V Is for Venom

FINALIST IN THE 2026 EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARDS (BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL) 'Hugely entertaining and informative' MARK ALDRIDGE 'Harkup balances the macabre with the scientifically intricate' NEW SCIENTIST Fourteen stories. Fourteen more poisons. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's all made-up ... Agatha Christie is renowned for her captivating plots and creative ways of killing off ill-fated victims. And what better way to add intrigue to a story than poison? The surreptitious ways they can be administered and the characteristic symptoms they produce make these killer chemicals the ideal method of murder in a 'whodunit'. Christie perfected the use of poisons in her plots; her deft and varied use of toxic substances is one of her great strengths as a writer. But how is it that some compounds prove so fatal, and in such tiny amounts? The follow up to Kathryn Harkup's best-selling A is for Arsenic, V is for Venom is a compelling exploration of fourteen more poisons from the works of Agatha Christie and her extensive chemical knowledge. This book investigates the science behind the deadly substances, the history of their use in real-life murder cases, and how feasible was it to obtain, administer and detect these poisons in Christie's time and today. Combining Christie's murder mysteries, chemical science and true crime, V is for Venom is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.

Kathryn Harkup is a former chemist turned author. She writes and gives regular public talks on the disgusting and dangerous side of science. Her first book was the international best-seller A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, which was shortlisted for a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award and a BMA Book Award. Her subsequent books include its follow-up, V is for Venom, Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Death by Shakespeare.

The Queen of Crime A is for Arrow Poison - 'The Case of the Caretaker' (Miss Marple's Final Cases) B is for Bacteria - Cards on the Table C is for Calmo - The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side F is for Formic Acid - 'The Lemesurier Inheritance' (Poirot's Early Cases) G is for Gas - A Caribbean Mystery H is for Hydrochloric Acid - Murder in Mesopotamia J is for Jasmine - The Big Four M is for Mickey Finn - Passenger to Frankfurt N is for Nitroglycerin - 'The Chocolate Box' (Poirot's Early Cases) O is for Oxalic Acid - Murder is Easy P is for Procaine - One, Two, Buckle My Shoe S is for Scopolamine - 'Philomel Cottage' (The Listerdale Mystery) T is for Taxine - A Pocket Full of Rye V is for Venom - Death in the Clouds Appendix: Christie's Causes of Death Index