A MONDAY MEDLEY

A brief run through of some of the blog items that caught my eye this weekend.

The Rap Sheet had a veritable cornucopia of interesting items but two were worthy of special attention.

• Cosmos magazine considers the question, “Was Sherlock Holmes the original forensic scientist?” (Hat tip to In Reference to Murder.)

Here is an extract form the original article:

Murray points to evidence that Edmund Locard, a French pioneer of forensic criminology, read Holmes stories; encountering many instances of what modern criminologists call the exchange principle. This could be the hairs left on your jacket by a cat. Or it could be the zinc and copper filings from a trouser cuff by which Holmes identified a man who was part of a coin counterfeiting operation. "It's the basis of all trace evidence which you see mentioned in television shows like CSI," says Murray.
Locard gave the exchange principle a solid scientific basis, establishing in Lyon, France, in 1910 one of the earliest laboratories devoted to criminal investigation.

Read full article here and I think you will decide that Holmes was the first forensic detective or possibly Arthur Conan-Doyle or maybe Joseph Bell.

And an item was about tough bald guys on TV.

I know all about tough bald guys, especially when you have to chip in to buy them an economical hybrid Toyota Prius. I have to admit it was less concern for the environment and more the outrageous cost of fuel that precipitated this purchase. The £15 a year road fund licence and exemption from the London congestion charge were also factors.

Petrona asks some answerable and unaswerable questions including

Why is Bookselling on the UK High Street "Flat"?

And provides an answer with the link to The Bookseller.

My own answerable and hopefully some unaswerable questions, the Quirky Quiz, will be posted during the week. Some people are already quaking in their shoes in anticipation.

Of course there were excellent reviews and interesting items at all the usual supects, It's a Crime [or a mystery] , Detectives Beyond Borders, Crime Always Pays [with lovely photos of new arrival Princess Lily], Euro Crime, and another new arrival setting a high standard Crime Scene NI.

Finally I have started to read a book that promises to be the start of a fascinating new series from Polish crime writer Marek Krajewski.

Will their crime writers prove to be as efficient as their plumbers, and bank staff? My review will appear on Euro Crime in due course.