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Jenny Ward’s Crime Busting has all the makings of a bestseller. The subject is fascinating; the noteworthy cases she describes in agreeably straightforward style are satisfyingly puzzling or gruesome. Some are famous for other reasons, such as that of Sacco and Vanzetti, which convulsed the US. Her subtitle is “Breakthroughs in Forensic Science” and she deals with the scientific progress each case involved just as clearly as she does the circumstances and personalities concerned. There is a valuable section on possible flaws in evidence based on DNA, once seen as the ultimate clincher. Published by Blandford, £16.99, ISBN 0713726393.