Clay and Bones

December 4, 2023
Bailey debuts with a macabre memoir about her work as an FBI forensic artist. Discussing the tricks of her trade, she notes that the age of a skull can be estimated by examining “wear and tear on teeth” and that clay facial reconstructions are performed on “3D-printed resin replicas” so that the original skull isn’t disturbed or altered. Though Bailey mainly describes the work as quiet and careful, she recounts some of the more dramatic cases she’s been involved with, including flying to Bogotá to draw composite sketches of suspects in the killing of a DEA agent and digitally removing “blood and gore” from photos of the detached heads of suicide bombers so that the images could be released to the public for help with identification. The latter half of the book largely concerns the harassment Bailey endured as one of relatively few women at the Bureau, including getting bullied by vindictive male supervisors who blamed her for their mistakes and sabotaged her work after she filed a complaint against them. Bailey provides gritty insight into the unglamorous labor of forensic artists, but she struggles to effectively integrate the account of her workplace harassment, giving the proceedings a disjointed feel. Still, Bones fans will enjoy the insider’s view of forensic analysis.

December 15, 2023
A memoir by the first female "forensic sculptor" in the FBI. Books by forensic experts--those who use science or art to solve crimes--are a minor genre, but this is a solid addition. Retired FBI forensic artist Bailey loved art but couldn't afford college. Sharp and hardworking, she sped through Navy technical training and became a graphic artist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, before answering a newspaper ad for an illustrator at the FBI. In 2001, she joined a staff of about 50 full-time (and hundreds of part-time) forensic artists who work at law enforcement agencies across the country. What they produce is not art but evidence, mostly composites (a face reassembled from descriptions and remains) or "age progressions" based on a past photo. The miraculous re-creations by fictional TV forensic artists are often exaggerated, but real-life forensics occasionally solves crimes, and the accounts of cases always make for compelling reading. Bailey developed an interest in producing an accurate human face from a naked skull, often from long-dead remains. Although familiar to veteran whodunit readers, the reality of such reconstructions is far more complex, requiring an encyclopedic knowledge of a skull's innumerable muscles, tendons, nerves, and fat deposits and the ability to approximate a vanished visage. Dramatic crime-solving "hits" are rare but deeply satisfying. In the first 100 pages, the author delivers an entertaining account of the life and work of an FBI forensic artist. From there, she recounts the first of many conflicts with supervisors and alternates details of bizarre forensic assignments and increasingly painful encounters with obnoxious bosses, some of which led to legal action. Readers will fume along with Bailey, but they may wish that her description of a dysfunctional work environment at the FBI were less intensely personal and included other examples from colleagues. Despite occasional narrative distractions, a gruesomely vivid book.

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January 1, 2024
Bailey opens her memoir with a visit to Knoxville's Forensic Anthropology Center, aka ""the body farm,"" where she was both repulsed and fascinated by the decay: everything she saw here could inform her work for the FBI. A Navy veteran, Bailey hailed from a military family. Her aptitude and resourcefulness with graphic design led to a job with the Bureau in 2001. Toiling away in the moldy basement of FBI headquarters, Bailey created composites and age progressions of murder victims and suspects that would aid in a multitude of cases. Her exemplary work gained notice--such notice that a pair of malicious supervisors attempted to undercut her at every turn. But they hadn't counted on Bailey's resolve and strong will to challenge them. Clay and Bones shines a light on a crucial position in law enforcement while also revealing systemic flaws at the premier U.S. law enforcement agency. Bailey's depiction of her life and all its highs and lows is forthright. Readers will be mesmerized by her work and angered by the targeted harassment she received.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.