Book Review: Buhk, T. T., & Cohle, S. D. (2008). Skeletons in the Closet: Stories From the County Morgue. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 408 pp

AuthorLawrence Kobilinsky
Published date01 December 2009
DOI10.1177/0734016808328682
Date01 December 2009
Subject MatterArticles
Book Reviews 581
Justice for Children is a welcome addition to the literatures of juvenile justice and ethi-
cal and political theories. Most governmental treatment and rehabilitation programs are
reactive in nature and limited in scope and funding; thus they tend to do too little, too late
in their attempts to rehabilitate adults, juveniles, and children. Harry Adams has developed
a workable proactive approach to the development of autonomy in Justice for Children, and
in so doing, has added greatly to the discourse of child development and justice.
Edward J. Schauer
Prairie View A&M University, Texas
Buhk, T. T., & Cohle, S. D. (2008). Skeletons in the Closet: Stories From the County
Morgue. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 408 pp.
DOI: 10.1177/0734016808328682
As a science professor who both teaches and practices in the field of criminal justice, my
concern for and fascination with the teaching and learning process has always been paramount.
Finding an effective way of imparting knowledge to students while at the same time making
the process transparent and enjoyable is the goal of every educator. Finding the best way to
provide students with the necessary complex and detailed content of the lesson while insuring
that the students maintain sight of the larger issues at hand is a constant challenge. Buhk and
Cohle, in their exciting and informative book, accomplishes this with facility. Skeletons in the
Closet: Stories From the County Morgue is a well-written, dynamic book that is filled with
important information not only for students of criminal justice but also for practitioners. Each
forensic investigation that is described provides the reader with important background infor-
mation on the case, the questions developed from the criminal investigation, and the methodi-
cal way in which the medical examiner (ME) determines the essential facts: the identity of the
victim, the cause and manner of death, and the approximate time of death.
It has often been said that murder victims call out from their graves for justice. Of
course, it is the ME who bears the responsibility of determining the cause (medical expla-
nation) and manner of death (homicide, suicide, accidental, natural, or indeterminate). The
ME also seeks to determine the approximate time of death, although this is sometimes more
challenging. From time to time, the identity of the victim is unknown and must be deter-
mined through medical or dental records. Tattoos, scars, fractures, jewelry, and so on can
sometimes be helpful to this end. Since the mid-1980s, DNA analysis has become an
important tool helping to establish the identity of a cadaver and is especially useful when
only partial remains are available. Besides the DNA analyst, the ME sometimes calls on
other specialists to assist in these determinations, such as when there is advanced decomposi-
tion or only “nonidentifying” body parts are found. Forensic anthropologists, odontologists,
entomologists, ballistics, and tool mark experts can provide valuable information about the
identity of the victim and the manner of death.
Dr. Stephen Cohle is the chief ME for Kent County, located in western Michigan. The book
is based on some of the more intriguing and complex cases on which Dr. Cohle himself has
worked. Tobin Buhk, co-author of Skeletons in the Closet, was formerly a high school teacher

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