20th Law Week event. A is for Arsenic, D Is for Death Cap.

Exploring the many dimensions of poison as the ‘women’s weapon’ will be Chloe Hooper, co-author of The Mushroom Tapes; Linda Glowacki, toxicologist from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine & Angela Savage on Agatha Christie and poisons; and host Vikki Petraitis.

Poison was historically considered the archetypal ‘woman’s weapon’ as it required no special strength, only access and opportunity, things generally afforded women in their domestic role. Or is this an old, made-up sawhorse?

The 2025 trial of Erin Patterson for the murder of three people by death cap mushrooms attracted global attention and reignited the old debate about women and poisons. Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner, and Sarah Krasnostein, three of Australia’s most celebrated nonfiction writers, covered the trial. Their book, The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Trial (Text Publishing) is a true-crime book like no other—a unique study of Erin Patterson and our collective obsession with her strange and terrible crime. It was Readings’ top-selling book last year.  

Agatha Christie used poison as a murder weapon in over 30 of her mystery novels, leveraging her expert knowledge as a World War I hospital dispenser to craft accurate, often undetectable methods. Her most common poisons—cyanide, arsenic, strychnine, and nicotine—were chosen for their specific physiological effects, with her meticulous accuracy even prompting real-life medical and clinical cases. 

Chloe Hooper is a multi-award-winning author of two novels and two other works of non-fiction, The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire (Hamish Hamilton 2018) and The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (2008) which won the Victorian, New South Wales, West Australian and Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards, as well as the John Button Prize for Political Writing, the 2009 Davitt (True Crime) and a Ned Kelly Award for crime writing. Her two novels are A Child’s Book of True Crime, the joint winner of the 2003 Davitt (Adult Fiction), and The Engagement.

Linda Glowacki has been the Manager of the toxicology laboratory at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) since 2016. She has extensive experience in the analysis of drugs in biological samples, having worked for seven years investigating drugs in the racing industry prior to changing her focus to drug and poison analysis in people.

At the VIFM, Linda and the toxicology team are responsible for the analysis of drugs and poisons in reportable deaths for the Coroners Court of Victoria, as well as case work for Victoria police, including the presence of drugs in drugs and driving cases, drug facilitated crimes and more recently samples collected from patients that present at emergency departments with suspected illicit drug intoxications for the Emerging drugs network of Australia – Victoria.

Linda has always been fascinated by fictional and non-fictional crime stories, medical documentaries, and has an inquisitive mind. She loves the challenge of puzzles and solving problems, which has probably shaped her career path.

Angela Savage is an award-winning writer and CEO of Public Libraries Victoria. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing, giving her the Bond-villain-like name of Doctor Savage.

She won the 2011 Scarlet Stiletto Award and is the author of Mother of Pearl, a work of literary fiction, and three crime novels. Angela recently co-edited Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist, an anthology inspired by Kylie Minogue songs.

Vikki Petraitis is the author of 20 books, including The Frankston Murders, and the creator of globally popular podcasts with Casefile Presents that have been downloaded over 10 million times. Her novel The Unbelieved won the inaugural 2022 Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize and the 2023 Readers’ Choice Davitt Award. and will premiere as an ABC TV series starring Anna Torv this year. In 2025, she released its sequel The Stolen, while completing her PhD. The third book in the series is out this year. Her latest true crime book is The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron.

Men or ‘brothers-in-law’ welcome.

Additional information: Carmel Shute, Programming Coordinator, 0412 569 356; admin@sistersincrime.org.au