Category Archives: How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea

Got Milk or Brucellosis?

Posted on July 20, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I’ve often blogged about biological weapons—both those used in the past and those with potential for use in your new thriller plots. The world’s population has certainly been victim to biological warfare in the past. In 184 BC, Hannibal’s warriors … Continue reading →

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Conspiracy Theory Heart Attacks

Posted on June 29, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In previous blogs (here and here) I’ve discussed how to construct a murder plot using a drug or medical device that could mimic a heart attack that would be virtually undetectable as a murder—the so-called perfect murder weapon! But there … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Aggregate Anaphylaxis, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Calcium Gluconate and Heart Attacks, Calcium Gluconate and Murder, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Designer Drug Deaths, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs Used to Murder, Electrolyte Imbalances and Heart Attacks, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Art of Storytelling, the perfect murder weapon, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

TOXIDROMES: Wet vs Dry Symptoms

Posted on June 15, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog, I introduced the concept of toxidromes—defined as a group of specific symptoms and clues which medical examiners use to identify the specific substance used to poison a victim. In that blog, I discussed two of the … Continue reading →

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TOXIDROMES: Solving The Poison Puzzle

Posted on June 8, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

The murders that occur in my novels and short stories often involve a lethal medicine or a poison. To create a believable plot, I make sure to do my homework to get the toxic effects of those substances correct. That’s … Continue reading →

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TABUN – A Dramatic Murder Weapon!

Posted on April 20, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Although first developed as a possible pesticide in Germany in 1936, tabun quickly became known as an excellent chemical warfare agent and was made on an industrial scale by Germany during World War II. It was the first of the … Continue reading →

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Aconite – A Two-Edged Sword!

Posted on April 13, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Many botanical compounds have important medical uses, and some of modern medicine’s most important drugs were derived initially from plant sources. However, some of these botanical compounds have a very narrow dosage range between a therapeutic effect and toxicity. This … Continue reading →

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Transdermal Poisoning

Posted on January 20, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

One day last week I was talking to a doctor of physical therapy and he asked a most interesting question that I had to think about before attempting an answer. He said that he had a patient who could not … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Choosing How a Character Should Die in a Story, Contact Poisons, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Patches For Murder, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Agents and Murder, Making Your Own Topical Drug Therapy, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons in Transdermal Patch Therapy, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Transdermal Patch Therapy, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

SAMARIUM – The Good and The Bad

Posted on September 30, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In the past I’ve blogged about lethal radioactive chemicals (here and here) as possible murder weapons to use in your murder mysteries and thrillers. There is another rather dramatic radioactive agent—a beneficial medication at that—which could take center stage in … Continue reading →

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ARSENIC – The King of Poisons

Posted on February 11, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Virtually imperceptible in the past when used as a poison, arsenic became known as “The King of Poisons” because of its lethal potency and because it was undetectable. Then the Marsh test came into use in 1836! From that point … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Arsenic, Arsenic and Cancer, Arsenic As A Murder Weapon, Arsenic Health Benefits and Risks, Arsenic in Murder Mysteries, Arsenic Present in Nature, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Characteristics of Murder, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deadly Poisons Discussed, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Lethal Agents and Murder, Murder Weapons Discussed, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisons and Murder, Poisons Used For Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Ways to Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

PRIONS and the Zombie Disease!

Posted on January 21, 2015 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Imagine designing a murder mystery plot using a substance that transformed ordinary people into zombies and then writing a convincing story based on the science of it all. The victims in your story would have difficulty walking because of loss … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, Abnormal Protein Invasion of the Brain, About James J. Murray, About Murder, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Characteristics of Murder, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designer Poisons Used For Murder, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, Kuru, Microbes Used To Murder, Murder With Drugs, Neuroscience and Murder, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prion Linked Diseases, Prions and Murder, Prions and Neurological Degeneration, Prions and The Science of Murder, Prions and the Zombie Disease, Science-Based Zombies, The Science of Murder, The Zombie Disease, Unique Lethal Compounds, Unique Murder Plots, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes, Zombie Drugs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments