I really enjoyed the forensics aspects of this book and how it showcased the skills needed to solve the case! It was really interesting since I love true crime I thought I would love this book. But the plot had me bored most of the time with the narrative. I think if it wasn’t for the true crime aspects I would have enjoyed this as much as I did because the way the plot played out wasn’t what I was wanting in this book. But overall it was an ok book and I’m glad i did actually get the chance to read it!

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

I can genuinely express my desire for more individuals like Norton, who are genuinely passionate about crime scene technology and are driven by the desire to make a difference. They aspire to assist in solving crimes that some may consider unsolvable. As a medical professional, I can attest that forensic pathology is our means of communicating with the deceased. It allows us to uncover clues that others may not be trained to perceive. Although I now work as a trauma surgeon and listen to books instead of music while in the operating room, I cherished my time in the morgue. However, this transition hasn't always been smooth, I must admit. Regrettably, I am not familiar with her podcast, but I will certainly search for it now. Initially, I had no idea what to expect from this book. While I was aware of the subject matter, I was uncertain whether the chapters would be presented in a podcast-like format or from the perspective of someone well-versed in forensic science. Each chapter introduced a new case, and the information provided to the reader surpassed what could be found online. From the very first page, I was completely engrossed and deeply impressed by the author's writing prowess.

I have been a fan of true crime for a long time now. With a passion for cold cases and John/Jane Doe cases as well. this book was well written with respect to the families of the victims. Seeing the identity of the Ina County Jane Doe revealed through forensic science was interesting. It gave me a good perspective of what my best friend did for work as a Forensic Tech CSI.

There are a lot of personal anecdotes in there that are not for everybody so beware of that.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the early review e-copy of this book!

I mean, I enjoyed this one, but I think that I will just stick to podcasts for my nonfiction true crime fix. (Trudging through about an hour and a half of the significance of dental records and tooth DNA was a bit nauseating for me, honestly.) Laurah Norton is a great writer, and I generally enjoyed the way that she wove prose into a heavily statistic/science-driven material, BUT the thing that I missed were the live interviews and the suspense that a podcast delivers.

This one settles with me at 3 stars flat.

Loved this take on true crime. i really enjoyed the writing. Easy to read and to understand. The author did a wonderful job at keeping you enthralled in the story.

A super inspiring look into the people dealing with some of the darkest parts of human nature. this book was insightful and really moving. I enjoyed reading about the people and professions that work to help find closure for families and communities.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What is in a name?

I didn't want this book to end. I wanted more cases to be saved, I wanted more Laurah going though the steps with more nameless people and fining out who they were.

I am a true crime podcast listener and I had actually never heard of Laurah's podcast before this book. I will now be listing to it though. I picked up this book because I like reading about true crime and it looked like a book for me.

And I loved it, I was invested and obviously wanted to know more. It was all just so interesting. I will definitely be ching out more books like this and hopefully more podcasts as well.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy. As someone very much into true crime documentaries and podcasts this book was very much something I immediately wanted to read based just on the cover and title. The book lived up to the promise of both of them. Such a interesting and respectfully handled look into the world of forensics and the folks that do the work to help solve crimes and bring some closure to cases and to the those who lost someone or to bodies who can't even be initially identified.

This book was well written. And I liked that it included so many personal moments of the authors journey, making the overall book feel less like a cut and dry deep dive explanation into the world of solving Doe cases. The author did a good job of adding these moments in just as the technical terminology was getting overwhelming for me.

I went out on a limb here trying. To read this book which is so different from my normal genre. And while I recognize it was well written, I also recognize that this book was not for me. So the rating is of my personal experience having a hard time getting into and enjoying this read based on my preference. It is not about the authors ability to write an informative novel.

Thanks NetGalley and Hachette Books for the ARC of this book

This book was one I was super excited for, but it didn’t quite live up to my hopes. I often consume true crime and I’m really interested in unsolved crimes. I love that the author covers things such as the ethical consumption of true crime, the complications with focusing on race and assigned sex at birth when trying to identify does, and how she explained the importance of updating the dental database. Honestly the book is full of interesting information, but the writing style wasn’t for me. She bounced back and forth between being in the weeds with science and rambling about how her and her friend have such different diets (vegan and keto) and other random ramblings that didn’t feel relevant. The pace was fairly slow. I think this could have been edited down to be more streamlined and focused on the topic at hand and I would have enjoyed it more.

