The Poisoner's Handbook is a fascinating tale of chemistry and detection, poison and murder, set in Jazz Age New York City. In the early twentieth century, poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Science had no place in the Tammany Hall-controlled coroner's office, and corruption ran rampant. However, with the appointment of chief medical examiner Charles Norris in 1918, the poison game changed forever.

Together with toxicologist Alexander Gettler, Norris set the justice system on fire with their trailblazing scientific detective work. They triumphed over seemingly unbeatable odds to become the pioneers of forensic chemistry and the gatekeepers of justice.

Drama unfolds case by case as Norris and Gettler investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, Barnum and Bailey's Famous Blue Man, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle, and the duo works with a creativity that rivals that of the most imaginative murderer.

From the vantage of Norris and Gettler's laboratory in the infamous Bellevue Hospital, it becomes clear that killers aren't the only toxic threat to New Yorkers. Modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner. Automobiles choke the city streets with carbon monoxide; potent compounds, such as morphine, can be found on store shelves in products ranging from pesticides to cosmetics.

Prohibition incites a chemist's war between bootleggers and government chemists, while in Gotham's crowded speakeasies, each round of cocktails becomes a game of Russian roulette. This beguiling concoction of true crime, twentieth-century history, and science thriller is a page-turning account of a forgotten New York.