Title: A is for Arsenic : The Poisons of Agatha Christie
Author: Dr. Kathryn Harkup
Publisher: Bloomsbury, USA
Release Date: September 8, 2015
Pages: 320
Book Source: ARC
Fourteen novels. Fourteen poisons. Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it’s all made-up.
Christie’s extensive chemical knowledge provides the backdrop for A is for Arsenic, in which Kathryn Harkup investigates the poisons used by the murderer in fourteen classic Agatha Christie mysteries. It looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, the cases that may have inspired Christie, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering and detecting these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today. A is for Arsenic is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.
My Review:
Mystery will always be my favorite genre, and when I saw a book about the Queen of Mystery and poisons, I just had to give it a read. Kathryn Harkup did a fantastic job with the scientific and historic information, real life cases, and not giving away who did it.
I did skip a bit over the scientific information, just because chemistry has never been a strong area of interest to me. Although I have been dabbling in essential oils, so I’m actually starting to get a bit more into chemical combinations and reactions.
I’ve been reading True Crime since middle school, so I found the real life cases fascinating. And as far as the historical information went, if kids were taught about stuff like this in history classes, instead of just having to memorize dates and places, I think a lot more kids would enjoy history and do better in school.
Since this book touches so many genres, I think many different people would enjoy this one. I highly recommend giving it a read if you enjoy mysteries, true crime, science, or history. And I also think this would be a valuable resources for writers.