Even when this book was W A Y out of my "pay grade" in the math/science department, I was completely enthralled. As someone who is intrigued by true crime and with those who are nameless and have been nameless for years, I cannot imagine how amazing AND satisfying it must be to find the name of someone who has been missing for years and give a family peace; I am in awe of all the work the author and all the people she works with did to make this happen for the family of "Ina Jane Doe/Susan Menard Lund". I cried happy tears when they were finally able to give a corpse their name back. What a beautiful thing.

Filled with so much information, along with personal antidotes [that IMO were fantastic - it really broke up some of the more gruesome aspects of the search for a name, as well as breaking up some of the overwhelming science] and impeccable research, if you enjoy true crime and people working hard to help those who are helpless, then this book is for you. Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Laurah Norton, and Hachette Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked how this books not only followed the story of identifying Ina Jane Doe but also explained a lot of the science. The science was explained in a way that was pretty easy to understand too. I also started listening to Laurah's podcast The Fall Line and highly suggest it.




Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I thoroughly enjoy my true crime reads, gruesome and terrifying as they are. I especially enjoy the intricacies of police work and investigation, probably that’s a side of the analysis that I can both relate to and have no idea about. I love learning about the ways in which investigations of this nature are conducted, the nuances of analysis and the low and high technology that comes into play.

Lay Them to Rest delivered… and yet, also didn’t quite hit the high notes for me.

The bad part first. I didn’t enjoy the degree of personal involvement and commentary Norton provided. While it is common for writers to relay their personal trajectories and use it to form the narrative arc of their non-fiction books, I found the way in which Norton did this to be distracting. The injection of her personal thoughts felt like intrusive minutiae. This is, of course, a subjective opinion; other readers may very much enjoy Norton’s personal journey. For this reader, not only did this detract from the primary story of the victims and their cold cases, but Norton’s self-deprecating approach undermined her credibility and authority, coming off as fumbling. I believe the intention was to code Norton’s “character” as endearing, but its delivery did not persuade me of this view of her.

But now, the good. Norton’s partnership with a biological anthropologist produced an academic perspective which I greatly appreciated. It is clear a great deal of research had been conducted, both by Norton and Amy Michael, as well as the many others Norton shadowed, interviewed, and worked with. The book provides a great deal of information, and Norton’s delivery of that — along with the abundant necessary context — was accomplished with both straightforward utility and finesse. Norton’s prose was smooth, its language accessible while still necessarily full of the argot of the subject matter. Norton distills an enormously complex subject into easily digestible and palatable parts.

Lay Them to Rest is built through the cold cases of several victims, Jane Does, found dead and abandoned. Norton uses these cases to relay to the reader a nuanced view of the layered landscape of police work, forensic analysis, and dysfunctional systems of databases for DNA tracking used for investigating and solving crime. The focus here is not on the victims, or their families, or even on the police or investigators who strive to solve their crimes; Lay Them to Rest focuses on the structural elements of criminal investigation, the organizations and systems which organize and sift through the millions of bits of data and information that can be gathered about victims and the crimes against them. This angle into the world of criminal investigation was a novel one for me; most of the true crime I have read have not delved into this specific aspect of investigation. I found this perspective refreshing and intriguing.

Readers of true crime will find Lay Them to Rest a worthy addition to their libraries. Or, at the very least, well worth the time and effort of reading it.

This is an absolute must read for the true crime addict and probably my favorite book I’ve read this year. Laurah Norton delves into all the behind the scenes work that is done to identify a John/Jane Doe (unidentified descendant). Her focus isn’t who killed this person, but who was this person and how that knowledge can bring peace to families and friends. From there, law enforcement can solve the crime. Laurah’s book follows the identification of an unidentified female’s skull found in Illinois in 1993, but wasn’t properly identified for 30 years. Laurah delves into forensic anthropology, odontology, genetic genealogy, forensic art of the descendant and more.

Laurah works alongside a forensic anthropologist working out of the University of New Hampshire. Had Dr. Amy been a professor when I attended UNH I probably would have switched majors to anthropology. Laurah’s description of the work Amy and her students conduct is fascinating and makes me believe I really missed out on an incredible opportunity! While the book is full of scientific procedures, Laurah provides all of the facts as though she’s learning them alongside you for the first time. She also uses other cases to provide examples of what she’s discussing.

Laurah writes with empathy and respect for the descendant and their family. I really appreciate how she puts into perspective the feelings of those people who find a body on happenstance. She reminds you how they may have presumed it to be a mannequin at first and then the agony that must have set in when the realization of a true body was made. She does this several times and it helps place you there in that moment, and give perspective to the reader. It takes away the “well I would have done this” scenario.

