law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

parlance, the term murder book refers to the case file of a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

investigation. Typically, murder books include crime scene photographs and sketches,

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

and

forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...

reports, transcripts of investigators' notes, and witness interviews. The murder book encapsulates the complete

paper trail An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

of a murder investigation, from the time the murder is first reported through the arrest of a

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated ...

. Law enforcement agencies typically guard murder books carefully, and it is unusual for civilians to be given unfettered access to these kinds of records, especially for unsolved cases.

In modern culture

In films and television

*In the

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

novel '' The Murder Book'' (2002) by

Jonathan Kellerman Jonathan Seth Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consults ...

, a murder book is sent to the psychologist

Alex Delaware Alex Delaware is a literary character created by American writer Jonathan Kellerman. The Alex Delaware detective series begins with ''When the Bough Breaks'', published in 1985. Delaware appears in 32 of Kellerman's popular murder mysteries. Ke ...

, renewing the hunt for a murderer in a twenty-year-old case. *A murder book featured heavily in the plot of the 2006/2008 ABC miniseries ''

Day Break ''Day Break'' is a television program for which one 13-episode season was produced. The series starred Taye Diggs as Detective Brett Hopper, who is framed for the murder of Assistant District Attorney Alberto Garza. Due to a time loop, Hopper li ...

''. *Episode 387-1716 of the TV series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...

'' is titled " Murder Book" (2007). *''Murder Book'' (2014–) is an American television series on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

channel. *In the film of the

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestse ...

novel '' Blood Work'' the murder book is a key investigative tool to find a suspect in several killings.

In literature and publications

American crime novelist

makes regular references to the meticulous murder books kept by

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

detective

Harry Bosch Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is a fictional character created by American author Michael Connelly. Bosch debuted as the lead character in the 1992 novel '' The Black Echo'', the first in a best-selling police procedural series now number ...

, particularly in ''

The Black Echo ''The Black Echo'' is the 1992 debut novel by American crime author Michael Connelly. It is the first book in Connelly's Bosch series. The book won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for "Best First Novel" in 1992. Plot The novel centers o ...

'', ''

The Concrete Blonde ''The Concrete Blonde'' is the third novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was published in 1994. Background Connelly said that he obtained the seed idea for ''The Con ...

'', '' The Last Coyote'', '' Trunk Music'', ''

The Closers ''The Closers'' is the 15th novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the eleventh featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. This novel features a return to an omniscient third-person style narration after the pr ...

'', and '' The Drop''. In 2020 Connelly created a true crime podcast titled ''Murder Book''. Novelist Lisa Gray makes regular references to murder books in her Jessica Shaw novels.

References

External links

The Gangs of Los Angeles – The Homicide Library
FBI Law enforcement terminology {{law-enforcement-stub