Taste for Poison Book

A brilliant blend of science and crime, A TASTE FOR POISON reveals how eleven

notorious poisons affect the body–through the murders in which they were used.

As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most

enduring―and popular―weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be

slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door,

even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work

to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict?

In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr.

Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a

cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes―some

notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved―are the equally compelling

stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way

through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our

bodies function.

Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison

weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical

professionals and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the

body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the

deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in

Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads readers on a riveting tour of the

intricate, complex systems that keep us alive―or don’t.