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  • The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum book cover
  • The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum book cover
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The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

by Deborah Blum

Poison, chemistry, and forensic medicine in Jazz Age New York

$17.72 USD
$29.54 USD $17.72 USD
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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praised by The New York Observer as a “vicious, page-turning story”

    The review calls the book a vicious, page-turning story and compares its style to Raymond Chandler rather than M...

AlbakiReads Editorial

Poison, chemistry, and forensic medicine in Jazz Age New York

Set in early twentieth-century New York, Deborah Blum’s account connects poison cases with the emergence of forensic chemistry. It follows the work of chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler amid a coroner’s office described as corrupt and largely untouched by science. The book places their investigations within the period’s broader history, showing how chemical detection began to shape the pursuit of justice. Its subject sits at the intersection of true crime, medical history, and the development of forensic science.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in the history of forensic medicine and toxicology
  • True-crime readers curious about the scientific investigation of poisonings
  • Readers exploring New York history in the early twentieth century

Themes

Forensic chemistryPoison and criminal investigationMedical and legal historyCorruption and justice

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller, The Poisoner's Handbook is "a vicious, page-turning story that reads more like Raymond Chandler than Madame Curie." --The New York Observer

"The Poisoner's Handbook breathes deadly life into the Roaring Twenties." --Financial Times

"Reads like science fiction, complete with suspense, mystery and foolhardy guys in lab coats tipping test tubes of mysterious chemicals into their own mouths."--NPR: What We're Reading

A fascinating Jazz Age tale of chemistry and detection, poison and murder, The Poisoner's Handbook is a page-turning account of a forgotten era. In early twentieth-century New York, poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Science had no place in the Tammany Hall-controlled coroner's office, and corruption ran rampant. However, with the appointment of chief medical examiner Charles Norris in 1918, the poison game changed forever. Together with toxicologist Alexander Gettler, the duo set the justice system on fire with their trailblazing scientific detective work, triumphing over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice.
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