The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
by Deborah Blum
From the web page: Drama unfolds case by case as the heroes of The Poisoner’s Handbook – chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler – investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, Barnum and Bailey’s Famous Blue Man, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others.
From the days when an appointment as coroner was a kickback offered to an elected official's cronies and supporters; through the hard years when medical science was so muddled that a defense attorney could always find "conflicting medical evidence"; this book takes us on a poison by poison adventure that often ends in death--by electric chair. Ms. Blum does not spare the details, and I wanted them all.
A little knowledge of chemistry helps the story unfold, but don't shy away if you don't have it. She'll teach you what you need to know. Chemistry, mystery, politics and puzzles circle in a dance led by the few men who won't take the obvious for the answer--men who want the truth. Truth, where ever it leads.
Even if it keeps you awake nights, wondering...did I make a mistake?
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