The Poisoner's Handbook

Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

By: Deborah Blum

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Deborah Blum, writing with the high style and skill for suspense that is characteristic of the very best mystery fiction, shares the untold story of how poison rocked Jazz Age New York City.

In The Poisoner's Handbook, Blum draws from highly original research to track the fascinating, perilous days when a pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime.

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. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle, and Norris and Gettler work with a creativity that rivals that of the most imaginative murderer, creating revolutionary experiments to tease out even the wiliest compounds from human tissue. Yet in the tricky game of toxins, even science can't always be trusted, as proven when one of Gettler's experiments erroneously sets free a suburban housewife later nicknamed "America's Lucretia Borgia" to continue her nefarious work.

From the vantage of Norris and Gettler's laboratory in the infamous Bellevue Hospital it becomes clear that killers aren't the only toxic threat to New Yorkers. Modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner. Automobiles choke the city streets with carbon monoxide, while potent compounds such as morphine can be found on store shelves in products ranging from pesticides to cosmetics. Prohibition incites a chemist's war between bootleggers and government chemists, while in Gotham's crowded speakeasies each round of cocktails becomes a game of Russian roulette. Norris and Gettler triumph over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice.

©2010 Deborah Blum (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Nominee - Best Nonfiction Audiobook, 2011

"Blum effectively balances the fast-moving detective story with a clear view of the scientific advances that her protagonists brought to the field. Caviar for true-crime fans and science buffs alike." (<>Kirkus)
"With the pacing and rich characterization of a first-rate suspense novelist, Blum makes science accessible and fascinating." (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review)
"Blum interlaces true-crime stories with the history of forensic medicine and the chemistry of various poisons…. [A] readable and enjoyable book.... Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

Wow, very compelling

This was a very compelling book that I found hard to put down (or press the pause button). The author did an incredible job of interlacing true murder stories, the prohibition era and its effects, the discovery of new elements and chemicals in industry and their effects on workers, and the emergence and evolution of forensic medicine to deal with it all. I was absolutely fascinated and sometimes shocked by what I learned about the history of the science of forensics. I almost didn't get this book because of what some reviewers said about the narrator, but I didn't hear what they heard - I found her voice pleasing and thought she did fine. I am so glad I got this one. Loved it!

Fascinating and wish it had continued longer.

Would you listen to The Poisoner's Handbook again? Why?

Yes, if there was a detail I wanted to refresh my memory on.

What did you like best about this story?

It's a fascinating look at how New York city changed from a city full of corrupt and incompetent coroners to lead the way in forensic toxicology. The book is both a chapter by chapter look at different poisons that were popular over the years, and the story of New York's new Chief Medical Examiner Charles Norris and his head toxicologist as they reform the corrupt city system and race to keep up with the poisoners who are moving on to new types of poison as soon as the researchers figure out how to detect the use of the previous poison.

Besides being a fascinating look at the history and some case studies of poisoning, it's also a striking history of Norris, who was clearly a passionately dedicated man whose reforms to the system must have saved more lives than can possibly be counted. In addition to reforming the city coroners and establishing a world class forensics team and related procedures, he also campaigned against the use of poisons such as arsenic and cyanide in common household products (everything from beauty creams to wallpaper), pushed for regulations to require corporations to list the ingredients in their products and to be held legally accountable for injuries caused, and was far ahead of his time in warning about the dangers of car exhaust and smoking, among other things.

He was also an outspoken opponent of prohibition and the book is an interesting look at prohibition from the point of view of toxicology, as Norris and his team watched in horror as the number of accidental poisoning cases escalated sharply due to the unregulated ingredients of moonshine, the way prohibition converted casual drinkers to binge drinkers, and the way the government actually actively poisoned (with extremely dangerous and known to be lethal compounds) all other sources of alcohol that might be used to create moonshine. This was a side of prohibition I hadn't ever heard of and it's shocking to believe the government was directly responsible for so many horrible deaths by poison of its citizens.

All in all a very interesting audiobook and left me wishing the story had continued past Norris's era and closer to the modern day.

Fascinating trip back in time

This book is exactly what the title says it is, and I really enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I might! Blum tells the story of how Charles Norris, New York's first chief medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, his chief toxicologist, "triumph over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice." Each chapter follows a particular poison--its chemical makeup, what it was used for, how it killed, and how Norris and Gettler learned how to detect it in a body after death. It's pretty fascinating stuff! Man, there was poison EVERYWHERE back in those days (ok, probably no more so than there is now, but the telling makes it seem so)! I'm actually kind of amazed that anyone survived the 20s! Anyway, I'd definitely recomend it to anyone interested in the history of forensic medicine, chemistry, or prohibition-era New York.

