Monday, August 6, 2018

A Walk on the Wild Side - ASU's student crime scene lab EEK by Pamela Tracy

I'm lucky enough to belong to a fabulous RWA group called Desert Rose.  This past Saturday we had an excursion to a student crime scene lab. When it was first announced, my hand was in the air.  I love, love, love romantic suspense.

Yes, I know, crime scene and romance not necessarily two words that go together.  But, think of Turner and Hooch, Castle, etc.

Here's a big thank you to Kim and Leslie Jones for introducing the greater Phoenix romance authors to Kimberly Kobojeck, who stood at the door like a spider and said, "Come into my web.  I'll hook you."  Er, she didn't really say that, but I'm a writer so took a little liberty.

Just inside the door we are welcomed
by one of Kobojeck's contemporaries


Soon, we are at a crime scene.
There are lots of clues.
We see pills - was it an overdose.
We see a glove - who left it behind, was the victim smothered.
We see blood spatter (Yes, it is spatter, not splatter) on the lamp shade.
And, then, there's the baseball bat.

Blood is everywhere
And so is the crime lab technician

Did you know that if there's blood spatter on the wall
And the guilty party paints over it
It will still be found.
Oh, yeah.
And, the piece of wood with all the spots...
Well, it's paint - latex, primer, base coat, etc


Fingerprints are an amazing thing.
John Dillinger tried to get rid of his.
Even twins do not have the same.
And, now there's something about the indentations on your ears being individual
But really, now that we have DNA testing, do we really need all the above.
Oh, yeah


Here we have a few Desert Rosers, ready to solve the crime!

Pamela Tracy's favorites genre to write is suspense.
Go figure.
Her next is The Soldier's Valentine.
It's heavy on romance, though.
And light on suspense.
But, the suspense is there.
Just no crime scene.
This time.





16 comments:

  1. Whoa! That looks like fun. I love figuring out puzzles which is probably why suspense and mystery is my favorite genre. :)

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    Replies
    1. It was fun. Made me want to go back to school again so I could learn all the new techniques.

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  2. It sounds like a fun day. I've participated in a crime scene class before and it was so interesting. You can tell I love to write romantic suspense.

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    Replies
    1. My favorite part was the fingerprinting. What was yours, Margaret?

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  3. We did fingerprinting at the Writer's Police Academy. Loved it! Also loved this post, Pam. What a great way to spend a Saturday! Interesting about the ear. Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. The ear was interesting. Basically, the ear could be used, but we've spent so much developing fingerprints, the ear would be basically the same. Plus, DNA came along and fingerprints are now secondary. Where do you spend your research money. Making DNA testing faster or developing the ear printing which is the same as fingerprinting.

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  4. What a fun way to research, Pam! As a suspense writer, I'm fascinated. Thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. They had a murder mystery at Nationals this year that blew me away. I so want to write a thriller.

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    2. I KNOW! The photos from that made me really wish I had gone. I write for LIS, but I keep wanting to write a cozy.

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    3. Cate, I've a cozy nesting in my brain too! I read tons of cozies.

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  5. Now that’s a super cool field trip!

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  6. What an amazing experience, Pam. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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