Category Archives: Plotting Murder Scenes

TOXIDROMES: Solving The Poison Puzzle

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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Phosphorus – An Enlightened Poison

The name phosphorus comes from a Greek word meaning “bearer of light” and is commercially produced in two predominant forms—white and red phosphorus. In its white phosphorus (WP) structure, WP is a waxy substance that gives off a slight glow … 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, Chemicals Used For Murder, Choosing How a Character Should Die in a Story, Deadly Poisons Discussed, Death From Phosphorus, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, Phosphorus and Murder, Phosphorus Poisoning, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisons and Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, Red Phosphorus, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, White Phosphorus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aconite – A Two-Edged Sword!

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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Mysteries vs Thrillers

A few years ago, mysteries were the hot genre. It seemed as if everyone was reading a mystery novel. The thrill of guessing “Who done it!” was the excitement that kept me, and many others, reading book after book. More … Continue reading

Posted in A Mystery Novel, A Thriller Novel, About James J. Murray, About Writing, Accuracy in Writing, Achieving Writing Perfection, Adrenaline Rush, All About Writing, Better Fiction Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Character Driven Writing, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Better Writing Skills, Developing Story Arcs, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Developing Writing Skills, Difference Between Mysteries and Thrillers, Growing As A Writer, James J. Murray Blog, Mysteries and Thrillers Compared, Mysteries Vs Thrillers, New Blog, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Proper Use of the Written Word, Role of Suspense in Mysteries, Role of Suspense in Thrillers, Story Development, The Art of Storytelling, The Art of Writing, The Writings of James J. Murray, Tools of Fiction Writing, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Perchloric Acid – A Versatile Murder Weapon!

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

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A How To Blog on Murder Weapons, About James J. Murray, About Murder, Acids and Tissue Damage, Acids and Tissue Death, Acids Used to Murder People, Acute Poisons, All About Murder, Almost Dead, Bioterrorism, Blog Writers, Blogging, Chemical Poisons, Chemical Weapons Discussions, Chemicals Used For Murder, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Flesh Eating Acids, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing a Villain in a Novel, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Free E-Book, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, New Murder Mystery Novel, PCA and Murder, PCA as a Superacid and Oxidizer, Perchloric Acid, Perchloric Acid and Murder, Perchloric Acids as a Superacid and Oxidizer, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Strong Acids Used For Murder, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Unique Lethal Compounds, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways To Kill, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Transdermal Poisoning

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

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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, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemical Poisons, Deadly Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorpion Venom, Deathstalker Scorprion, Designer Drug Deaths, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Israeli Yellow Scorpion, Israeli Yellow Scorpion Venom, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Lethal Scorpion Venom, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Drug Discoveries, New Drug Research, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Plotting Murder Scenes, Poisonous Scorpion Venom, Poisons Used For Murder, Scorpion Stings, Scorpion Venom, The Deadliest Scorprion, The Science of Murder, Tools for Murder, Tools of Murder, Types of Deadly Scorpions, Uncategorized, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Foods Can Kill

I often write about poisons and toxins that kill. After all, I write about murder and what better way to kill someone than with a substance that’s lethal but not so easy to detect. Such scenes make for good fiction … Continue reading

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Anaphylaxis, Blog Trends, Blog Writers, Blogging, Children and Food Allergies, Common Food Allergies, Food Allergies on the Rise, Foods and Lethal Allergic Responses, Foods That Kill, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Food Allergies, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder With Food, New Methods of Murder, Peanut Allergies, Peanut Oil as a Poison, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Plotting Murder Scenes, Severe Allergies Used For Murder, Severe Food Allergies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nanoparticles to Cure—And to Kill!

Medical science in the 21st century is increasingly more sophisticated and growing exponentially. One of the more fascinating areas of medical research involves the evolution of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are (in simple terms) small objects that behave as a unit to … 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, Applications of Nanotechnology, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Electromagnetic Nanoparticles, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Instruments of Death, Interesting Murder Weapons, Killing With Lethal Nanoparticles, Medical Uses of Nanotechnology, Nanoparticles in Medicine, Nanoparticles Target and Kill Cancer, Nanoparticles To Cure And Kill, Nanotechnology Used For Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Murder Scenes, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

PRIONS and the Zombie Disease!

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