Eleven deadly molecules and the killers who used them.
What a fascinating treatise on the topic of poisons — how they work, how they are used, and case studies of when someone was looking for a way to kill.
“Chemicals themselves are not intrinsically good or bad. It is only in the uses to which they are put that makes them beneficial or deadly.”
Keep in mind that typically the deleterious use of chemicals is premeditated. The poisoner needs to know their victim in order to decide which to use, how to deliver it to them, and how rapidly it will work. Of course most want to be well away by the time the victim succumbs. This book describes 11 different chemicals that have been used to harm another person, deliberately, with malice. It also elucidates the way each works normally in beneficial ways and then details how it is wielded as a poison to cause toxic results and death.
As well as being interesting to anyone who enjoys true crime, the scientific information presented is deep enough but made very clear and easy to understand by the author. I found it all extremely fascinating to review the physiology. The examples and case studies were interesting as the reader can see that chemicals have been intentionally misused historically and we know they continue to be in current day as well.
The book really gets into the way that these chemicals affect the body and cause death at the molecular, cellular, and physiological level. All kill in their own unique way. Sometimes the symptoms experienced by the person poisoned give important clues as to what has been administered — via injection, inhalation, topical, or ingestion. Some have no antidotes and several cause death with only a tiny amount. Actually scary if you think about it!
I love books where I can learn something new and this fit the bill. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend to anyone interested in the subject.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - true crime, science
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