V is for Venom is for fans of Agatha Christie, crime novels, the science of poisons, and anyone interested in learning new things. I grew up reading Agatha Christie books and watching the TV adaptations of the Hercule Poirot stories with my dad. Reading V is for Venom brought back fond memories, and added new context to some of the various methods of murder most foul that Christie subjected her characters to.

I loved the mix of scientific explanation of the poisons and other chemicals used in the novels. There was a decent amount of solid scientific explanation for how they worked, were normally used, and how Christie folded them into her own storytelling. I also learned how Christie herself worked with pharmaceuticals, which I had not been aware of before. This was written in both an informative and engaging manner, which made it fun to learn. If all textbooks could be written like this, showing the details along with real accounts and those from the crime novels, it could make classes a lot more fun.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book for the science and/or true crime nerd.

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: Agatha Christie, chemistry, poisons, murder mystery

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 6/2.

I'll admit, I wasn't a particular fan of the one Agatha Christie book I read (Death on the Nile), but I was intrigued by learning about different poisons.

As the title suggests, this book is pretty centered on Agatha Christie's writings, both her books and her plays, and particularly on the poisons she uses for murders and misdirects. Harkup works to ensure each chapter is thorough while also not spoiling the particular story each poison is featured in. There are a couple places where she can't avoid it, but Harkup does provide spoiler warnings, so those sections are easy to skip if you want.

I enjoyed learning about the different poisons and as someone interested in venturing into mystery writing herself, I'll definitely be following up on some of these for my own stories. I will admit, I was hoping for a greater description of how each of the various poisons acted on the body medically. Symptoms, body systems, and the likes were what I was hoping to read about, though Harkup seems more interested in the chemistry side of things here.

Each chapter is broken up into an introduction of the poison and the circumstances Christie uses it in, then an overview of the chemistry of the poison, followed by a more thorough accounting of how it appears in the story, what could be done for someone with that kind of poisoning, and any real life cases. By and large I enjoyed reading about the poisons and the various ways Christie's victims fell prey to them and the plausibility of those scenarios. As mentioned above, I'm not really an Agatha Christie fan, but the brief stories here definitely have me interested in more of her work.

As someone whose background in chemistry only goes as far as honors chemistry in high school, a lot of the chemistry Harkup describes in the book is too detailed for me. She comes at it from a much greater level of understanding than I (and I would assume the casual reader) have and if we had to have that level of chemical knowledge, I would've preferred it be explained at an easier level, even if that would've made the explanations longer. As it stands, I had some trouble following the talk of forming and dissolving chemical bonds and how it all impacted things. At times, I found myself scanning the text without actually reading it.

On the flip side, I do have an extensive understanding of psychology and biological psychology. This led to an interesting paradigm where portions of the text were too chemically advanced for me, resulting in skimming, while others were too psychologically 'basic,' which also resulted in skimming. I suppose these parts are also technically chemistry, but personally I place Na+/K+ ion channels into the realm of psychology and biology. Harkup pays particular attention to how sodium and potassium exchanges occur in the body and so information about these channels gets repeated throughout the book. After the second or third time Harkup explains Na+/K+ ion channels, I started getting bored and was wishing she just mentioned a particular poison acted on those channels without going into yet another explanation of them.

Agatha Christie’s world of poison revealed

I know, it is unbelievable, but I haven’t read an Agatha Christie novel. Nor am I a whiz at chemistry, but I still found this a fascinating and informative book. For each type of poison, Harkup describes how Christie used it in her stories and how she would have likely encountered it. She uses real-life murders to inform us on the effects and possible cures for the poison. There are interesting takes on how likely you could save someone, today or at the time Christie wrote the book.

Each chapter covers a different poison and method of death. The effects of some of the poisons are nightmare-inducing (I am looking at you, Hydrochloric acid). Harkup has done a lot of research. She excels at breaking down the technical science to layman’s terms. She highlights how clever and knowledgeable Christie was in creating her mysteries. She gives insight into how science at the time affected the story. I plan to read some of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot’s mysteries.

V is for Venom will appeal to Agatha Christie fans and true-crime junkies.

Thanks to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for access to the DRC.

Amazing!!! I absolutely adore Agatha Christie novels so I was incredibly excited to get the chance to read this! Kathryn Harkup does a great job covering the science & history behind Christie’s poisons. There is a slight tendency to go off on tangents, but I loved each and every one! Highly recommend to any of my fellow crime junkies!

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

"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 Christie's use of poisons and her extensive chemical knowledge. Featuring fourteen more poisons from the works of Agatha Christie, 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."

Ever since I saw Olivia Williams star in Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures I have been fascinated by Christie's real life chemical knowledge.

