Mini Reviews | Books About Books

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agatha Christie is the greatest crime fiction writer in history. I love her clever use of poison in so many of her novels. It adds another level of mystery; there are so many ways and kinds, the possibilities seemingly endless. Christie carefully selected each poison, practically making it a character itself.

I absolutely loved this book. Harkup has written several books like this, looking at the science behind some of our most beloved characters or authors. There's one on Dracula, Frankenstein, and Shakespeare. That one is my most favorite and you can find the review HERE.

Harkup looks at a variety of poison, over a dozen altogether. Each chapter follows the same template, but given how many different types she discusses, it did not feel repetitive or like it was dragging.

First, the author gives a summary of the book she is using to showcase Christie's skill with the specific poison. Then she begins discussing the poison itself. She gives a history of how it developed, the chemical make-up and science of how it works within the body, symptoms of poisoning, how it's detected, and if there are antidotes.

I definitely would recommend this for Christie fans, and also crime fiction fans in general. Such a fun read!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Full disclosure, Frankenstein is not my favorite. I read it once, years ago. But because I really enjoy this author's work, I gave this one a try and was pleasantly surprised.

While the likelihood of Shelley's methods working in 1818 were non-existent, Harkup looks at the science of the time and the scientists working to make all kinds of discoveries and break-throughs in various fields. Luckily, we are still quite a ways off from being able to do so in our time, as well. Even so, the author explores all the yucky goodness you would expect from a book about a monster put together by dead body parts - the stories of body snatchers, tests to determine rate of decay, etc.

In addition to exploring the scientific advancements at the time, Harkup also writes a significant biography of Shelley as well. I do not know much about her but the basics, and had no idea she was so young when she wrote the book, nor the circumstances surrounding it. I knew a bit more about her mother, but enjoyed learning about her as much as the science of the most famous monster in history.

The author also provides quite a biography of the novel as well. She recounts the writing challenge proposed at Villa Diodati, to write stories to scare one another on that dark and stormy night, then how the book fared when it was first published in 1818, and again when it was revised and reissued in 1831.

Despite no more than a passing interest in Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, this was a fantastic read and I really enjoyed it. I think this is a must-read for fans, and those with an interest in the science of the time period.

Book Review | The Secret Poisoner: A Century of Murder

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I went back and forth on this one, debating 3 or 4 stars because it did get repetitive at times, but in the end the amount of research the book contains won out.

The Victorians loved a good murder, and this book is a social history on one particular kind of murder - poison. The nineteenth century was peak-time for poison, though it had obviously been available many centuries earlier. The author addresses the class and gender issues of those most likely to use which poisons and why.

1800s England was a time when the poisoner reigned supreme, going head-to-head with authorities to commit their crimes for various reasons. Authorities had quite the uphill battle. Testing for poisons was in its infancy, with the first textbook on these toxins and their effects being published in 1814. But the field took off rapidly and by mid-1800s work was being conducted at hospitals and universities to study various poisons, how to detect them, and possible antitdotes.

The author takes care to look at the evolution of issues which many times led to these crimes - to get rid of spouses, parents, or children - sometimes to collect the insurance money. There are also cases of employees taking revenge on their employers. She also focuses on scientific developments of detecting poisons and how these crimes were prosecuted.

For a long time aresenic was the most common poison used and this one is the main focus. It was the easiest to get a hold of, as it was used to kill rats and no one batted an eye when a woman purchased large amounts. Thus, it was also the poison most commonly used by women to commit their crimes because they had easy access to it.

This was a time when science and law were starting to work together, sort of. As doctors and scientists developed methods for detecting poisons, egos inflated big time. No longer would prosecution have to rely only on reports of the victim's symptoms prior to death and hope it was enough to (sometimes wrongfully) convict. Instead, these doctors and scientists became "expert witnesses" for both prosecutors and defense teams, as we are familiar with today. Issues arose quickly, however, with the men most often trying to one-up each other with their knowledge, overwhelming juries with scientific explanations that they didn't wholly understand, and frustrating the public when a verdict was given that was clearly incorrect.

