scijessreads

V is for Venom is for fans of Agatha Christie, crime novels, the science of poisons, and anyone interested in learning new things. I grew up reading Agatha Christie books and watching the TV adaptations of the Hercule Poirot stories with my dad. Reading V is for Venom brought back fond memories, and added new context to some of the various methods of murder most foul that Christie subjected her characters to.

I loved the mix of scientific explanation of the poisons and other chemicals used in the novels. There was a decent amount of solid scientific explanation for how they worked, were normally used, and how Christie folded them into her own storytelling. I also learned how Christie herself worked with pharmaceuticals, which I had not been aware of before. This was written in both an informative and engaging manner, which made it fun to learn. If all textbooks could be written like this, showing the details along with real accounts and those from the crime novels, it could make classes a lot more fun.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book for the science and/or true crime nerd.

I read this early as an ARC (but am a little late posting my review here, the book is available as of 6/24/25). All opinions are my own.