Author Kathryn Harkup follows up her 2015 book _A is for arsenic : the poisons of Agatha Christie_ with another volume about how the legendary mystery writer used poisons in her many books and short stories.

The first part of the book is a short overview of Christie's life, with an emphasis on her training as a pharmacy assistant in World War I (and Christie later took refresher classes so she could serve in the same capacity during World War II). The training explains why Christie wrote poisons so well, only making occasional mistakes. (which are pointed out in each chapter).

Each chapter of the book describes a poison used by Christie's fictional killers. This book is a bit science heavy; the reader will get short lessons in chemistry, human physiology, and, when appropriate, botany and zoology. People who hated science classes back in high school would probably either not finish this book, or would at most skim for the parts about the plots of the stories. But for people who adore tv shows like CSI in its many incarnations will find this book fascinating.

There is also an appendix, listing all of Christie's works (except her plays) and the methods of murder used.

Recommended for medium to large public libraries, and for the classic English mystery fan in your life.

Omg this is just SUCH an interesting and fascinating read. I learned so many new things that I had not known yet. Each chapter is broken up into several bits so that you can learn about: which Agatha Christie book the particular poison or venom was from and how it was portrayed, how it affects the body chemically, whether or not there is an antidote, what the procedure for dealing with it is today, and real life cases. So much information that is carefully packed into easily digestible information. I particularly enjoyed the appendix and bibliography included in the back. This is the second book the author has written about poisons that Agatha Christie used and I would absolutely be interested in reading a third.

V for Venom is the book for all of us Nerds. It has chemistry, biology, pharmacology, forensics, history, literature, true crime--there's something for everyone! There are some heavier science sections which may be tiring/bog someone down if that isn't their cup of tea. But Harkup breaks these concepts down to make them as accessible as she can, without using unnecessary or convoluted analogies.

Some topics include insect venom, bacteria, acid, carbon monoxide, barbituates and other sedatives, and many more medications. We learn exactly how these things work in our bodies, what happens at toxic doses, and how Agatha Christie used that knowledge to create original stories. Often she made up fictional medications, which allowed her to push the limitations of the chemicals that served as her inspiration, while still staying true to what we know about that class of chemicals.

Harkup also provides us with histories of chemical discoveries and uses. She includes some ancient uses, their introduction to the pharmaceutical market, the plausibility of Christie's characters acquiring and using these chemicals, and how they are used in modern times. Each chapter offers real-life cases of these chemicals being used to kill, followed by a comparison to Christie's use of them. Finally, we are given an analysis of how these fictional exposures could have been treated, and if the surrounding characters in Christie's works could have implemented those treatments easily to prevent these deaths.

As a pharmacist, I am almost the perfect audience for this book, but I think someone (with an interest in science) who is also familiar with the Agatha Christie works mentioned in the book will enjoy this deep dive even more.

I had a lot of fun with this one, and found myself sharing what I learned with coworkers on more than one occasion. It does read a bit like a textbook at times, but that's to be expected given the content.

The author’s previous books are perfect for readers who enjoy mysteries and non-fiction. As a huge Agatha Christie fan, I love reading about her background, her plots and the science in her novels. This volume is about how the Queen of Crime used chemicals to dispatch her characters. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about her previous work is that the science was approachable. This time, though, the technical part went way above my head. It may be that I’m not very knowledgeable in chemistry, so readers with a more solid background in this, may enjoy it more. Each chapter explores the use of specific chemicals (or group of chemicals) in Christie’s novels; the science behind them, the plausibility of their use, possible antidotes and real-life cases (which will please true-crime fans). She then puts it all together to figure out how believable the scenarios are, and whether the victims would have survived in the real world. These were the parts that I enjoyed. As usual, there are almost no spoilers, so you can be surprised when you read Christie’s novels (or plays). Whenever a reveal is necessary, it is well-marked. So, to recap, this book will be very informative for readers who are not as chemistry-challenged as me.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Bloomsbury USA | Bloomsbury Sigma.

So, I'm very picky when it comes to non-fiction, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect here. I am absolutely delighted to say that this went above and beyond my expectations.

I thought the writing was engaging. It had a decent pacing and was easy to follow. I loved reading about Agatha Christie's history in pharmacology. It was absolutely fascinating to hear about her experience with her training/journey to become a certified pharmacist and how that played into her storytelling.

The author also does a really good job of introducing the poison and/or poisoning method and pairing it with a book title that went along with it. It did have sections that were a bit more in-depth with the science of it all, but again, everything was easy enough to follow. (Thank you, Harkup, for taking pity on all of us who only have a layman's knowledge of chemistry!)

I really enjoyed this comprehensive breakdown of plotting with poisons and other deadly things, and I think if you're a Christie fan, you will too.