I now spend much of my time writing. I recently completed a second edition of Forensic Science – a very short introduction which was published in February 2020. This was completely revised and updated to include new scientific developments and new areas of forensic work such as digital forensics.
My first full-length book; Murder under the Microscope (Atlantic Books), will be published on 1 October 2020. This book charts my personal experience as a forensic investigator in notable and notorious murder investigations over four decades in the UK. It describes my role in numerous cases and how I and responded to the events I confronted personally and professionally. All of the cases described attracted public and media attention, for a variety of reasons: revulsion at the crime, controversy over the investigation or conviction, or intrigue about the extraordinary stories they told. Five case histories are dealt with in individual chapters: Robert Black, the UK’s most prolific serial child killer; Michael Stone who killed Lin and Megan Russell in idyllic rural Kent; Damilola Taylor, murdered trying to make a new life in London; Rachel Nickell, stabbed 49 times on Wimbledon Common and Gareth Williams, the GCHQ code breaker and would be spy.