From poisoners in ancient Rome to modern serial murderers, this newly extended edition of Colin Wilson's forensic-detection bestseller is a gruesome yet gripping history of forensic toxicology, ballistics, sexual criminology and the latest advances in the armoury of investigation techniques like genetic fingerprints and psychological profiling. A chilling catalogue of case studies, taken from original sources, shows how the tiniest scraps of evidence often produce momentous results. Like Nancy Titterton's murderer, betrayed by a single horsehair. Here too, in all its depth and notoriety, is the surprisingly modern criminal, the serial sex killer: Jack the Ripper, the Moors murderers, Charles Manson, and Peter Sutcliffe amongst others.