The amount of research that went into the creation and writing of Tremors in the Blood is astounding. Amit Katwala went all in with this book. This is a nonfiction account of the birth of the polygraph, the lie detector. Katwala leaves no stone unturned with his research. He wrote it in a way that makes it easy for the reader to understand the history of the polygraph, how it "detected" when someone was lying, and what made it a pivotable tool in police procedures.

I listened to this book as an audiobook with the narrator, Paul Bellantoni. His narration helped move the story along when it felt to be dragging for the reader. I enjoyed his cadence, tone, and pace of narration throughout the novel. I would say that this book did meet the expectations that I had going in. I walked away with more knowledge than I had when I started the book. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a nonfiction, historical account of police procedures and the development of pivotable tools.

This is an interesting book about the polygraph test. I found the author didn’t always explain where certain information came from, which led to scenes from scandalous broadsheets being woven together with personal papers. Listening to this book as an audiobook makes it hard to understand how to tell certain sources of information apart. I found this very interesting and I enjoyed it.

I picked up and stopped this book multiple times. While the content itself was interesting, it was written in such a boring way. I love a good educational true crime novel but this one just missed the mark for me and was not very easy to digest. I think this is something I may try again later.

I requested this title because I am a criminal trial lawyer, which is my passion, and I love anything true crime and crime nonfiction! It was incredibly fascinating and educational. I don’t know too much about polygraph machines because they are inadmissible in federal courts where I practice. It is more so used as a law enforcement tool (and employment for federal agencies). I do wish the narrative was tightened a little more without so many side stories. The length could have been significantly decreased. But overall, glad I got the opportunity to listen to this and learn a lot!

Thank you to DreamScape Media and NetGalley for the ALC!

This book was informational in a way that kept my attention which is exactly what I look for in my true crime books. I do feel at time it jumped around people a bit too much but after a while I got used to it and was able to remember who was who. I especially love that the author was honest with the fact that the polygraph isn't completely accurate. The narrator did a good job with this one and didn't take from this book but won't say he added to it.

A solid, serviceable, true-crime adjacent non-fiction book about the invention of the lie detector. I met some fascinating characters at the forefront of detecting, police work, and science. The polygraph has an unexpectedly complex and dramatic origin story. But there were times where we meandered so far down a side road about a crime or the personal lives of the people involved in the machine's development that I forgot the subject of the book.

The part about Henry Wilkins' murder trial (the first trial where the machine came into play) seemed to go on forever, with large chunks of it never mentioning the polygraph. And while I appreciate that the details may have been important in order to establish the case's significance, it ultimately detracted from the main point of the book.

But I can certainly say that I now have a much better understanding of the polygraph's capabilities and history. And despite the book's structure, I still enjoyed the ride and the narration was pleasant to listen to.

I received my audio book from NetGalley.

I thought this was a very interesting book about polygraph/ lie detector machines. I am glad I had a chance to read this.

Fascinating history of lie detection and the polygraph machine. Richly researched, and told with an addictive energy that keeps the minutes ticking over.

Overall, this book was really interesting. The topic was one I'd never thought of before, so to learn about the emergence of the lie detector and all the fallout from it was super interesting. My issue with the book was the constant jumping around between murder cases, experimental phases, life event and just general caveats that diverted from the main plot. We would finish a trial in 1928 then all of a sudden Joe-Smo is hanging out in his backyard in 1921. I found that really hard to keep track of.

I really loved the narrator. I found his voice oddly soothing (especially given some of the topics discussed) and while I was losing the plot every now and then I would still listen to it.

Not my favourite book in the world, but definitely glad I was able to listen to it!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This book follows the life of the three key players in the invention of the polygraph. Tremors in the Blood explores the struggle, obsession, and destruction that each player experienced following iits invention.

Tremors in the Blood was a challenging read. I felt like something was missing from the book. Maybe it is a brief chapter on the continued interest in the polygraph. Maybe it was a chapter explaining and introducing each of the personalities.

Additionally, I found my self asking where are we going? Why should I read this? Admittedly, I rarely read nonfiction, so that may have contributed to my boredom.

I love books like this. I’m always curious about how things such as a lie detector test came about - and this book definitely includes all of that. It’s not the content, but the execution that didn’t do it for me. It was honestly really boring.

This had the potential to be a thrilling and educational trip down history lane but instead it felt like sitting in class with a monotone professor that didn’t want to be there any more than you did.

