Category Archives: Acute Poisons

BOTULISM – A Paralytic Nerve Toxin

Posted on February 25, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Botulism, as an accidental illness, is rare these days. More sophisticated canning processes and better preservation of food products have prevented this serious neurotoxin from poisoning those in the modern world. Intentional poisonings, however, are another story. The botulism toxin … Continue reading →

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Perchloric Acid – A Versatile Murder Weapon!

Posted on December 17, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Unique lethal compounds fascinate me and, as a medical thriller writer, I’m constantly on the search for new methods of murder. Today, I’d like to discuss a most interesting chemical—perchloric acid. It has deadly potential in a number of ways … Continue reading →

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The Socratic Method of Murder!

Posted on September 10, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In 399 BC the philosopher Socrates was found guilty in Athens, Greece of corrupting the youth and refusing to recognize the gods of the state. His crimes centered on his method of teaching—later known as The Socratic Method—in which one … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Acute Poisons, Blog Trends, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Botanical Murder Weapons, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing With Poisonous Plants, Murder With Poisonous Plants, Plants Used For Murder, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poison Hemlock as a Method to Kill, Poison Hemlock as a Murder Weapon, Poisons Used For Murder, Socrates and Hemlock, Socrates and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Fiction Writing, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

THALLIUM – The Poisoner’s Poison!

Posted on June 18, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

It’s not often that I come across a method to kill a character in a novel with delightful efficiency and flair, but thallium is one of those chemicals. Thallium is a bluish-white metal that, in pure form, is odorless and … Continue reading →

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Saxitoxin and Ciguatera – More Killers From The Sea

Posted on June 4, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Last week I blogged about pufferfish and the lethal tetradotoxin that they contain, and we discussed their use as possible murder weapons. Today I want to talk about a couple of other interesting sea toxins that could be incorporated into … Continue reading →

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A Most Lethal Toxin From the Sea!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Sea toxins have become very popular as tools of murder, both on television as well as in murder mysteries over the last few years. One of the most popular, and one of the best known, is Fugu, the Japanese name … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Contact Poisons, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Fugu, Fugu and Murder, Fugu Poisoning, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, Pufferfish and Murder, Pufferfish Poisoning, Tetrodotoxin, Tetrodotoxin and Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, TTX and Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Scorpion Venom – A Lethal Opportunity!

Posted on April 2, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Scorpions are predatory arthropods—exoskeleton or shell-like creatures. They originated in England in the High Middle Ages (around 1200 AD). Although scorpion venom has a fearsome reputation, there are only about 25 varieties (out of the over 1,700 species) that have … Continue reading →

Posted in About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Deadly Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorprion, Designer Drug Deaths, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Israeli Yellow Scorpion, Israeli Yellow Scorpion Venom, Lethal Scorpion Venom, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, New Drug Discoveries, New Drug Research, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Scorpion Venom, Poisons Used to Murder, Scorpion Stings, Scorpion Venom, Story Development, The Deadliest Scorprion, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Tools of Murder, Types of Deadly Scorpions, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hydrofluoric Acid – The Flesh Eater!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Hydrofluoric acid is a colorless liquid that mixes readily in other fluids. It’s highly corrosive and is classified as an acute poison that immediately begins to degrade tissue on contact. If you’re a fan of the Breaking Bad TV series, … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, Acids and Tissue Damage, Acids and Tissue Death, Acids Used to Murder People, Acids with Systemic Toxicity, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Breaking Bad Acids, Breaking Bad Poisons, Contact Poisons, Flesh Eating Acids, Hydrofluoric Acid, Hydrofluoric Acid and Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder Weapons, Murdering with Visine, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, The Science of Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments