The Girl With The Crooked Nose

BOOK: The Girl With The Crooked Nose: A Tale of Murder, Obsession, and Forensic Artistry

AUTHOR: Ted Botha

GRADE: B+

Frank Bender is a man with an unusual obsession: sculpting the faces of murder victims using both intuition and forensic science in equal parts. This obsession puts him in one dangerous situation after another; but like an addict he just can’t quit until every bust is sculpted and every case is solved. Through his dedication and disregard for danger, Bender finds himself embroiled in the infamous Mexican case of the femiinicidios – in which hundreds of murdered women are found outside of Juarez, Mexico with the government and police doing very little to solve these cases. Bender learns about the corruption in Mexico and forges ahead into one dead end after another before coming to the realization that the Mexican government doesn’t actually want these cases solved. The conclusion of his story is downright shocking and will keep you thinking for days after.

Beyond the obvious criminality running through the story, its tale of artistry will keep you hooked. Botha’s description of the artistic process Bender goes through and his growth as a sculptor is fascinating. Bender started this career before the advent of CSI, SVU or BONES and had to make the rules up as he went along. His success rate is made even more astounding in light of the lack of experience in the field.

Ted Botha does an admirable job bringing Frank Bender to life and explaining the immensely complicated state of affairs in Mexico at the time. The writing is a tad elementary, but not enough to significantly detract from the story. Botha’s look at Bender’s life and love is informative and intriguing. His storytelling is impeccable and his ability to draw the reader into his world is what really sets The Girl With The Crooked Nose up for success.

Botha’s tale gets my enthusiastic recommendation.