Pure Poison was published by Doubleday in 1966, and it tackles the most methodical form of murder: poisoning. A prominent Stockford citizen dies of poisoning, and Fellows must determine who had the means (access to poison), the opportunity (ability to administer it undetected), and the motive (reason to want the victim dead). The investigation is almost entirely cerebral: there is no chase, no confrontation, no violence — only the patient accumulation of evidence and the logical elimination of possibilities.
Waugh’s choice of poison as the murder method reflects his artistic commitment to realism. Poisoning is the most domestic and least dramatic form of homicide: it typically occurs within families or intimate circles, it requires planning rather than passion, and it is detected (or not detected) through toxicology and circumstance rather than through physical evidence at a crime scene. These characteristics make it the perfect vehicle for a writer interested in the intellectual dimension of police work.
The novel also explores the social dynamics of a New England community confronting the possibility that one of its members is a poisoner — the particular horror of a crime that corrupts the most intimate spaces (the dinner table, the medicine cabinet, the morning coffee) and that can be committed by anyone with access to the victim’s food or drink.
Collecting Pure Poison
First edition (Doubleday, New York, 1966): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $20–$50
- Without jacket: $5–$12