Overview

Clay and Bones follows Lisa Bailey’s extraordinary career as an FBI forensic artist, from the aftermath of 9/11 to sculpting the faces of the unidentified dead, while battling the Bureau’s entrenched culture of sexism and retaliation.

Just two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Lisa Bailey began her career as an FBI forensic artist.

She threw herself into the work, and over the next eighteen years handled hundreds of cases: unidentified remains pulled from shallow graves, sexual assaults, acts of terrorism, and kidnappings. She became a recognized authority in facial approximation from the skull, witnessing firsthand how her sculptures could restore a victim’s identity and bring closure to grieving families.

But even in those early days, Bailey noticed cracks in the Bureau’s polished image. She’d heard stories of women who reported harassment or discrimination only to find themselves quietly dismissed. She wanted to believe the rumors weren’t true . . . then it happened to her. Now, Bailey breaks her silence in this raw, eye-opening account.

She takes readers behind the scenes of the Bureau’s most haunting cases, from mass disasters to cold-case homicides, and exposes the hidden toll of a career inside one of the world’s most powerful law enforcement agencies.

She describes the painstaking art of restoring a face from an unknown victim’s skull, the profound relief of a confirmed identification, and the eerie reality of working among the dead at the University of Tennessee’s famed “Body Farm.”

Told with candor, grit, and dark humor, Clay and Bones offers a rare glimpse into the macabre yet meaningful world of forensic art, and the resilience of a woman who refused to be silenced by the very institution she served.

Reviews

“A fascinating account! Lisa Bailey deserves both our deepest respect and our profound admiration. I say this, first, in tribute to her incisive intellect, as revealed in these astonishing pages, that led to groundbreaking work in forensic investigation. And, importantly, I say this in honor of her unflinching courage in face of the flagrant gender discrimination and despicable administrative dishonesty she was forced to endure in her FBI workplace. The Bureau prides itself on being one of the world’s top law enforcement agencies, but the lack of any sense of internal justice within the ranks of its upper management reveals an organization that has much to answer for.” —Douglas Schofield, coauthor of Giovanni’s Ring: My Life Inside the Real Sopranos

“Lisa Bailey’s story covering her fascinating career as a forensic artist and the bizarre treatment she endured while employed at the FBI is as compelling as a crime novel. In Clay and Bones, readers have a front row seat to the real world of forensic art and the real fight for justice Ms. Bailey braved through for years at the very agency that claims justice as the primary goal.” —Melissa Ross, author of Forensics for Kids

“You know you’re in for a wild ride when a book drops you into the Body Farm on the first page. From investigations of charred corpses to intensive work on boxes of unidentified skulls, Clay and Bones is a gripping account of the day-to-day duties of an FBI forensic artist. And if you think reconstructing someone’s face from decades-old remains is Bailey’s most difficult challenge, you’re in for a big surprise.” —Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times bestselling author of The Facemaker 

“After performing thousands of autopsies and writing dozens of articles and three books on the subject of messy death, the two of us learned things from Lisa Bailey about the grotesque decomposition of the elements of a human face that can happen as a consequence of certain violent, fatal events. Clay and Bones surprises even us. And that’s really saying something!" —Judy Melinek, MD, and T.J. Mitchell, authors of Working Stiff

“A gruesomely vivid book.” — Kirkus Reviews

"...Bones fans will enjoy the insider’s view of forensic analysis” — Publishers Weekly

"Clay and Bones shines a light on a crucial position in law enforcement while also revealing systemic flaws at the premier U.S. law enforcement agency... Readers will be mesmerized by her work and angered by the targeted harassment she received." — Booklist

“Bailey’s writing is profound and personal, with a narrative voice that is intimate, relatable, and a touch wry, making Clay and Bones intensely readable.” —C. S. Poe, author of the award-winning Memento Mori mystery series

Author Biography

Lisa Bailey is a retired FBI forensic artist, adjunct faculty member of the FBI Academy, and instructor of the FBI Forensic Facial Imaging Class. She has been featured prominently in major news outlets such as the Washington Post, National Public Radio, America’s Most Wanted, Dateline NBC, and A&E Real Crime. Bailey and her forensic art also appear in Mental Floss, Medium, and the National Museum of Health and Medicine.