Murder and mayhem : a doctor answers medical and forensic questions for mystery writers

Collects the author's most noted "The Doctor Is In" columns, in which he answers medical and forensic questions categorized under such subjects as "Weapons of Death," and "Police and the Crime Scene." Abstract: In "Murder & Mayhem", Dr Doug Lyle answers medical and forensic questions from mystery writers originally sent in to his "The Doctor Is In" column for the Mystery Writers of America. Subjects include weapons of death, police and the crime scene, and the coroner and the crime lab. Read more... In Murder and Mayhem: A Doctor Answers Medical and Forensic Questions for Mystery Writers , Dr. D. P. Lyle culls the best of his popular "The Doctor Is In" question-and-answer column for the Mystery Writers of America, in which he answers medical and forensic questions from writers all over the country. A frequent advisor to published mystery writers, as well as writers for TV shows such as Law and Order , Dr. Lyle tackles subjects such as traumatic injuries, doctors and hospitals, weapons of death, poisons and drugs, police and the crime scene, the coroner and the crime lab, and more. In extremely organized and accessible detail, he answers questions spanning a wide range: Do pupils shrink or enlarge with death? Can X rays be copied? Can ingested cocaine kill? How soon do strangulation bruises appear? Lively and accessible, this solid reference book is bound for every mystery writer's shelf. Content: I. Doctors, Hospitals, Illnesses, and Injuries -- 1. Traumatic Injuries and Their Treatment -- 2. Environmental Injuries and Their Treatment -- 3. Doctors, Hospitals, and Paramedical Personnel -- 4. Medications and Drugs -- 5. Diseases and Their Treatment -- II. Methods of Murder and Mayhem -- 6. The Effects of Guns, Knives, Explosives, and Other Weapons of Death -- 7. Poisons and Drugs -- 8. Medical Murder -- III. Tracking the Perp -- 9. The Police and the Crime Scene -- 10. The Coroner, the Crime Lab, and the Autopsy -- Odds and Ends, Mostly Odds. Q: At the climax of my book there will be a death scene, and I want to make sure I portray it accurately.