True Crime, Popular Science, and History in One

This book was so much more than I expected. It not only accurately discussed medical and scientific information about poisons, but it was also a narrative that was interesting to listen to. Each poison had true crime stories associated with them that were a little like real-life CSI episodes - complete with descriptions of how the poison was detected and the poisoner caught (or, in some cases, an innocent person exonerated). As a scientist, I really enjoyed the popular science aspect of it, and as a history buff I also really enjoyed the overarching narrative about prohibition and the rise of the legitimate, scientific medical examiner's office in New York. The people in the book were very real and the stories were so fascinating that it was easy to forget that it was all true.

The performance was good. Considering the scientific terminology involved, there were very few mispronounced words and the voices used for particular characters were not distracting.

Although the book is about science, it is easily accessible to anyone who is interested in the topic - the author explains everything from the basics and doesn't assume the reader has scientific expertise. Ultimately, it is more about the people - the medical examiner and the chief toxicologist, especially, but also victims and criminals, as well as politicians - than the chemicals. It makes it a story anyone would enjoy listening to. My only warning would be that there is a little bit of content that might be disturbing to people (experiments on animals and descriptions of procedures to extract poisons from body tissues) - though anything potentially disturbing is described fairly neutrally and not in gory detail. The book is limited by history to describe what really happened, so it is hard to be horrified when they describe normal 1920s and 1930s scientific practices - especially when the goal of the scientists involved was to make things safer.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and it was much more narrative-driven than I expected. The science was great and the story and the characters were engrossing. It really highlights some of the unsung heroes of early forensic science that I had never heard of, but now I want to learn more about. I would recommend this book to anyone - it is easily accessible to non-scientists and would interest a history or true crime fan just as much as a popular science fan.

I LOVE it!!! An all time fave.

This book is a great account of the history of forensics in the early 1900s. Combining my two favorites, non-fiction and history, it's a wonderfully entertaining book to learn from. It is such a good book I bought it for my mom. Coleen Marlo has done an excellent job narrating, as usual. A great book to listen to over and over.

Wierd start but I plan on relistening

I wasn't sure how this book was going to flow. i stuck with it and liked it. I plan on listening again now that I know it's format.

Very interesting stories on the social preferences of drugs. I admire the folks who worked and believed in the science of forensic medicine.

The Poisoner's Handbook

Intersting lay man's book. On the one hand, it inspires me to look up more on the topic ie wood alcohol, and other types of alcohol. I never thought of prohibition and alcohol as poison before. I knew of prohibition but did not realize the extent people would go for a buzz. It was a good start but left me wanting more information. More indepth. I think there should be a suggested reading list at the end of the book and/or I would like to see another book if there isn't one already by the author that goes into more detail or more on the subject. It doesn't have to be about New York (I love New York) but I want more! Ms Blum peaked my interest, more please.

Nonfiction read like fiction

Exciting and interesting book. The reader told the author story with great detail and intrigue. I'm not sure how we moved from radio to movies- especially since thus was only one person! Good read.

It's the narrator, baby

I read other reviews that warned me about the narration, and I'm glad I did: I was able to look past a pretty poor performance and see through to a very enjoyable book about the development of modern forensics in the Jazz Age by following the careers of two New York City pathologists. Had I not been warned, the reading would have driven me nuts.

Seems to me that if these narrators are getting paid to read these books, it might be in their best interest to read the books once through before the recording session and check the pronounciations of particular words. Some of her slips were embarrassing. And I agree with others' observations about the silly caricature voices that she uses for particular characters.

If I were Deborah Blum, I would be none too pleased with Ms. Marlo's rendition of my work.

What we don't know could kill us

What did you love best about The Poisoner's Handbook?

I found the content of this book riveting. First the history of medical examiners and the chemistry they worked with. Allmost more importantly the resistance by the government backed by big business to take steps that would have saved lives. The book absolutey whispers and shouts situations that correlate with issues that come up all too often today. The laying out of the contents of tobacco, the ingredients of cosmetics (think back to the not too distant past when mercury was discovered in lipsticks), and the general irresponsibly towards profit.Finally I found it interesting that the curiosity of human beings both destroys and saved lives. Fascinating.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I'm not sure I'd like to see this in movie form given film's propensity for over-the-top gore fests. The subtlety would be lost and the unsung heros still left unsung.