SPEAK HER NAME

A forensic pathologist explores her past and the grisly cases she has encountered in this blend of memoir and true crime.

“See me. Hear me.” These are the words that Jumbelic describes receiving telepathically from the numerous women who have been on her autopsy table throughout her career as a forensic pathologist. By 2012, the author had retired as Chief Medical Examiner for Onondaga County, New York, but when her friend Leslie died under strange circumstances, community rumors of murder propelled Jumbelic to review the case herself. From there, the author takes readers into her own past, alternating between personal stories of childhood and school and the brutal cases that taught her how to reconstruct narratives of abuse and tragedy by examining skin and tissue. By the time the author returns to the mystery of her deceased friend Leslie in upstate New York, neither she nor readers are surprised to find that something more sinister has happened than a woman simply slipping in her shower. Jumbelic consistently subverts expectations as she moves between genres; Leslie’s story, for instance, most closely resembles traditional true crime, but rather than focusing on plot twists and investigative revelations, the author homes in on the emotional toll of the case, both on herself and the surrounding community. In her more autobiographical chapters, it can feel like she has drifted far from the central topic as she dives into embarrassing recollections of menstruation or the difficulty she faced returning to work after childbirth. Still, each narrative thread ultimately leads to striking, unforgettable imagery (her assault in Mexico and her description of a dead child as a “broken toy” are among many powerful moments that will not be easily forgotten). Though readers may initially feel disoriented by the narrative’s range, a larger pattern soon emerges—that of a haunting constellation of moments showing how women’s bodies come under examination and threat.

Hard-hitting true crime and deep introspection provide an engrossing, multifaceted look at gender-based violence.