Category Archives: Instruments of Death

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 →

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, All About Murder, Biological Poisons, Biological Warfare, Biological Warfare Treatments, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, Blog About Poisons in Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Brucellosis, Brucellosis - A Biological Weapon, Chemical Poisons, Chemical Weapons Discussions, Chemicals Used For Murder, Choosing How a Character Should Die in a Story, Deadly Food, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Food Source Poisons, Foods That Kill, Foods Used For Murder, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Killing With Lethal Microbes, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Biologicals, Methods of Murder, Microbes Used To Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Food, Neurotoxin Poisons, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Preventing Human Brucellosis, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes, Zoonotic Infections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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 →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, All About Murder, Anticholinergic Toxidromes, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemical Poisons, Chemical Weapons Discussions, Chemicals Used For Murder, Cholinergic Toxidromes, Deadly Poisons Discussed, Designer Poisons Used For Murder, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Difficult to Solve Murders, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs Used For Murder, How to Choose a Murder Weapon for a Plot Idea, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Anticholinergic Drug Symptoms, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Lethal Cholinergic Drug Symptoms, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Poisons and Murder, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Science of Murder, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Fiction Writing, Tools of Murder, Toxidromes and Murder, Toxidromes and Murder Mysteries, Toxidromes in Murder Mysteries, Toxidromes to Identify a Poison, Toxidromes to Solve Murders, Unique Lethal Compounds, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Depressant and Stimulant Toxidromes, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, 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 a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapon Groupings and Categories, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons and Murder, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Science of Murder, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Murder, Toxidrome's, Toxidromes and Murder, Toxidromes in Murder Mysteries, Toxidromes to Identify a Poison, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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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LADY KILLERS’ PHARMACEUTICALS

Posted on March 2, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

 ~ Female Murderers are the Exception! ~ That’s what I found out when an author friend asked me to guest blog on her “Profiles of Murder” blog site this week. Diane Kratz is a crime fiction writer who holds three … Continue reading →

Posted in A Diane Kratz Interview, A Guest Blog, A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A Thriller Novel, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog Interviews, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deadly Drugs in America, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Free Book Downloads, Guest Blogging, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Agents and Murder, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Profiles of Murder Blog, Published Novel by James J Murray, The Psychology of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Lethal Compounds, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Race To Death With Racing Fuel

Posted on February 3, 2016 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

There was an intriguing, and yet startling, report in the news recently about two teenagers who died when they decided that drinking a mixture of racing fuel and Mountain Dew was a great way to get high. The notion that … Continue reading →

Posted in A New Street Drug, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog About Poisons in Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Abuse, Formic Acid is Lethal, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Methanol and Murder, Methanol Poisoning, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, Poisons and Murder, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, Racing Fuel and Mountain Dew, Racing Fuel Is Lethal, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

COPPER SULFATE – The Green Chemical

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

Copper sulfate is a fascinating substance that burns with a green to aquamarine colored flame. Often it’s used in high school chemistry classes to demonstrate just such a phenomenon. It’s also considered a “green chemical” in that the US agricultural … 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, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Blog About Poisons in Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Copper Culfate, Copper Sulfate Poisoning and Farm Workers, Copper Sulfate Poisoning and India, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Methods of Murder, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Pesticides and Murder, Poisons and Murder, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Green Chemical, The Writings of James J. Murray, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Venom – Lethal Toxins or Medical Miracles?

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

Most of us are afraid of venomous creatures—those creepy, crawly animals with fangs or stinger tails, not to mention those slithery snakes with lethal incisors dripping venom. We don’t want to be anywhere near them, and rightfully so since the … Continue reading →

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, All About Murder, Beneficial Venoms, Benefits of Scorpion Venom, Benefits of Snake Venom, Benefits of Spider Venom, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Centipede Venom as a Drug, Chemical Poisons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Deadly Scorpion Venom, Deadly Venoms, Deathstalker Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorprion, Designer Poisons Used For Murder, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs From Venom, Drugs Used For Murder, Healing Venoms, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Israeli Yellow Scorpion Venom, James J. Murray, James J. Murray Blog, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Scorpion Venom, Medical Uses of Venom, Medical Uses of Venoms, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder with Neurotoxins, Neurological Poisons, Neurotoxin Poisons, Neurotoxins and Murder, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, Paralytic Nerve Toxins, Paralytic Poisons and Murder, Poisonous Scorpion Venom, Poisons and Murder, Prescription Trends, Scorpion Venom, Snake Venom as a Drug, Spider Venom as a Drug, The Science of Murder, Venom-Lethal Toxins or Medical Miracles, Venoms That Kill | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment