The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science

How it reads

The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science is narrative nonfiction (true crime history, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in an international setting, in the historical past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are justice, survival and power and politics. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 300 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.