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    A Beautiful Poison
    A Beautiful Poison
    A Beautiful Poison
    Audiobook11 hours

    A Beautiful Poison

    Written by Lydia Kang

    Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Just beyond the Gilded Age, in the mist-covered streets of New York, the deadly Spanish influenza ripples through the city. But with so many victims in her close circle, young socialite Allene questions if the flu is really to blame. All appear to have been poisoned—and every death was accompanied by a mysterious note.

    Desperate for answers and dreading her own engagement to a wealthy gentleman, Allene returns to her passion for scientific discovery and recruits her long-lost friends, Jasper and Birdie, for help. The investigation brings her closer to Jasper, an apprentice medical examiner at Bellevue Hospital who still holds her heart, and offers the delicate Birdie a last-ditch chance to find a safe haven before her fragile health fails.

    As more of their friends and family die, alliances shift, lives become entangled, and the three begin to suspect everyone—even each other. As they race to find the culprit, Allene, Birdie, and Jasper must once again trust each other, before one of them becomes the next victim.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 2017
    ISBN9781536667882
    A Beautiful Poison
    Author

    Lydia Kang

    Lydia Kang is a physician and author of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Columbia University and New York University School of Medicine. She completed her residency and chief residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City and currently lives in the midwest, where she continues to practice internal medicine.

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    Reviews for A Beautiful Poison

    4/5

    139 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Wonderful characters that are not what they seem to be
    • 4/5
      This is an intriguing book about three friends who had been separated but are now brought together for the engagement party of one of them – Allene, an heiress. She has not seen Jasper – a former member of her set until a series of catastrophes brought him low – and Birdie, her previous lady’s maid for lack of a better description, but whom she considered a friend despite her parents’ disapproval. Allene never understood why Birdie and her mother were so summarily dismissed those years ago.Allene is conflicted about marrying as she doesn’t really care for her fiance and the marriage is really more of a merger between two wealthy families rather than a love story. At the party a young socialite falls down the stairs and she is pronounced dead – rather ruining the party. All is hushed up with the police but Allene and Jasper both suspect that more is going on than a drunken fall. In fact, Jasper notices a smell of bitter almonds.As the friends investigate the death, they also must deal with the looming draft for Jasper and other young men reaching the age of 18. WWI is raging and soldiers are a constant need. In addition a virulent flu has reached the shores of New York and it is killing indiscriminately. As people close to the friends start dying they start questioning relationships they have had for years.This historical mystery covers some dark topics – poisoning, the flu epidemic of 1917, radium, murder, sexual abuse, class differences. Allene is a woman ahead of her time in some ways but due to her privilege she is amazingly blind to a lot of the suffering around her. The story is mostly about relationships whether they be good, bad or abusive.Ms. Kang does an excellent job of bringing the period alive through descriptions of the neighborhoods – both upper class and poor. Her characters are distinct and well defined. I also appreciated the various lessons woven so well into the story on forensics, chemistry and medicine. I love a book where I learn something without feeling like I’m reading a textbook, I will admit to being surprised at the ending which is always a good thing.
    • 5/5
      Great historical fiction and brilliant twists and surprises. Great characters.
    • 3/5
      The book started off with a great premise: three childhood friends reunited to solve a murder. The setting was the end of The Great War where girls worked in factories painting clock dials with radium. The Spanish influenza was also raging. With all this going for it, I thought the book had great potential. However with a plethora of red herrings and minor characters it turned out to be a convoluted who dunnit with too many story lines, shallow characters, and a disappointing ending. 350 pages 3 stars (for history background and potential).
    • 5/5
      A stunningly crafted mystery with a twisting plot and very unexpected ending. The author excelled in character development and scene description. Listened on audiobooks. The reader was excellent.
    • 3/5
      The book started off with a great premise: three childhood friends reunited to solve a murder. The setting was the end of The Great War where girls worked in factories painting clock dials with radium. The Spanish influenza was also raging. With all this going for it, I thought the book had great potential. However with a plethora of red herrings and minor characters it turned out to be a convoluted who dunnit with too many story lines, shallow characters, and a disappointing ending. 350 pages 3 stars (for history background and potential).
    • 4/5
      Underlying is an interesting eeryness