The statistics she presents in chapter 2 regarding the white to black female ratio of unidentified female descendants is appalling. Chapter 2 is so important to read. The statistics are staggering but it was the first time I’d read in depth about NamUs the system used for missing and unidentified persons. CODIS or VICAP are discussed so much in true crime, I hope NamUs can receive the same recognition because it’s also invaluable. It’s shocking to find out some states aren’t using it. Chapter 8 was another poignant chapter which detailed identifying 9/11 victims by their teeth. It truly shines a light on how powerful dental identification by an odontologist is.

The book comes to a satisfying conclusion when Ina Jane Doe is officially identified and the reader has a chance to know who she really was straight from those that loved her. I truly hope Laurah continues to write more books as she works to identify more John/Jane Does. I’d love to know more about the “mummy” from Tilton or the John Doe in the sleeping bag.

Thank you to Hachette Books for this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Lay Them to Rest by Laurah Norton in exchange for an honest review. I have my Master's in Justice Studies and interned at the county Coroner's Office. I find forensic science to be absolutely fascinating and what the body can tell us after death. This book drew me in and taught me new information on forensics.

This is a really interesting book that I enjoyed. Forensic Science fascinates me so this is right up my alley. The author does a good job of detailing the case and giving insight into the process of identifying the victim. I would recommend this to those interested in forensic science and true crime. Special Thank You to Laurah Norton, Hachette Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love all things true crime! Trying to figure out a cold case is my jam. Mysteries are one of my favorites. I would recommend this book to all my mystery girlies.

Absolutely loved this book. I learned a lot about cold cases and how bones and DNA research can help solve those cold cases. I loved that there were able to find out more about "Ina" and bring some relief to her family. The cover art is also beautiful.

Countless cold cases remain consigned to an eternal lack of resolution, their evidence fading into the mists of time due to insufficient resources. For every high-profile instance of a perpetrator being held accountable, numerous other mysteries remain in perpetual limbo. Laurah Norton has long harbored a deep fascination with these unsolved cases, haunted by the lingering "what ifs" and unanswered questions. Yet, as a writing professor, her interest remained merely a personal preoccupation. This changed dramatically when the case of two twins was cracked open by the groundbreaking methods of forensic genealogy. Similar technology had been pivotal in unveiling the identity of the notorious Golden State Killer, prompting Norton to launch a podcast specifically dedicated to unresolved cases. The success of this podcast not only validated Norton's enduring passion but also directed much-needed attention and resources toward forgotten and neglected cold cases.

Lay Them to Rest features Norton's comprehensive exploration of the forensic methodologies in solving murder cases. The book takes readers on a historical journey through the profession's evolution, all while shedding light on modern-day technologies. Concurrently, it follows the efforts to unravel the identity of "Ina" Jane Doe, a case dating back to the early 1990s. The discovery of a dismembered, unidentified female head in an Illinois state park presented an enduring mystery, leaving investigators stumped due to the scarcity of evidence for identification. Norton collaborates with seasoned forensic anthropologist Dr. Amy Michael, leveraging Michael's extensive experience and network of committed forensic scientists to focus on cracking this long-standing case. This gripping narrative gives readers an inside view of the scientific processes, speculations, and serendipitous moments that form the intricate puzzle of identifying the nameless victim in this compelling cold case.

The determination behind solving the "Ina" Jane Doe case fascinated me. Norton’s detailed narrative unveils the intricate steps essential to cracking this mystery, emphasizing the evolving technology and relentless pursuit of answers. However, the scarcity of resources poses a significant barrier in examining every case, leaving many forgotten by time. This poignant reality resonated deeply while reading. The absence of a unified system to consolidate critical data like dental records and DNA adds to the challenge, forcing investigators to rely heavily on luck and tireless dedication to unravel such cases.

Though Lay Them to Rest admirably debunks the myths surrounding forensic investigations perpetuated by media, the book sometimes delves excessively into technical minutiae. While the meticulous examination of "Ina" Jane Doe's teeth, for example, yielded critical breakthroughs, the exhaustive detail occasionally disrupted the book’s pacing, causing a sporadic imbalance between the urgency of the mystery and the in-depth forensic descriptions. Despite this, Norton's insightful writing sheds light on a widely misunderstood field, providing a valuable understanding of the realities of forensic work and ultimately aiding in solving a decade-old cold case. The book remains an engrossing and enlightening read.

Immersive and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where true crime and thrillers are popular.