A Taste For Poison by Neil Bradbury, PhD

 

In this fascinating nonfiction book, Dr. Neil Bradbury takes the reader through the story of various poisons and how they were used by murderers over the ages.  Poisons used to be very difficult to identify and measure and many deaths were assigned to natural causes that were instead murders.  These days, poisoning someone is not as common as before as it is much easier to determine when someone has been poisoned.  Those who might have chosen one of the common poisons before can now use something like fentanyl and have the death put down as a drug overdose.

There are eleven chapters and each discusses a different poison.  Many are common names and readers will have heard of arsenic, cyanide and strychnine.  Several poisons are still commonly used by the medical profession such as insulin and digitalis.  These drugs are useful in prescribed dosages but deadly when too much is given.  For example, a small dose of digitalis speeds up the heart beats in a patient whose heart is too weak but an overdose speeds up the heart to the point of failure.

Each chapter is laid out the same.  The poison is identified, a case or several of poisoners whose crime was detected is discussed, the way that the poison works inside the body is explained and then how it is counteracted if that is a possibility.  Some of the crimes are famous ones while others are further back in history and many readers will not have heard of them.  Some have been solved and others are still unsolved.  Many poisoners were tried, convicted and executed but others escaped justice as juries found there was not enough evidence.

Neil Bradbury was raised in Britain where he received degrees in both biochemistry and medical biochemistry.  He has an engaging writing manner as he mixes true crime, medicine and history for the reader who will know much more about poisons after finishing this book.  This could be a dry topic but the author makes it engaging with stories of philandering spouses, assassinated spies and medical professionals who use their access not to heal but to kill.  This book is recommended for nonfiction readers, especially those interested in true crime.