While Dr. Ash Latimer is an eccentric personality who ends up becoming friends with Detective Constable Kevin Walker in the novel, real-life forensic anthropologists in Ontario are a very interesting breed in their own right.
A recent Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (OFPS) annual report explains that "Forensic anthropologists make an important contribution to death investigations where the remains are skeletonized, burned, decomposed, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable. [They] act as part of the death investigation team, and as consultants to forensic pathologists."
In Ontario, the OFPS has one full-time forensic anthropologist, Dr. Kathy Gruspier. An associate professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto, she has performed extensive field work in Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, East Timor, Cambodia, and Poland. Read more about Dr. Gruspier here.
In addition to Dr. Gruspier, there are also a number of consulting forensic anthropologists who work on a part-time fee-for-service basis for the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, the OFPS, and police services. Like Ash Latimer, they are generally found on the faculties of Ontario universities where they are key members of departments of Forensic Science.
Ash was a fun character to work with, but my research showed that what forensic anthropologists do for a living is serious, highly specialized, and very important to the successful completion of many difficult death investigations.
An important source of information for me was Introduction to Forensic Anthropology: A Textbook by Steven N. Byers (Pearson Education, Inc., 2005). I would encourage you to do your own research on this fascinating line of work.
Hats off to the real-life specialists who give us a chance as writers of crime fiction to explore new and engaging territory!
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