County Coroner

[The print edition is now available! This work has been selected for the China Writers Association’s 2025 list of key works receiving support for online literature.] Forensic science and technology is an important part of modern criminal investigation. It consists of nine major fields: trace evidence examination, document examination, audio and video technology, forensic chemical analysis, forensic medicine, police dog training, psychological testing, biological evidence, and electronic evidence. It is applied throughout criminal proceedings and is an important means of detecting and combating crime. Told from the perspective of a grassroots forensic doctor, this book recounts the full investigation of a series of shocking bloody crimes triggered by the investigation of a murder and body-dumping case. It offers an authentic look at the achievements of China’s forensic science and the spirit of its forensic officers. The vengeful ghost of a mining accident victim, and the many mysteries concealed behind a series of bombings, hang over these cases like a fog. But though corpses cannot speak, these investigators give them a voice; though traces are silent, they point the way. Chen Yuanhe and his friends can always follow the tiniest clues through layer upon layer of fog and reach the truth. They don’t carry guns, but they terrify criminals even more.