A fantastic, exciting and revealing read! Neme takes us deep into the dark world of wildlife exploitation with a level of thrill and suspense rivaling any episode of CSI, with one exception, Animal Investigators is far from fiction, as these genuine and mysterious crimes against nature are resolved by crafty and determined experts in the fields of wildlife conservation, law enforcement and management.

Ever wonder where did the feathers on your fancy piece of jewelry came from? What about the ivory in your souvenir statue? The illegal wildlife trade nets about $20 million a year — less than drugs but more than weapons — and ounce-for-ounce, some animal products (such as rhino horn and bear gall bladders) are literally worth more than gold. With so much money on the line, to whom does one turn when someone breaks an animal protection law?

Most forensics labs are busy trying to solve human crimes; they don't have time to find out who killed a walrus. TIME talked to Dr. Laurel Neme about her book, Animal Investigators, in which she explains the difficulties of tracking the wildlife black market, and the one laboratory — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Lab in Ashland, Oregon — that tries to stop it. (See photos of the forensics lab mentioned in Neme's book.)