The Young Poisoner's Handbook (Young poisoner's handbook, the)

In 1961 in Neasden, a northern suburb of London,14-year-old Graham Young discovers his exceptional gifts for chemistry. Thanks to the equipment he has been given and the books the librarian slips him on the sly, he is soon ready to attempt a rather advanced experiment. Obsessed by antimony and a heavy metal, thallium, he tries to create something beautiful, as he says ... But in no time he is using his knowledge to eliminate anyone who gets in his way: in order to date a girl he is keen on, for instance, he thinks nothing of poisoning his rival. Young Graham then tries out his brilliant theories on his own family, his stepmother in particular ...