Category Archives: Instruments of Death

Polonium – A New Weapon of Mass Destruction!

Last week I posted a blog on thallium, a classic drug used as a murder weapon both in novels and in real life. And this week I have another interesting chemical that can be used in the same fashion. That … Continue reading

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Biological Warfare, Biological Warfare Treatments, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Botanical Murder Weapons, Chemicals Used For Murder, Contact Poisons, Dimercaprol Chelation of Polonium, Dimercaprol Use, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Elements of Murder, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Poisons Used For Murder, Poisons Used to Murder, Polonium, Polonium and Murder, Polonium Discovery by Marie and Pierre Curie, Polonium Poisoning, Radioactive Polonium Poisoning, Radioactive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Radioactive Weapons of Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

THALLIUM – The Poisoner’s Poison!

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

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Murder, About Writing, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Biological Warfare, Bioterrorism, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder Weapons, Neurological Poisons, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, Radioactive Thallium Poisoning, Thallium Poisoning, Thallium Used to Murder, The Poisoner's Poison, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

MURDER – The True Definition!

The criminal act known as MURDER is defined in a number of ways, but in most references the definition is distilled to the following words: an unlawful killing with malice. The words unlawful and malice give the term its defining … Continue reading

Posted in a killer gene, About James J. Murray, About Writing, All About Murder, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of Killing, Characteristics of Murder, Defining Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder - The True Definition, Murder is Defined, Murder Weapons, Neuroscience and Murder, Plotting Murder Scenes, Reasons Why People Kill, Reasons Why People Murder, The Killer Gene, The Psychology of Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How To Write a Bloodless Death Scene

The storyline for the novel I’m currently writing calls for one of the characters to be murdered. Simple enough! Shoot or stab the person, or use a dozen other ways to kill off the character. But that didn’t fit with … Continue reading

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Characteristics of Murder, Defining Murder, Developing Better Writing Skills, Drugs For Murder Plots, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Learning the Art of Writing, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Plot Development, Plotting Murder Scenes, The Psychology of Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

E-Liquids = The New Murder Weapon!

For all the wonders of the technological age of today, there are times when life-enhancing advances can turn sinister. One such example is the evolution of e-cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes were first patented in 1963. The mechanism simulates smoking a real … Continue reading

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blogging, Concentrated Liquid Nicotine, Cryptococcus Infection Outbreak, Drug Abuse, Drug Poisoning, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used to Murder, E-Liquids, Electronic Cigarettes, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder by E-Liquid Overdose, Murder By Nicotine Overdose, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Nicotine and Murder, Nicotine Used For Murder, Party Drugs, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used to Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Art of Writing, Tools of Murder, Ways To Kill, Writing Death Scenes, Writing Murder Scenes Using Concentrated Nicotine Liquid | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Scorpion Venom – A Lethal Opportunity!

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!

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

Am I Possessed or Just Becoming a Better Writer?

My guess is that the headline question has you thinking that I might be crazy instead. Well, that’s possible, but I’d like you to reserve judgment until you’ve read further. Something happened a few days ago that has me thinking … Continue reading

Posted in A Non-Murder Plot, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Writing, Achieving Perfection, All About Murder, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character development, Characteristics of Murder, Defining Murder, Developing a Writing Career, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Writing Skills, Drugs For Murder Plots, Growing As A Writer, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Mastering Your Craft, Murder Weapons, Murder With Drugs, Overcoming Writer's Block, Plot Development, Plotting Murder Scenes, Plotting Novellas, Plotting Short Stories, Protagonist Development, The Art of Writing, Ways To Kill, Writing Critique Groups, Writing Workshops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Powdered Glass – An Instrument of Death?

Let’s say that you have this particularly nasty villain in your novel and you want to kill him off in some unique way. You have a brilliant idea—crush some glass into fine shards and mix them in food. Your villain will … Continue reading

Posted in About James J. Murray, All About Murder, All About Writing, Broken Glass and Murder, Crushed Glass and Murder, Glass Shards and Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Murder Weapons, Powdered Glass and Murder, Tools for Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments