Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
BOOK REVIEW BY PHILLIP TAYLOR MBE
MAKING SENSE OF HOMICIDE
A Student Textbook
By Adam Lynes, Elizabeth Yardley, and Lucas Danos
Special Contribution: Ronald Winch
Foreword: Professor David Wilson
ISBN 978 1 90997 686 3
WATERSIDE PRESS
Putting justice into words
watersidepress.co.uk
A USEFUL COMMENTARY ON THE WIDELY MISUNDERSTOOD CRIMINOLOGY OF HOMICIDE
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
Death comes in many forms and features prominently on television and in the film industry. For Waterside Press, the subject-matter presents a wide variety of views for students, legal practitioners, and professionals, and the wider public as a study in criminology. Professor David Wilson says that this book “digs deeper than most student textbooks” (which is does), offering us “a judicious and much needed collection” when “our existence is evermore enveloped by aspects of death, despair, and homicide in all its various malignant forms.” Very well put!
As we understand it, this is the first dedicated textbook for Criminology students studying homicide. As the authors, Adam Lynes, Elizabeth Yardley, and Lucas Danos, explain, “criminal homicide is but one form of lethal violence victims may suffer, leading them to describe a much broader range of scenarios”. We feel that students will find that the topics cover a useful range from murder to manslaughter, to State killings, genocide and disasters involving victims of public policy, corporate crime or shortcomings in health and safety.
“Making Sense of Homicide” offers us “a comprehensive and robust overview of contemporary homicide studies” for the 2020s. It also aims to re-position a “discussion of the topic for those wishing to see beyond routine media hype and ill-informed popular discourse”. And, as Wilson says, it does so “within perspectives of zemiology, the political economy and critical understanding of violence from an ultra-realist perspective” and will be highly beneficial for those studying criminology. The authors have most helpfully also included a special expert contribution by former Police Superintendent Ronald Winch. It’s well worth reading because it sets out how the British police investigate homicide including fundamental requirements and pitfalls.
The book covers serial killings, to mass and spree homicide and across the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and other countries. Also woven into this key resource are “acutely observed accounts of the Holocaust, capital punishment and homicide within a consumer society”. We found that it does not shirk the difficult subjects, but students should be aware of what the title covers!
The authors explain the categories within which homicide is conventionally discussed, as well as crimes of the powerful and those made opaque for political, economic, or other questionable purposes, making the work one of immense value to anyone wishing to see violence through a new lens. A hugely wide-ranging explanation of homicide, it is perfect for dedicated courses.
There is a most useful introduction from Professor Wilson which should be read in detail before you start the main text. The work demonstrates how the definition of homicide stems from political, cultural, and societal choices and looks at the deficits in homicide classifications. As an entirely fresh look at the subject of homicide, Waterside certainly do put justice into words which we think students will thoroughly appreciate!
The date of publication of this new paperback edition is 30th November 2020.
BOOK REVIEW BY PHILLIP TAYLOR MBE
MAKING SENSE OF HOMICIDE
A Student Textbook
By Adam Lynes, Elizabeth Yardley, and Lucas Danos
Special Contribution: Ronald Winch
Foreword: Professor David Wilson
ISBN 978 1 90997 686 3
WATERSIDE PRESS
Putting justice into words
watersidepress.co.uk
A USEFUL COMMENTARY ON THE WIDELY MISUNDERSTOOD CRIMINOLOGY OF HOMICIDE
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
Death comes in many forms and features prominently on television and in the film industry. For Waterside Press, the subject-matter presents a wide variety of views for students, legal practitioners, and professionals, and the wider public as a study in criminology. Professor David Wilson says that this book “digs deeper than most student textbooks” (which is does), offering us “a judicious and much needed collection” when “our existence is evermore enveloped by aspects of death, despair, and homicide in all its various malignant forms.” Very well put!
As we understand it, this is the first dedicated textbook for Criminology students studying homicide. As the authors, Adam Lynes, Elizabeth Yardley, and Lucas Danos, explain, “criminal homicide is but one form of lethal violence victims may suffer, leading them to describe a much broader range of scenarios”. We feel that students will find that the topics cover a useful range from murder to manslaughter, to State killings, genocide and disasters involving victims of public policy, corporate crime or shortcomings in health and safety.
“Making Sense of Homicide” offers us “a comprehensive and robust overview of contemporary homicide studies” for the 2020s. It also aims to re-position a “discussion of the topic for those wishing to see beyond routine media hype and ill-informed popular discourse”. And, as Wilson says, it does so “within perspectives of zemiology, the political economy and critical understanding of violence from an ultra-realist perspective” and will be highly beneficial for those studying criminology. The authors have most helpfully also included a special expert contribution by former Police Superintendent Ronald Winch. It’s well worth reading because it sets out how the British police investigate homicide including fundamental requirements and pitfalls.
The book covers serial killings, to mass and spree homicide and across the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and other countries. Also woven into this key resource are “acutely observed accounts of the Holocaust, capital punishment and homicide within a consumer society”. We found that it does not shirk the difficult subjects, but students should be aware of what the title covers!
The authors explain the categories within which homicide is conventionally discussed, as well as crimes of the powerful and those made opaque for political, economic, or other questionable purposes, making the work one of immense value to anyone wishing to see violence through a new lens. A hugely wide-ranging explanation of homicide, it is perfect for dedicated courses.
There is a most useful introduction from Professor Wilson which should be read in detail before you start the main text. The work demonstrates how the definition of homicide stems from political, cultural, and societal choices and looks at the deficits in homicide classifications. As an entirely fresh look at the subject of homicide, Waterside certainly do put justice into words which we think students will thoroughly appreciate!
The date of publication of this new paperback edition is 30th November 2020.
