Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector

by Amit Katwala

BEWARE WHAT YOU BELIEVE: This “rollicking true crime” story reveals the surprising origins of the lie detector through shocking murders and dramatic trials (WIRED).

“Everything a reader wants in a true crime book—murder, mystery, gunfights, courtroom theatrics and dogged police work.” —Deborah Blum, bestselling author of The Poisoner's Handbook

Late one evening in the summer of 1922, Henry Wilkens burst through the doors of the emergency room covered in his wife’s blood. But was he a grieving husband, or a ruthless killer who conspired with bandits to have her murdered?

To find out, the San Francisco police turned to technology and a new machine that had just been invented in Berkeley by a rookie detective, a visionary police chief, and a teenage magician with a showman’s touch.

John Larson, Gus Vollmer and Leonarde Keeler hoped the lie detector would make the justice system fairer – but the flawed device soon grew too powerful for them to control. It poisoned their lives, turned fast friends into bitter enemies, and as it conquered America and the world, it transformed our relationship with the truth in ways that are still being felt.

As new forms of lie detection gain momentum in the present day, Tremors in the Blood reveals the incredible truth behind the creation of the polygraph, through gripping true crime cases featuring explosive gunfights, shocking twists and high-stakes courtroom drama.

Touching on psychology, technology and the science of the truth, Tremors in the Blood is a vibrant, atmospheric thriller, and a warning from history: beware what you believe.

• ISBN10: 1639103422
• ISBN13: 9781639103423
• Publish Date: 7 March 2023 (first published 14 April 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781639103423

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Evocative Evisceration Of Everyday "Evidence". In this text, Katwala shows the origins and history of the polygraph "lie detector" device that has been banned from many courtrooms due to its unreliability yet which lives on in the American zeitgeist. Katwala tells the tale via narrative nonfiction that places the reader in the center of the action and cases in question, then follows the principle players throughout their lifetimes as they try to justify their life's work. In the process, Katwala does a tremendous job of showing how truly unreliable these devices are, and even includes a brief discussion of more modern successor technologies such as brain wave scanners. Anyone interested in the American justice system absolutely needs to read this history of this long-debunked zombie junk science. Indeed, the only negative here is that the bibliography is scant at just 12% or so of the narrative, compared to a more common 20-30% in my experience, and thus the single star deduction. Very much recommended.