In a real investigation you’re more likely to be looking at footprints and fingerprints than a neon glow from some alchemist. Light can help highlight surface details, but you need calibrated lamps and proper controls, not a flashy glow that could mislead. So yeah, neon might look dramatic in a novel, but it wouldn’t replace the science on the ground.

Exactly. The lab’s got all the trappings of a good mystery, but the real evidence comes from dust, prints, and the chemical trail. Light helps, but it’s the forensic tools that pull the case apart. No neon needed if the fingerprints line up.