Simon Burrow writes this book review from his home in Menerbes, somewhere in the Luberon Valley – Provence.

Steeped in Blood

The Life and Times of a Forensic Scientist By Dr David Klatzow – as told to Sylvia Walker

‘To thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.’

– William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene iii, lines 78-80

Legendary forensic scientist Dr David Klatzow bookmarks his new book Steeped in Blood with this quote from Hamlet. Klatzow has spent his life searching for the truth – often at a risk to his own life and to his own reputation.

Written without descending into a legal tome of dull prose, Klatzow and his fellow scribe, Sylvia Walker, take the reader through a fascinating dissertation on many of the landmark forensic investigations with which he has been involved.

Klatzow takes the reader through several high profile cases and, probably, the one which has the most appeal beyond the legal fraternity is the South African Helderberg 747 crash in 1987. Drawing on evidence and with some quite exceptional forensic work, he uncovers the massive cover up by the apartheid Government. It makes for absorbing reading.

No stone is unturned in the quest for the truth and insights on such other high-profile cases such as the Kebble affair, numerous apartheid atrocities and, more recently, the van der Vyver case keep the reader turning page after page.

The author relates numerous examples of how conflicts of fact had to be resolved during the cases that he was involved in and that in most of them, his opinions were accepted by the judges presiding. Klatzow’s command of the English language is well known and he uses this skill throughout the book and in describing his numerous court appearances.

In his foreward, Advocate George Bizos SC of the Legal Resources Centre and noted defence lawyer states, “No trial lawyer, senior investigating officer or potential expert witness can afford to ignore this book.”

To this we should add, anyone who believes in the truth.

Steeped in Blood, is published by Struik and can be purchased for ZAR220-00 at leading bookshops in South Africa or directly from the author at david.klatzow@mweb.co.za. A digital version is available from the same email.

CLICK HERE to buy online right now at Kalahari

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