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Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Penguin Press
February 2010
On Sale: February 18, 2010
366 pages
ISBN: 1594202435
EAN: 9781594202438
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
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; 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 during a remarkably deadly time. A beguiling
concoction that is equal parts true crime, twentieth-
century history, and science thriller, The Poisoner's
Handbook is a page-turning account of a forgotten New York.
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