When Pauline Mason died from strychnine poisoning, it was easy to assume she had committed suicide; her husband's infidelity could have driven her to it. However, for John Piper, who is investigating the case on behalf of Pauline's life insurance, there is no doubt that Pauline was murdered. Strangely, Piper initially doesn't even want to know who and why - but rather how. Harry Carmichael (actually Hartley Howard/Leopold Horace Ognall, born June 20, 1908, in Montreal, Quebec, Britain) was a British writer. The novel "Bitter as Strychnine" featuring London private detective John Piper was first published in 1966; a German edition was released in 1971. Signum Verlag is publishing a revised new edition of this classic of crime literature.