the human anatomy. It is a fairly quick read and a book I will probably refer to in the future.

Fascinating and understandable by those without a lot of expertise in the field. A really enjoyable read with a lot of good info.