Publishing Company Blog | Toxic shock: Agatha Christie’s poisons

Written By Unknown on Saturday, September 5, 2015 | 5:14 AM

The queen of crime is known for her obscure plots and fiendish clues, but her expertise with poisons often goes unnoticed

In the drawing room of an English country house a little old lady sits knitting and discussing the dangers of prescription drugs. Upstairs, a blue poison bottle containing several lethal doses of strychnine is hidden in a drawer. Outside in the kitchen garden some unusual plants are growing among the herbs. On the hall table sits a bag full of pills left behind by the visiting nurse. In the kitchen what looks like sugar has been spilt on a tea tray, or are the small white crystals something else? At the front door a man in a pair of immaculate patent-leather shoes pauses to brush an invisible speck of dust from his lapel before ringing the bell. We are, in all likelihood, in Agatha Christie-land.