At the turn of the twentieth century, a variety of poisons were used by unscrupulous people for everything from personal gain to terrorism. In New York City, forensic science was just being developed, and pioneering scientists fought an uphill battle against corruption in law enforcement and the nations skepticism for the mysteries of chemistry.

More that just an accounting of history, The Poisoner’s Handbook delves into the characters that drove the development of modern forensics and immerses you in the atmosphere and realities of the early decades of the twentieth century.