Sue Black Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of 30 Second Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Sue Black is a Scottish author, forensic anthropologist, anatomist, and academic.

Born on May 7, 1961, she is a leading anatomist and forensic anthropologist. She has served as the Pro-Vice Chancellor for Engagement at Lancaster University, she has also served as the past President of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

Sue Black served as Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee from 2003 to 2018. She is also the President of St. John’s College, Oxford. She has served as the lead anthropologist for the British Forensic Team while they worked on Kosovo war crimes investigations and was one of the forensic scientists to go Thailand to help identify the dead after the Indian Ocean tsunami.

She is frequently seen in the media as documentaries have been made about her work. Black also led History Cold Case, a series on BBC 2. She was inducted into the Order of the Thistle in Edinburgh in 2024 and was named the new Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University.

She attended Inverness Royal Academy and then went on to the University of Aberdeen, graduating with her BSc degree with honors in Human Anatomy in 1982. She would then get a PhD for her thesis in 1986, ‘Identification from the Human Skeleton’.

She was made a lecturer in Anatomy At St. Thomas’ Hospital in London in 1987 until leaving the role in 1992. From there, she did contract work for FCO and the U.N. and in 1999 was named the lead forensic anthropologist to the British Forensic Team in Kosovo.

In 2005, she created the CAHID at the University of Dundee. The Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification ran undergrad courses in forensic anthropology and post-grad courses in anatomy and advanced forensic anthropology, training the UK National Disaster Victim Identification team for police and scientists in situations of advanced mortuary practices. She has also innovated developing techniques and building databases that could confirm or dis-confirm a persons identity based on photos of their hands or arms.

She was appointed to the House of Lords in 2021 as a crossbencher life peer. She was made Baroness Black of Strome in 2021 and made her maiden speech in the Lords on June 15, 2021.

She has been a Director of the Centre for International Forensic Assistance. Sue Black also founded the British Association for Human Identification and the British Association for Forensic Anthropology.

Black has been in History Cold Case, The Life Scientific, and the documentary After the Wave. She was the guest on Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 in 2015 and was a guest on Hard Talk on the BBC in July of 2018. She also delivered the 2022 series of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures and was a contributor to the Private Passions series on BBC Radio 3.

Sue was married first to Ian MacLaughlin, with whom she shares a daughter. She is now married to her husband Tom and they have two daughters together.

Sue Black has received many notable awards and titles, including OBE and then a promotion to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, multiple fellowships, medals, and honorary degrees.

All That Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes is a 2019 book by Sue Black. This book was selected as a Best True Crime Book of the Month by CrimeReads and was picked as the Book of the Year in 2018 by the Saltire Literary Awards. Check out the thoughts of a forensic scientist on what else but death and mortality and how science can be used to solve crimes.

Dame Sue Black is known around the world for her skills as a forensic anthropologist and human anatomist. She has dealt with death all of her life and writes about it in detail in this book which is partially a memoir and partially a primer on how to ID human remains.

Sue introduces the reader to the reality of death in our lives and it is the type of book that murder mystery and thriller fans would die to have on their bookshelves. It’s a subject that affects all of us and is tackled with clear eyes by Sue Black in a way that makes this nonfiction work an instant classic.

She recalls her first dissection, her first experience with the death of a loved one, the mortal remains at her lab and burial sites, violent scenes and investigating mass fatalities whether from accident, war, or natural disaster. She uses certain cases to show how far forensic science has come as well as what her work has ended up teaching her about human nature.

The result is an intensely interesting book that so many readers have found value in and you might too. Perfect in time for the spooky season, this book is compelling but not macabre despite its subject. Sue Black lives in a world that few occupy, and brings it to life for readers with the release of this fascinating work. Check out All That Remains to follow along with every word.

Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind is a 2021 book by Sue Black. See what secrets our bones reveal in this Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association ALCS Gold Dagger for Nonfiction.

Sue takes the readers on their own personalized tour of the human skeleton. Along the way, she shows how every person has their own life history shown in their bones. She refers to them as being the ‘last sentinels of our mortal life to bear witness to the way we lived it’.

The narrative goes along with the skeleton from the skull’s top to the very small bones in the foot. Every step of the journey includes an explanation about the biology and is illustrated further with anecdotes from Black’s career solving crimes and identifying human remains. The result is a collection of stories that true crime and forensic fans won’t want to miss. Check out Written in Bone and see why so many readers are raving about this work.