Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys (Forensic Science and Medicine) [Paperback]

John H. Trestrail III (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 158829921X | ISBN-13: 978-1588299215 | Publication Date: April 30, 2007 | Edition: 2nd

In this revised and expanded edition, leading forensic scientist John Trestrail offers a pioneering survey of all that is known about the use of poison as a weapon in murder. Topics range from the use of poisons in history and literature to convicting the poisoner in court, and include a review of the different types of poisons, techniques for crime scene investigation, and the critical essentials of the forensic autopsy. The author updates what is currently known about poisoners in general and their victims. The Appendix has been updated to include the more commonly used poisons, as well as the use of antifreeze as a poison.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the second edition: "Criminal Poisoning represents a pioneering work dealing exclusively with toxicants in the hands of those with criminal intent. This is the first book having in-depth discussions of all aspects of murder by poisoning. . .The book is easy reading, succinct and the use of jargon is minimized. . . Dr. Trestrail emphasizes several keys points in his book. Poisons are a stealth weapon, meaning the victim and the crime scene often lacks overt evidence of violence. Maintaining the chain of custody for evidence is another point expounded. The author also argues that many poisoners do not get caught and urges that any sudden death case to be considered a poisoning until proven otherwise. . .Criminal Poisoning is an excellent resource for forensic toxicologists, coroners, medical examiners/forensic pathologists, special agents and consumer safety officers of the Food and Drug Administration, homicide detectives, private investigators, criminalists, and attorneys. Criminal Poisoning is essential reading for pharmacists engaging in work relating to forensic toxicology or death investigations. . .John Trestrail, III provides another great example of how pharmacists are involved in forensics and law enforcement."-Journal of Pharmacy Practice "...Trestrail has put together some- 160 pages of easily read and pleasantly understandable data on the use of poisons as murder weapons...introduces beginning toxicologists to the exciting field of forensic toxicology with insights into the workings of the investigational process...this new publication is an interesting comprehensive overview of criminal poisonings for scientists, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and very likely the vast majority of the reading public."-Veterinary and Human Toxicology "...an interesting, browsable, text on the overall criminology of poisoning." - Journal of Forensic Sciences "The book deals with the personality of poisoners and their victims, the crime scene investigation, the forensic autopsy and the difficult problem of proving poisoning. It is well indexed and tabulated with good suggestions for further reading although no internet addresses are given which apparently contain a mine of information on how to poison people."--British Toxicology Society Newsletter "The book is a fascinating read especially if you are, as I am, interested in the history, fiction, and trivia of poisoning. … this is an extremely accessible book for all individuals, lay as well as professionals, and is written in such a way that it could be easily digested by anyone capable of reading a daily newspaper." (Daryl J. Mayers, Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal, December, 2007)

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd edition (April 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158829921X
• ISBN-13: 978-1588299215
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,257,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Criminal Poisoning - a review, August 7, 2000

By 

Flyer "Outdoor Colorado" (Greenwood Village, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys (Hardcover)

This book should be in the library of anyone interested in toxicology whether a professional or a reader or writer in this area. The book is a meticulous reference for an area which is covered only in scattered locations. Descriptions of historical poisoners as well as more modern cases are concise and clear. The author bases this book on his extensive lecture series at the FBI academy. Investigations through testimony in court is covered. The author provides detailed information on key poisons and an extensive bibliography. The information presented will clear up many myths perpetuated in various novels and on the internet.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but quite brief, July 5, 2002

By 

techbookreader "techbookreader" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys (Forensic Science and Medicine) (Paperback)

This short book has a lot of information useful to law enforcement in evaluating deaths, to help determine if a death is a result of a homicidal poisoning. Further, the author provides advice on how to close in on a suspect and how homicidal poisoners operate.

The book has a number of statistics regarding frequency of use of various poisons and percentages of poisoners who are male, female and of various races.

There are two reasons for my giving it 3 stars:

1. I expected more information about specific poisons. Aside from a summary of a few poisons in an appendix, there is not much specific information about the actions of various chemicals.

2. The book is rife with grammatical and what I assume are typographical errors, even to the point that the author (or publisher) misspells his own name on one page. In a book with many statistics, seeing so many such errors makes me wonder how many errors exist in the numbers that I'm reading. I never heard of this publishing house but I found their website and they apparently specialize in scientific and medical books. I just hope that they aren't printing books being relied upon by physicians treating members of my family, if this is the quality of oversight they give to their books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys, May 22, 2008

By 

Dr. Costa Conn (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys (Forensic Science and Medicine) (Hardcover)

I was disappointed with this book when I recieved it. The book has been written on a basic superficial level and was not what I expected. If the intended target audience are those with little or no science background, then this might make interesting reading. There is far too little chemistry and toxicology in the book for anyone who wishes to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying principles of the field.

Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys (Forensic Science and Medicine)