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.