      Characters inter-relate and cause you to form opinions and to choose favorites. But, in the end a lot of the elements you used to rate their value (wealth, social awareness, hard work, resilience, beauty, intellect, and loyalty) and choose who was to your liking and who was not - are twisted and turned into an ending that turns from the macabre and delivers a few glimmers of hope.
    • 4/5
      I found this was an enjoyable book to read. I like history and the forensic aspects, as well as the stark differences in social classes that the author paints so vividly, highlighted even more by the complete ignorance by Allene as to the realities most people faced if they weren't incredibly wealthy. It also felt like the she grew and matured more as she became more exposed, and it helped her break free from her parents gilded cage and grow into more of an adult who wasn't afraid to voice her own opinions and make her own decisions. I really liked that. She isn't a very likeable character, especially at first, but she grows more in depth and humanity by the end, and I think it redeems her somewhat.The murder mystery part was interesting, but I feel like the author switched things up at one point in a way that didn't make sense. That along with some other issues made me rate it less than I might have otherwise. The note aspect was an interesting touch, but the timing felt odd. Like the note found in the book could have been found at any time... it might not have been found for years. And the notes mailed... if they truly went through the mail, how could the killer be sure that when the note was read, the deed would have just been done? But I mostly brushed that aside and just enjoyed the ride. It did keep me up very late until I finished the book. I also found that the chemistry between the characters fell a bit flat, despite so much going on about how they were inseparable and had an almost obsessive need to be with each other, yet it seemed like they had simply not bothered to contact each other much for years. Allene, maybe was understandable due to her parents feelings, but why wouldn't Jasper and Birdie have continued to be in contact? I also found they weren't particularly likeable people, especially Allene, but Birdie and Jasper as well. Still it was written well and made for an interesting read and I always enjoy seeing how different kinds of families operate, including ones that are very dysfunctional. The difficulty of loving parents that are abusive or neglectful or who have disappointed in major ways is always tainted by the anger and hate felt by the child as the victim who suffers, and too often is ignored. Overall, despite my little issues with the book, I thought it was written well and I enjoyed reading it and following what happened to everyone, and would definitely read more by this author.SPOILERS BELOW*******************************I found it unbelievable that Allene, with her knowledge of chemical elements didn't immediately know why Birdie was glowing, or consider radium as something that might have been to blame for her failing health. I realize that they didn't know yet that radium was so toxic and deadly, but still... she just didn't comment on it at all, which I found surprising with her obscure and indepth knowledge of chemistry and the elements. I also found the fact that they didn't notice she was really ill until she broke a bone somewhat hard to believe. And I also found that the ending surprise as to who was really behind the killings didn't fit. There was no indication of the killer's true motivation or feelings earlier in the book even thought it had passages written from the different characters point of views, where the reader could read their thoughts. That felt kind of like a bait and switch. Maybe it there had been more hints, even subtle ones, thrown in, that looking back you could see would fit into place with the motivation of the killer at the end, but ... that was a bit of an issue for me.
    • 4/5
      everyone is terrible and i love them
    • 5/5
      Highly recommend to my mystery, my medical, and my historical fiction readers!! Will be reading more from this author!! Was shocked by who the murder was, and enjoyed this immensely!!
    • 4/5
      3.5 The Gilded Age, Manhattan 191, the night of Allene's engagement party, and things have taken a horrible turn. A young woman is found dead, at the bottom of the stairs, a woman many did not like. Was it an accident as it appears on murder? The police think accident, a decision aided by Allene's father, who wants only to avoid a scandal.When they were younger Jasper, Birdie and Allene had been inseparable, great friends who shared in all kinds of adventures. Now at eighteen things are very different, their lives taking different paths. They will however, join together to solve this mystery, convinced there is poison involved in the death. Allene has a fierce love of chemistry, Birdie working at a radium dial painting factory (this is years before it was known just how dangers this was) and Jasper is working in the mortuary. I enjoyed the tone of this novel, reminded me a little of a Nancy Drew story for grownups, this was both fun and serious at the same time. The horrible deaths from influenza also plays an important part as more bodies are found, each close to one of the three friends. Thought the author did a very good job combining real history with made up events. Secrets, well yes there are always secrets, are exposed, things you don't expect happen, and all in all I found this a very entertaining read.ARC from Netgalley.
    • 4/5
      This is an intriguing book about three friends who had been separated but are now brought together for the engagement party of one of them – Allene, an heiress. She has not seen Jasper – a former member of her set until a series of catastrophes brought him low – and Birdie, her previous lady’s maid for lack of a better description, but whom she considered a friend despite her parents’ disapproval. Allene never understood why Birdie and her mother were so summarily dismissed those years ago.Allene is conflicted about marrying as she doesn’t really care for her fiance and the marriage is really more of a merger between two wealthy families rather than a love story. At the party a young socialite falls down the stairs and she is pronounced dead – rather ruining the party. All is hushed up with the police but Allene and Jasper both suspect that more is going on than a drunken fall. In fact, Jasper notices a smell of bitter almonds.As the friends investigate the death, they also must deal with the looming draft for Jasper and other young men reaching the age of 18. WWI is raging and soldiers are a constant need. In addition a virulent flu has reached the shores of New York and it is killing indiscriminately. As people close to the friends start dying they start questioning relationships they have had for years.This historical mystery covers some dark topics – poisoning, the flu epidemic of 1917, radium, murder, sexual abuse, class differences. Allene is a woman ahead of her time in some ways but due to her privilege she is amazingly blind to a lot of the suffering around her. The story is mostly about relationships whether they be good, bad or abusive.Ms. Kang does an excellent job of bringing the period alive through descriptions of the neighborhoods – both upper class and poor. Her characters are distinct and well defined. I also appreciated the various lessons woven so well into the story on forensics, chemistry and medicine. I love a book where I learn something without feeling like I’m reading a textbook, I will admit to being surprised at the ending which is always a good thing.