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The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science - Douglas Starr
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
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4.17 60
A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as “The Killer of Little Shepherds,” terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years—until he ran up against... show more
A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as “The Killer of Little Shepherds,” terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years—until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era’s most renowned criminologist. The two men—intelligent and bold—typified the Belle Époque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science’s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition. With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher’s infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher’s crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer’s arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacher’s defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne’s efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement. The Killer of Little Shepherds is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780307266194 (0307266192)
Publisher: Knopf
Pages no: 320
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
pedestrienne
pedestrienne rated it
4.0 The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
Fascinating look at the crimes of Vacher and the use of forensic science (and the debate about what insanity is). Starr spends equal time on both subjects and doesn't glamorize Vacher which means I never got too nauseated by reading about him and his delusions and violence. I was excited to read tha...
A Book and A Review #2
A Book and A Review #2 rated it
4.0 The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
As someone who has been fascinated by the field of forensics for as long as I can remember, I found this book fascinating. It was interesting to see how far we have come in less than 100 years since the occurance of the serial killer discussed in this book. Also, I found it fascinating that this ser...
Don't Be Afraid of the Dork
Don't Be Afraid of the Dork rated it
4.0
This book examines the crimes and trial of French serial killer Joseph Vacher during the late 1800s within the larger context of the evolving developments in forensic and psychological analyses of crime. Vacher killed, mutilated and sexually assaulted numerous people both male and female in rural ...
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