The Poisoner's Handbook

I bought The Poisoner's Handbook a few months ago when audible.com was having a 3 books for 2 credits sale. I thought it sounded interesting, but sometimes I don't enjoy non-fiction audio books. I do other stuff while I'm listening to audio books (walking dogs, chores, driving, etc) and sometimes my mind wanders and I lose track of what's going on in the book.

I first listened to an audio book a couple years ago as a part of my online book club's quarterly challenge. I really love them. I've listened to over 60 in the past two years. (Some of my favorites: The Help, Sarah Vowell's books, and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plus series.) But, I have discovered some types of books are easier to listen to than others.

Luckily, The Poisoner's Handbook was great in audio version. The book is the story of the early days of the medical examiners office in NYC. The book is divided up by different poisons and death caused by them. It was interesting to read about the different medical developments that were made and about the men who worked so hard to solve these chemical mysteries. Charles Norris, the chief medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, a toxicologist in the office, dedicated their lives to professionalize the medical examiner's office and to make society safer.

The book has lots of information about Prohibition and several true crime stories. It's an easy to read (or listen to!) non-fiction book.