I did receive the audiobook through NetGalley and I can’t blame the vibe on the narrator at all. He was anything but monotone, however the content of the story just FELT that way.

Ian interesting book about the history of the lie detector. I honestly knew very little before I had the chance to read this book. It’s a little over whelming.

This was such an informative and interesting look at the history of polygraphs and lie detectors. It was so fascinating to hear the origins of the technology and the science it was based on. The book also focuses on a number of cases which highlighted the emerging issues with the technology which could and did lead to miscarriages of justice.

This was a very interesting look at the polygraph. I liked how the book used true crimes stories to intersect with the history behind the device, although sometimes the time jumps were a little abrupt and hard to follow. Overall, a very engaging read.

A wonderful, thought-provoking look into the past, with a focus on the onset of early forensic science. Incredibly fascinating and a little sad. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher for my ARC.

4 stars.

3.5⭐

Featuring ~ nonfiction, true crime, police procedural

The true crime I usually read is about the killer themselves, but this was different in that it was a look at the lives of the inventors of the lie detector test; John Larson, Gus Vollmer and Leonarde Keeler. I never thought much about the history behind it since I've never had to take one and it's just always been around in my lifetime, obviously since it was invented in the 1920's. Is it truly a reliable device though?

It had some draggy points, but overall it seemed just as properly researched as I'd expect my nonfiction to be.

Narration:
Paul Bellantoni ~ 10 hours 36 minutes ~ he did a fine job.

I feel guilty, but I am DNFing this one. I feel like I should have tried harder because this book seems to have good reviews, but I just couldn’t get interested. Maybe it’s just not for me! There were so many different people to keep track of and I quickly lost track of who they were. There were little cases mentioned as part of the polygraph trajectory, but these unfortunately got me confused about the main case. Maybe this one would have been better as a physical book so I could commit some things to visual memory and go back to check things I was confused about, but the audiobook just had me mixed up and I just could not stay engaged.

Have you ever wondered what the thought process was behind the development of the polygraph machine? This captivating audiobook, written by Amit Katwala and narrated by Paul Bellantoni shares an interesting story about the history of the lie detector.

Katwala’s story takes us through the concept, development, and use of the polygraph machine in court cases. He even delves into how the machine affected the lives of its founders.

While several were responsible for developing the polygraph, these three were very instrumental:

--Leonard Keeler, a Berkeley high school student and amateur magician.
--John Larson was a Berkeley police officer who had an academic doctorate in psychology. And
--August Vollmer, a medical student and police officer in Berkeley, California.

The idea of the machine feels rather elementary. (But don’t most inventions when they are complete and we experience that aha moment?) The polygraph monitors blood pressure, respiration, pulse, and perspiration while the person is being asked a series of questions. In most cases, spikes in the reading indicate that the person is lying.

However, not all people respond the same, so the lie detector isn’t considered a completely reliable source. Thus it’s not generally admissible in court.

My Concerns
Though I found the court cases interesting, I would have loved more information about the continual development of the polygraph machine. However, it all ties together the the court cases were interesting.

Final Thoughts
This audiobook contains the stories behind the development of the polygraph and the involvement of Larson, Keeler, and Vollmer. Plus the true crime cases involving the use of the lie detector.

I found this well written story enjoyable and informative.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ALC of this book.

The use of the lie detector, or polygraph, has long been debated on the legitimacy of its findings. While there are many circumstances where one might be useful, there are very founded reasons as to why the results are not allowed to be admitted into a court of law.

The author takes the reader on a journey, keeping one enthralled until the last word. The invention of the lie detector, and the many different cases that it was used on during its inception was fascinating. There are many different cases presented, and the issues that those running the tests were finding.

I absolutely LOVED this read! It was fascinating. I have a better understanding of why the polygraph is not admitted into a court of law, but truly enjoyed the different cases that it was used on and the men that were responsible for the creation of the lie detector. It was interesting to hear how many began a career in which they had not initially thought about going into the police force, but their changes and many of the overhauls that they put into place are still used today.

This was super fascinating and I loved the narrator. It is obvious that Katwala is a reporter - the depth of research here was great. But, he is also an incredible story teller - a la Erik Larson - of nonfiction. How the different stories were interwoven to ultimately give life to the creation of the lie detector. The final information, about the lie detector in intervening years, was just icing on the cake.