A Beautiful Poison

De: Lydia Kang

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld

Just beyond the Gilded Age, in the mist-covered streets of New York, the deadly Spanish influenza ripples through the city. But with so many victims in her close circle, young socialite Allene questions if the flu is really to blame. All appear to have been poisoned - and every death was accompanied by a mysterious note.

Desperate for answers and dreading her own engagement to a wealthy gentleman, Allene returns to her passion for scientific discovery and recruits her long-lost friends, Jasper and Birdie, for help. The investigation brings her closer to Jasper, an apprentice medical examiner at Bellevue Hospital who still holds her heart, and offers the delicate Birdie a last-ditch chance to find a safe haven before her fragile health fails.

As more of their friends and family die, alliances shift, lives become entangled, and the three begin to suspect everyone - even each other. As they race to find the culprit, Allene, Birdie, and Jasper must once again trust each other, before one of them becomes the next victim.

©2017 Lydia Kang (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Excerpt from “Two Fusiliers” by Robert Graves, from The Complete Poems Volume I, edited by Beryl Graves and Dunstan Ward. Reprinted with kind permission of Carcanet Press Limited, Manchester, UK. © 1995 The Robert Graves Copyright Trust.

A Beautiful Story

I truly enjoyed this book. A killer I didn't guess (which I normally get right) a plot that didn't go as I thought it should. The makings of a great story!

Convoluted

Lots of twists and turns. In a book that included chemistry...it would have been better if the effects of poison in the human body made more sense...ie you don’t take poison daily for months without any physical changes, then have them all in the 10 min before you die....

Wonderfully written

This is a great book, full of beautiful description and great plot lines. I loved it.

A decent historical mystery hidden in overwrought language

It’s during the first world war and people are dying in ways unrelated to war and later the flu. The deaths look accidental, but 3 childhood friends know better. The characters are clearly delineated and the mystery has some twists but the overwrought, romanticized language reads like something written in the 1800’s rather than present day. Certainly you expected a certain style of language in 1918 that you don’t see today but even descriptive passages sounded like they were written by a lovestruck teenager with a thesaurus. I stuck with it to the end, but can’t give it a wholehearted endorsement. Then again, it might be your cup of tea!

Also, the reader did a fine job - better than the material.

The flu or murder?

A complex story about several families, some well-to-do, some not, and the mystery of how key members keep dying.

Downton Abbey meets CSI

Engaging story that blends history, high society and mystery all wrapped up in a lab coat.

Disturbing, dark & tragic, but excellent

This thriller was darkly disturbing but with a well written, unique approach. As the story unfolds later by shocking layer, one doesn't know whether to love or hate the main characters because of their quirks and how they treat one another. The happenings led me toward one suspect, but I was reeling with horrified surprise when the story twisted to its conclusion. Having recently learned about the sad history of the 'radium girls', I was pleasantly surprised to see it incorporated into this story line. Darkly tragic, well crafted, but the final chapter seems incongruous, even while leaving the reader with a sense of hope for the wounded survivors of the book's events. Perhaps the author felt it necessary to dispel some of the darkness created by the previous chapters.

Love the science

I loved the twist and science. I loves how both gender is portrayed to be visions of science

enjoyed the story, annoyed by the voices

narrators weak attempt to mimic a man's voice made me laugh and pulled me out of the story every time. the chapters where two men would talk to each other? unbearable.

story itself was great.

Great Read!

I was thoroughly enthralled by this wonderful mystery. The characters were complicated and intriguing, as were their relationships. I was sure I had the murders solved and loved the shock as the real resolution played out! The reader did a superb job with the many voices as well!!