The repitition that bothered me comes in the format of the book. Each chapter begins with a specific case. We learn about the victim and killer, the course of events that led to the victim becoming ill, whether or not they died, and exhumations when necessary if poison was not considered a possibility immediately following the death. Then the trial, and executions of the convicted.

After the specifics on the importance of said case, the author discusses how this case contributed to the development of detecting poisons or the laws necessary to keep poisons out of the hands of the public. We are introduced to the men involved in either aspect and their work.

While all of this is necessary, it did make for a slog to read sometimes. I would sometimes skim the cases to see the gist of what happened, then focus on the developments in science and law as a result.

Even so, I would still recommend this one to anyone with an interest in this fascinating period.

The Poison Plot: A Tale of Adultery and Murder in Colonial Newport

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2 Stars

I am not sure why, but I am drawn to stories seemingly like this involving the sensationalized murders committed using (usually) poison. I don't know why this is such a draw - and usually it is Victorian Era cases that I am interested in, but this one went a bit further back, to Colonial Newport in the early 1700s.

I also have to admit that one of the reasons I first requested this book was because I failed to read the subtitle, and when I read the name Benedict Arnold, first assumed it was about THE Benedict Arnold, which made me doubly confused because I thought/knew poisoning was definitely NOT how he died. Oops. Sometimes I am great at reading, sometimes not so much. This is kind of embarrassing, but at the same time, eh, whatever. Everyone at one point or another has done something similar.

This book is marketed as a murder mystery, it says so right there in the subtitle. But the problem with that is, that's not really what the book is about. With so many unknown variables, and the fact that there are no contemporary sources that record Mary Arnold's personal thoughts and feelings, or purpose for her possible actions, it is almost entirely filled with conjecture. A rime example of this appears at 29% where the author states, "Psychological reasons may have bee responsible for Mary's behavior as her life unfolded, although such possibilities are merely conjectural." Seriously, the title of this book should have actually been Conjecture About a Possible Murder and Some Other Stuff About Colonial Newport. It would have been highly accurate, at least.

The death/murder of her husband is dealt with rather swiftly in the first couple chapters of the book. The motive, means, and opportunity are all there, but given how little information there actually is left in any existing records, the author again falls back on the dreaded C-word. The author even states at one point, "Then again, there is no hard evidence that Mary actually tried to poison Benedict or that he was in fact poisoned" (forgot to record what % this was at, sorry!) Well damn, then what was the point of all of this nonsense then anyway?!

My biggest issue really is that the book was not what it purported to be. The drama surrounding Benedict and Mary, he being roughly two decades older than her, she having affairs and burning through his fortune like there's no tomorrow, certainly could make a circumstantial case - especially if Mary might be excluded from receiving anything in her husband's will. All we know for sure is that Benedict became ill. Upon his recovery he filed a divorce petition, indicating the affairs Mary carried on while married was a reason for the divorce. Then Benedict died not long after the divorce was granted. One of the problems is that at that time there was no way to test someone to see if they had been poisoned. So, where is the mystery then? Truthfully, there really isn't one, because there are far too many unknowns.

That the author is a historian, that much is obvious. And I truly enjoyed the dissection of daily life in Colonial Newport far more than I enjoyed the story surrounding the Arnold marriage. We get to see so much of daily life as it would have been for most citizens. The author does a fine job explaining social, political, and economic issues of the period. Perhaps this book would have been better if it had strictly been a biography of the city of Newport, Rhode Island - to be fair, I must say that city biographies are one of my most favorite kinds of books to read, so I would be far interested in that than any "Eh, we don't really know, but maybe?" murder mystery.

As a 'true crime'-ish murder mystery, I can not recommend this book at all. As a snapshot of life in colonial New England, yes, have it. Just ignore the hubbub about the Arnold family.