THE SCIENTIST AND THE SERIAL KILLER:
THE SEARCH FOR HOUSTON’S LOST BOYS
By Lise Olsen
True Crime / History
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 464
Publication Date: April 1, 2025
*** SYNOPSIS ***
The Scientist and the Serial Killer is the gripping, upside-down detective story of a Texas forensic anthropologist named Sharon Derrick who, determined to close the cases of the notorious 1970s Houston-area serial killer Dean Corll, painstakingly deploys the latest science to identify victims who had become known as the Lost Boys of Houston. This is an unforgettable narrative of forensic science, missing persons, and unsolved crimes by award-winning investigative journalist Lise Olsen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLICK TO PURCHASE
Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**** REVIEW ****
A story full of tragedy and determination to find the truth.
I’m a big fan of true-crime stories and was eager to read this one when I first heard about it, so it was a pleasure to get an ARC to review.
The narrative switches timelines, and that’s done very well, with chapter and “part” titles that easily move the reader back and forth. And there’s a nice balance between the two timelines – one in the early 70s when serial killer Dean Corll and his accomplices abducted, tortured, and murdered so many boys, mostly young teens in the Houston area. The other part of the book focuses on the efforts of Sharon Derrick, and other scientists, to identify remains that were found in several locations in and around Houston.
I liked that Olsen doesn’t give a lot of graphic details on how the boys were killed, rather lets the reader know the history of each one, so we can make a connection to who they were. That certainly made me care more about them, as well as be fully invested in the outcome of the investigation by Sharon Derrick.
We also meet family members who begged the Houston police to investigate the disappearances that were clearly not just that the boys ran away, which is what police believed. While reading, it was easy to get frustrated that the police didn’t take any more action, which possibly could have led to an arrest much sooner and saved lives.
Particularly interesting to me is the information about grief that’s briefly covered when sharing the struggles of family members who are left if a sort of limbo about the missing child. Olsen quotes Pauline Boss, a psychotherapist who was practicing in 1974 and recognized what she called “frozen grief” – caught between hope and hopelessness and never knowing whether loved ones were dead or alive. Boss saw that dynamic at play with families who had loved ones missing in action during war times and never had a body to bury, as well as relatives of other missing persons. She calls this “Ambiguous loss.” It’s a loss that goes on and on. “And those who experience it tell me they become physically and emotionally exhausted from the relentless uncertainty.”
It was easy to see how that applies to all those mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, as well as extended family, who never knew the truth until Derrick got to that truth through her dogged determination. As hard as it is to know your child is dead, it’s even harder not knowing where he is.
Showing the challenges that Derrick faced as she tried to gain more respect in her field at a time when it was dominated by men is a nice touch, and I was amazed at all she went through in her determination to identify those bones that had been stored in a morgue for so many years. She never gave up when lesser men, or women, did.
Doing research for my mystery novels, I’ve had a long interest in forensics and reading about the evolution of forensic anthropology and the ways scientists learned to use DNA as a tool for identifying bones was something new for me. The science is fascinating and explained well, without pulling the story down with lots of technical jargon. Having that science come alive through the actions of Derrick ,and other scientists, helps it to be far more accessible to the reader.
This is really a terrific book, and you don’t even have to be a fan of true crime to enjoy reading it. Check it out!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR ***
Lise Olsen is a senior investigative reporter and editor whose work has appeared in the Texas Observer, Inside Climate News, and the Houston Chronicle, as well as in documentaries on Netflix, CNN, A&E, and Paramount+.
WEBSITE ◆ INSTAGRAM ◆ X/TWITTER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giveaway!
Two Winners will receive signed copies. Ends 4/24/2025, US Only
Sponsored by Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.
***ENTER TO WIN! ***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLTheScientistAndTheSerialKiller on your preferred social media platform.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE CAMPAIGN PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH REVIEWER PARTICIPATING.
Spot on review, Maryann. And I’m glad you brought up the part that Olsen covered so well — the “ambiguous grief” parents and family members suffered by not doing if their loved one was dead or alive. I thought this book was very well done and important. Sounds like you did, too.
Thanks for stopping by, Kristine. That little section on grief resonated so much with me because of my past work with grief support groups when I was a chaplain at a hospital in Omaha, NE. Grief can be such a gnarly thing to deal with when experiencing it, but being able to bury remains and have that ritual helps. I hesitate to say that it brings closure, as I personally don’t think one ever closes anything when mourning a loved one, but it does bring a bit of peace. Like the mother said in the book, at least now she knows where her son is. No more wondering and hoping.