The untold story of how poison rocked Jazz Age New York City. A pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle and Norris and Gettler create revolutionary experiments to tease out even the wiliest compounds from human tissue. From the vantage of their laboratory it also becomes clear that murderers aren't the only toxic threat--modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner.

The first book ever to describe real life cases of murder, and purported murder, using insulin as a weapon. Covers cases from the USA, UK, Europe, Japan and New Zealand, including the well known Claus von Bulow case, the first criminal trial to be broadcast in its entirety on US TV (later the subject of a Hollywood movie, Reversal of Fortune). Written by Vincent Marks, coauthor of the critically acclaimed book Panic Nation: Exposing the Lies We're Told About Food and Health (John Blake Publishing) and a world authority on insulin, and Caroline Richmond, a medical journalist and writer, this gripping account is intended for doctors and laypeople alike, especially those with an interest in forensic medicine or true life crime.