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Anne Louise Bannon

HowDunit - The Book of Poisons Paperback – January 9, 2007

by Serita Stevens (Author), Anne Bannon (Author)

4.6 102 ratings

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Discover Deadly Doses to Kill Off Characters

The readers of your crime and mystery stories should be trying to figure out "whodunit"—not wondering why your facts don't make sense. If you want to kill off characters with something poisonous, you need to know how a villain would gain access to such a poison, how it would be administered, and what the effects on the victim would be. Book of Poisons can help you figure out all of the details of proper poisoning.

This thorough guide catalogs the classic poisons, household poisons, poisonous animals and plants, poisons used in wars, and more. With information on toxicity, reaction time, effects and symptoms, and antidotes and treatments, you'll know exactly what your villain needs to succeed and exactly what could foil his plans. You'll also find:

information about how real toxicologists uncover poisoning crimes
a history of famous poisoners
advice on how you can create your own fictional poison
case histories that give examples of when the poisons listed were used in literature, movies, and real life

With alphabetical organization and appendices that cross-reference by symptoms, form, administration, and other methods, you'll be able to find the perfect poisons to fit your plot. Plus, a glossary of medical terms makes decoding symptoms and treatments easy for the writer with no medical background.

Book of Poisons is the comprehensive reference you need to create deaths by poison without stopping readers dead in their tracks over misguided facts.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Writer's Digest Books
Publication date

January 9, 2007
Dimensions

6 x 1.05 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

158297456X
ISBN-13

978-1582974569
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Ben Hubbard
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Serita Deborah Stevens
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Fez Inkwright
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Michael Brown
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28 offers from $13.35
Elizabeth A. Dauncey
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Deborah Blum
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in Toxicology
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Serita Stevens is a registered nurse who works as a clinical director and as a legal nurse investigator on medical-related cases. She also helps film companies medically bullet proof their scripts, and her book, The Forensic Nurse, has been optioned for a TV show.

Anne Louise Bannon has written for magazines and newspapers across the country, including Emergency Physicians Monthly and Homeland Protection Professional.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Writer's Digest Books; First Edition (January 9, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 158297456X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1582974569
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.05 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #810,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #284 in Mystery Writing Reference
- #1,860 in Writing Skill Reference (Books)
- #3,361 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 102 ratings

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About the authors

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Serita Stevens
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See Serita Deborah Stevens. An established award winning writer of books and scripts, I was born in Chicago and have always been a writer.
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Anne Louise Bannon
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Hi! I'm Anne Louise Bannon. I'm an author and journalist who loves good food and wine. My real passion is writing and reading mysteries, although I've been known to play with other genres, as well.
I wrote my first novel when I was 15 and haven't stopped writing. My journalistic work has appeared in Ladies' Home Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Wines and Vines and in newspapers around the country.
I was a TV critic for over 10 years, and co-founded the YourFamilyViewer blog. I've gone on to create wine education blog OddBallGrape.com with my husband, Michael Holland and romantic fiction serial blog WhiteHouseRhapsody.com in which a single U.S. president tries not to fall in love with his devastatingly intelligent aide. I am also the co-author of Howdunit: Book of Poisons.
I live in Southern California with my husband and a changing number of critters, where we make wine, soap, clothes, bread - basically the things most sane people buy.
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4.6 out of 5

102 global ratings

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Athena Reynolds

Definitely recommend.

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2023

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Was pleasantly surprised with how brand new it seemed. The condition was definitely better than expected for a used-like new, the book has been on my wishlist for about 5 years, and now, thanks to the incredibly quick shipping- a beautiful copy now sits on my bookshelf. The book is filled with ideas on how to torture your characters with different ailments. Incredibly grateful for the condition of the book and the swiftness at which it now sits upon my shelf. 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽 Thank you!

Informative AND Fun!

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2023

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Every mystery, thriller, and crime writer needs a copy of this book. It gives all the relevant info on poisons and poisoning, and spices it with true-crime examples.

Poison Encyclopaedia for Authors of Murder Mysteries

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2011

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Excellent comprehensive book about poisons for those of us who are not chemists or criminal toxicologists, but want to murder a character in a mystery novel. Poisons are identified and grouped from every angle you can think of, and more. Such as: symptoms, forms, household poisons, poisonous animals and plants, wars---just to name a very few of the many; along with histories, access and antidotes. "Exactly what your villain needs to succeed and exactly what could foil his plans." Aside from the foregoing there are chapters of just plain old good reading. And the BONUS: a chapter on "Create Your Own Poison," along with reasons why you might need to do so. The two authors are well qualified to tell you what you want to know and what you didn't realize you need to know - about poisons. As for me, the only creatures I want to kill are ticks, but I'm not accountable for what my villains want to do. HowDunit - The Book of Poisons

15 people found this helpful

Book of Poisons

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2014

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I must say, before i write my review. That this book can be used to deepen ones understanding of poisons, however, to the large variety of poisons mentioned, many have short and brief summaries.

So, like i said. I bought this book hoping to deepen my understanding of poisons. However, it had just arrived today (punctual, of course) so i only had the time to skim through the pages.
Mentioned in the first paragraph, this book does have a large variety of poisons. Very large, in fact. To more complex poisons, the summary is more detailed and the poison is explained in a reasonable manner. This does arouse many problems. The poisons that are not mentioned in detailed manner, i don't believe are explain thoroughly. I am no writer, but i would've preferred longer and detailed summaries for several other poisons.

For Writers: This is a satisfactory 'handbook' for writers willing to obtain a deeper and more truthful understanding to poisons (including how they are obtained and given). This book explains how the poison will affect the 'external form' of the body as well as the organs it will affect. Recommended for writers even with a faint knowledge of poison.

2 people found this helpful

Even better than the first!

