Originally published in Spanish in 2022 by Libreria Bosch, Barcelona, An Illustrated Psychometric Forensic Atlas is a one-of-a-kind book made available in English for the first time. This unique work is highly illustrated with full-color images, providing medico-legal examinations related to various, primarily violent, crime cases, which are of forensic psychological interest.

The book provides extensive details of such cases, including the background circumstances, psychological assessments and – in some cases – official clinical diagnoses, as well as numerous photos that illustrate what police, investigators and medical examiners discovered during crime scene and autopsy inquiries. While the coverage largely focuses on the details surrounding these cases, the book articulates the capabilities of forensic and psychology professionals and expert witnesses in such cases, as well as the limitations based on what information is unknown and, in some cases, cannot be known. This largely pertains to the psychological state of the aggressors and perpetrators in such violent cases and acts. The result is a thoroughly engaging presentation of forensically challenging cases; the investigative and assessment processes performed by medical, forensic, investigative and psychological professionals and a critical understanding of how the procedures followed impact the adjudication of such cases in the courts. While some cases can be definitively understood, with the results determined through forensic and psychological analyses, others leave many important questions unresolved and unanswered. As such, the book provides a fascinating analysis – and sheds light on – practices that can inform these types of cases, as well as the constraints of what forensic and psychological analysis can yield.

Bernat-N. Tiffon is a practicing Forensic Psychologist in the private sector in Spain.

Jorge González Fernández is Director of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Madrid, Spain.