What’s the book? Expert Witness by Ann W. Burgess and Steven M. Constantine
How dark is it? A nice greige, maybe? It’s not very graphic but it does discuss real crimes.
Is it good? On a scale from 1 to 10 gavels. I give it 8/10 gavels. Thoroughly gripping.
A few weeks ago I joined an online book club with a subscription service. Every month they send me a new bit of dark non-fiction and at the end of the month, they discuss it online. While I devote myself generally to fiction on this blog, I also like a true dark story. This seems like a perfect way to get my non-fiction fix.
I thoroughly enjoyed this month’s book. It starts with a bit of history, explaining how expert witnesses became a part of the legal process, but after that it becomes a deep dive into Ann Burgess’s greatest hits. I was hooked immediately; Ann Burgess has been involved in some monumental court cases.
She’s generally an expert in trauma responses and the psychology of sexual violence, so the stories center around perpetrators and survivors of sexual violence. After discussing one of the first cases she worked on (which is not famous so she vagued up the details to protect the innocent) she tells us about her harrowing interview with Erik Menendez, her work on the Duke lacrosse team case, and her involvement with survivors of the horrendous crimes of Bill Cosby, among others.
One of the main things that draws me to true crime is learning what goes through the heads of everyone involved, and this book focuses on exactly that. It’s detailed and insightful while still being quick and readable for the average citizen. It also feels like Burgess chose cases not just to highlight her high profile work but also to give us a well-rounded look at the psychology of victims and perpetrators alike. She puts a heavy emphasis on experts trying to be objective and careful in their assessments, without jumping to conclusions based on how sympathetic (or unsympathetic) a person is. The Menendez interview she details early on is a great example of her approach, I think.
In some ways, the book feels a bit shallow. I wouldn’t have minded a little more history and discussion of the big picture, or a deeper dive into the state of research on the psychology of trauma. I’m sure Burgess knows a lot about that and it sometimes feels like she’s holding back, expecting most readers to be focused on the famous cases and less interested in her actual research. I loved the former but I also would be fascinated by the latter. Still, this was a page-turner and I did enjoy her insights, which went much deeper than the average podcast or true crime documentary. It was definitely worth my time if only for that.
Darker Books 