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2010

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I bought this book when I learned my previous copy was so hopelessly out of date that wikipedia was a better resource. (The edition before this one was called Deadly Doses) A lot has changed about research since the first one was written and it's obvious the author put on her wellies and waded through a lot of information. More poisons more pages. It's amazing what she crammed into this book

Like the old one it has several ways you can cross reference by your needs, such as time to take effect or application. The font is small, but it's easier to read than the one before, and the touch of colour makes the whole thing much easier to navigate. This book is so good I was asked for the name by a chemistry student because he didn't have anything like it.

7 people found this helpful

Great Reference for Writers

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2009

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I originally purchased this book to serve as one of several references for a book I was writing for NaNoWriMo ([...]) but it turned into the only reference I really needed. There is lots of very good information available in an easy to understand form. While I learned that killing someone with rhubarb leaves was just not conceivable, unless they had a really odd rhubarb allergy, I could rather easily accomplish the same goal using oleander. And I learned that the authorities are smart enough to look for oleander poisoning in suspicious circumstances. Like I said, lots of good information for writers.

The book very specifically states that the information contained therein is not to be used to break any known or future laws and that the information is to be used for reference for writing and other mind games. (I am paraphrasing wildly.) Good book. Worth every nickel.

47 people found this helpful

I love this book

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2017

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I love this book. Took me 2 hours to match the combination of poisons I needed for the death symptoms. Complete and comprehensive I wish I had found this book a couple years ago.
Update: I took this book to a writers group as a research tool for others to use and it is now dog eared from use. If you are a writer and need help with your poisons i.e. symptoms, availability, plants, metals, and cause of death this is the book for you.

3 people found this helpful

Laura P. Schulman

Medical Editor Needed, Please!

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2015

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A potentially entertaining and useful resource for anyone shopping for poisons, this book wore my index finger out highlighting the gross inaccuracies and misinformation that infests its pages.

I don't know how the authors managed to cobble together such an ill-researched insult to the fine art of poisoning. Holmes himself would have been disgusted at their lack of methodology. (The mere fact that Holmes and his methods were never even mentioned should tell you something.)

Having served as medical editor to several works by lay authors on medically-based topics, my final impression has been, "Thank God they hired me, (or someone else with an M.D.), because they surely did a fine botch job on their own."

Now, that is not intended as an insult. If I wanted to write a reference book on the fine art of jumping off of bridges, I would certainly consult a bridge-building engineer. I know nothing about the mechanics of bridges that relate to their effectiveness as a means of suicide. I do know a lot about the mechanics of what happens to bodies when they fly through the air and strike things, because that's within my fund of knowledge. However, what makes one bridge a more effective jump than another must be left to the bridge engineer.

I admire the ambitiousness of the project, and was all eager to dive into the world of poisons; but time and again I found myself gritting my teeth at some grievous error or omission that could have been easily remedied by a decently thorough medical edit.

And speaking of editing, this book suffers pitifully from a lack of basic editing for clarity, content, and style. I nearly broke my nose on several occasions, due to a vigorous face-palm secondary to horrid copy.

I'm certain that many, like myself, will purchase this book based upon its enticing title. Unfortunately, this eager reader found herself searching for the kick-bucket midway through.

Laura P. Schulman, M.D., M.A., FAAP

14 people found this helpful

its a great book. gives good background information on poisons of ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

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its a great book. gives good background information on poisons of all kinds. great vignettes on how the poison has been used in the past. Surprised at how many really poisonous plants are located on my farm. I don't burn Rhododendron on ANY brush piles that I burn now since I learned just how deadly that plant is.

3 people found this helpful

Must Have for Authors

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2014

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This book is a must have for any author who wants to use herbs or poisons in their story. It's an easy and quick reference to what is what when it comes to making your poisons, real or fantasy, have a believable effect. Goes through what each poison is, how they work, and how to counteract it.

If you're looking for something to add that sense of realism to your murder scene or to make an assassin's poisons that much more realistic, this isn't something you should overlook.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Fairly comprehensive

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2014

Verified Purchase

Decently comprehensive list of poisons for writing purposes. Definitely helps you sort through your options to kill off a villain or an unsuspecting soul. What would be really helpful is if this book described how and if any of these poisons could be detected on visual inspection of the body, or at autopsy.

3 people found this helpful

A great starting point for all the poisons you could reasonably ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2015

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A great starting point for all the poisons you could reasonably talk about. But that's all this book is, a starting point for you to go find more in-depth discussion elsewhere if you were focused on a particular poison. I particularly like the appendix at the back of the book which sorts poisons by their symptoms.

One person found this helpful

Great for a writer doing research

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is a must-have for the aspiring murder mystery writer who is interested in authenticity. Too many authors just make it up as they go, and the audience loses interest because the story is just not believable. Using a book like this, or others from the series can definitely help a writer tell a better story.

4 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'm not commenting on the contents of this book, but the new (is it even new?) print format. I had recently borrowed this book from a friend and loved it, so I ordered it immediately.

I received it today just to find a cheap looking attempt of a book, with black and white photocopy pages and terrible quality paper. Same applies to the cover. It's not as advertised on the "Look Inside" or as previously printed, in which sections of the book (titles and subtitles) are in color, and the pages are thicker. However, the edition or publishing year is the same, hence why it's a rip-off.

Either re-figure out your sales image or inform the buyer of the new (and extremely cheap looking) print.

It's extremely misleading and false advertising.

Returning it immediately.

And bought my copy from Barnes & Nobles.

7 people found this helpful

Jacqueline Klueh

A little poison can do the trick!

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

A little poison can do the trick in offing a character. I am writing a mystery series and I have found this book invaluable. I have purchased a great selection of books to use while I am writing and this is just one that I refer to again and again.

2 people found this helpful

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