I don’t know what it says about me that I quite enjoy medical history and historic New York, but I do know that it says that The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York is right up my alley. It also wins the prize for longest title of the books I’ve read this year.
Blum’s book tracks the time when a pair of forensic scientists, Charles Norris and Alexander Getler began the chemical detective work that forensic science has become known for and fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons let many criminals commit ‘perfect’ crimes. Chapters are broken up poison by poison, year by year as we follow the cases chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler investigate ranging from workers with crumbling bones to a diner serving poisoned pies. Blum presents each case as a puzzle and outlines the work of Norris and Gettler (and others) creating revolutionary experiments to find the hidden toxins in human tissue. The pair also begin to unearth the toxic threats of everyday life in a modern New York City. Its with some relief that we read about Norris and Gettler’s triumph over seemingly unbeatable odds, becoming pioneers of forensic chemistry and a better justice system.
The book can be repetitive at times, present new toxin, explain related case/crime, lay out the new science Norris and Gettler were developing, solve the mystery, rinse and repeat. Its very detailed, but easy to understand, the explanations of the chemical nature of the various toxins they dealt with, as well as the sometimes hilarious account of the political in-fighting necessary to even get a qualified coroner appointed in the figure of Norris in the first place. This one can be considered equal parts true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller. If that sounds good to you, you might want to give it a try.
Bingo Square: Science