Tag Archives: Science of murder

ANTIMONY – A Shimmery Toxic Metal

Antimony is a naturally-occurring metal usually found in ore deposits. Although it is a rare element, it’s extensively used in the manufacturing industry and is present in many household items. Its appearance is described as “a silvery, luscious gray metal” … 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, All About Murder, Antimony and Murder Mysteries, Antimony Poisoning, Antimony Uses and Misuses, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Chemicals Used For Murder, Creating Emotional Drama in a Murder Scene, 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, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Killing Off Characters in Writing, Killing Off Characters in Your Novel, Lethal Chemical Poisons, Lethal Poisons, Methods of Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Poisons Used For Murder, Prescription For Murder Blog, The Perfect Poison, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walking Dead Syndrome

I realize that the Halloween holiday is now behind us, but all that spooky stuff and people dressed up as zombies reminded me of a blog I did a couple years ago about an interesting medical disease known as Cotard’s … Continue reading

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, All About Writing, Almost Dead, Blog Writers, Blogging, Cotard Delusion, Cotard's and Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Cotard's and Distorted Body Image, Cotard's Syndrome, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Creating Unique and Interesting Character Flaws, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Story Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Ideas for Murder Scenes, James J. Murray Blog, Jules Cotard, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Neuroscience, Neuroscience and Murder, People Who Live in a Graveyard, Plot Ideas and Where They Come From, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Science-Based Zombies, The Art of Storytelling, The Medical Zombie State, The Practice of Pharmacy, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead Syndrome, The Zombie Disease, Treatments for Cotard's Syndrome, Treatments for Walking Dead Syndrome, Unique Murder Plots, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes, Zombie Wannabe | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lying for a Living!

FICTION => A Believable Lie -> Taking a small bit of truth or fact and evolving that into a web of deceit, dishonesty or lethal acts (at least in my novels). That’s what we do as fiction writers. We lie … Continue reading

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, About James J. Murray, About Writing, All About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Characteristics of Killing, Creating Emotional Drama in a Murder Scene, Creating Interesting Fiction Characters, Developing Better Writing Skills, Facts About Lying, Fiction Writing - A Believable Lie, How Dishonesty Can Escalate, How Lying Affects The Brain, James J. Murray Blog, Life Skills, Lying and Brain Activity, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Neuroscience, Neuroscience and Murder, New Blog, Plot Ideas and Where They Come From, Practice Makes Perfect, Prescription For Murder Blog, Studies on Lying, The Act of Lying, The Art of Writing, The Psychology of Murder, The Science of Murder, Writing Skills, Writing Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lethal Adrenaline Rush

Adrenaline is our friend! It’s one of those hormones that floods our bodies when we severely injure ourselves, feel afraid, or do strenuous exercise. It’s known as “the fight or flight hormone” (along with some help from norepinephrine and dopamine). … 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, Adrenaline Overdose, Adrenaline Rush, Adrenaline Used For Murder, Adrenoline and The Fight or Flight Response, All About Murder, Anaphylaxis, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Chemicals Used For Murder, Creating Emotional Drama in a Murder Scene, Deciding How to Kill Off a Character in a Novel, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Storyline Ideas, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drugs For Murder Plots, Drugs Used For Murder, Epinephrine and The Fight or Flight Response, Epinephrine Overdose, Epinephrine 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, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Chemicals in Murder Mysteries, Misuse of Drugs, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Drugs, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Plotting Interesting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Psychoactive Designer Drugs, The Science of Murder, Tools of Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Using Adrenaline in a Murder Scene, Using Epinephrine in a Murder Scene, Ways to Murder, Writing Death Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

DEA Lowers the BOOM on Kratom!

The herb kratom from the leaves of the tropical tree Mitragyna speciosa which grows in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia has been used for centuries in folk medicine as a psychoactive drug to improve mood and relieve pain. More … Continue reading

Posted in A New Drug Abuse Threat, A New Street Drug, About Ancient Forgotten Cures, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Alternatives to Opiate Painkillers, Ancient Curing Potions, Blog About Poisons in Fiction Writing, Blog Trends, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Botanical Murder Weapons, Botanicals That Kill, Current Research on Kratom, Deaths From Kratom, Designer Drug Deaths, Designer Drugs of The Past, Designer Street Drugs, Designing Murder Plots, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Drug Abuse, Euphoric Party Drugs, Herbal Pain Killers, How To Write A BloodLess Murder Scene, Ideas for Murder Scenes, James J. Murray Blog, Kratom Abuse, Kratom and Its History, Kratom to Relieve Pain, Lethal Botanicals, Medical Potential of Kratom, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Party Drugs, New Blog, New Drug Research, New Ways to Manufacture Painkillers, Prescription For Murder Blog, Psychoactive Designer Drugs, Street Drug Abuse Substances, Street Drug Overdosing, Street Drugs From History, Street Drugs of The Past, The Science of Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Foods Can Kill

I often write about poisons and toxins that kill, but 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 reading, but a devastating reality is … Continue reading

Posted in A How To Blog on Murder Plot Ideas, A Non-Murder Plot, About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, About Murder, About Writing, Blog Writers, Blogging, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Characteristics of Killing, Children and Food Allergies, Common Food Allergies, Deadly Food, Designing Murder Plots, Developing Effective and Compelling Fictional Heroes, Dramatic Murder Weapons, Food Allergies on the Rise, Foods and Lethal Allergic Responses, 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, Interesting Murder Weapons, James J. Murray Blog, Lethal Agents and Murder, Lethal Food Allergies, Lethal Substances Used For Murder, Murder Mayhem and Medicine, Murder Weapons Discussed, Murder With Food, New Blog, New Methods of Murder, New Methods To Kill Characters in Your Novel, Nutrition and Murder, Peanut Allergies, Peanut Oil as a Poison, Plotting Murder Scenes, Prescription For Murder Blog, Severe Allergies Used For Murder, Severe Food Allergies, The Art of Writing, the perfect murder weapon, Tools for Murder, Unique Murder Plots, Unique Murder Weapons, Ways to Murder, Writing Dramatic Murder Scenes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Got Milk or Brucellosis?

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

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

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

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