This story is incredibly inspiring, especially due to my own interest in anthropology. This book is incredibly well written, and informative. It may be a turn off to those not interested in the science of anthropology, but this is the fault of the person and not the book.

If you are queasy, I wouldn’t suggest this book. As it is a very detailed adventure. This is someone who has likely written many research papers, and it comes across very well. The authors thoughts are organized and presentable, but may not be digestible for everyone. Do not expect this to be a light read, it’s serious and grittyly detailed. I also have purchased the authors previous work, and have yet to read it - but am very excited to now.

I want to sincerely thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to the ARC! I will be picking this book up.

This was my first read by Sue Black and I am so excited to keep reading! Aside from the information being incredibly detailed and woven in with real-life examples, the writing is so enthralling. It takes a lot for me to love a book that is non-fiction, to remain interested but I was from the first page. It also came at the perfect time because I am writing a novel where someone finds human remains. Definitely useful information for writers!

Excellent and fascinating cases written by a female anthropologist. Some of the paragraphs that introduce each narrative are very heavy with science and some may be bored with that, But I found it informative. I think it shouldn't have been placed in the beginning of the "stories" though because the temptation is to skip the heavy material and move on to the scene, case, etc. I found myself doing that. But I regained my discipline and read through. There are many readers who won't do that. Scientific information should be wedged in between story parts. Overall an excellent book.

I've been a fan of Sue Black since I first watched her on TV on History Cold Case, so when I saw that she has a new book out, I was naturally very interested to read it, in spite of not loving her first one for its heavy emphasis on autobiographical matter (merely a question of taste). And I'm very glad I did pick it up!

Following the sequence a forensic anthropologist works through the skeleton to find clues to its history and identity, starting with the head and taking us downwards to the feet, Black explains the development of each segment in the womb, touching, where it is of interest, on parallels to other animals or how we deviate from the biological norm, and why.
The main part of each segment is then given to how these types of bones can preserve clues to the lives their owners lived, and how they can help to establish identity or shed light on the possible cause of death. She concludes with real-life examples either from her own career or well-known criminal cases.

Black's writing throughout is clear and precise, as behoves a scientist; always managing to convey the matter at hand clearly and concisely without slipping needlessly into unnecessarily bloated 'science speak', but at the same time she is not afraid to confront her readers with the occasional technical term where she believes it will help to further their understanding. It's easy to picture her in court, giving evidence, and I can't help thinking that she must be very good at it, despite her protestations that she hates doing it (the two are, of course, not mutually exclusive).

If there was one thing I would improve about the book, it would be to include some picture material. There were several times where I turned to google to get a better idea of something she was describing because as a layman, I could not quite picture it.

Thank you to NetGalley to providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions herein expressed are my own.

Yes, this is a book about bones, but so very interesting. There is so much fascinating facts about various bones that are found in our bodies. Some case studies are also included which only adds to this book. I found this book very interesting and am very glad I was given the chance to read. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.