The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

I'm not particularly interested in poisons, or in the birth of forensic medicine, or in the Jazz Age. But writer Deborah Blum had me from the first sentence of Chapter One: "It would, of course, be in the cursed winter of 1915--when ice storms had glassed over the city, when Typhoid Mary had come sneaking back, when the Manhattan coroner was discovered to be skunk-drunk at crime scenes--that the loony little porter would confess to eight poison murders."Who could resist a sentence like that? Not me. And the rest of the book is just as page-turning and enthralling as the first sentence.The best nonfiction writing combines a strong point of view with a good story (or series of stories) and a compelling voice. This book has all three. Highly recommended--even if you *think* you're not interested in the subject matter.