I had thought to name this class “Will Oleander Poison a Cat? or What I Discovered about the Wacky World of Researching Forensics for my Murder Mysteries.” Too long, and I hate coming up with titles.
Class description:
Blood spatter, gun calibers, poisons, and DNA … these weren’t subjects I knew about when I taught high school English. Currently, researching forensic topics has become part of my life as a mystery writer. Crime writers are always checking on forensics with questions that can be both humorous and puzzling. Can DNA be obtained from a half-eaten muffin? If a killer has a bone marrow transplant and leaves blood at the crime scene, will this blood match him or the blood marrow donor? How long can someone survive in a freezer? What kinds of poison are virtually impossible to trace? Seriously, I had no idea how humorous and intriguing the trip through the strange research world of an English-teacher-turned-mystery-writer would be. Let’s see if you can match wits and answer some of the questions mystery writers ask.