The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
by Deborah Blum
Chronicles the rise of forensic medicine in 1920s New York, where chemists and medical examiners battled poisoners and built the foundations of modern crime detection.
About This Book
The Poisoner's Handbook explores the early twentieth-century struggle to establish reliable methods for detecting poisons and bringing killers to justice.
Set against the backdrop of Prohibition-era New York, the book follows the work of medical examiners and chemists who transformed forensic investigation.
It highlights the challenges of limited technology, political interference, and public skepticism that shaped the birth of modern forensic medicine.
The narrative draws on real cases to show how scientific advances gradually replaced guesswork in criminal investigations.
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