The Scarlet Seed of Death

photo from author’s collection

A small scarlet seed used by jewelers could be an untapped murder tool in the hands of a mystery author.

Jequirity beans, also known as rosary peas, come from the Abrus precatorius bean. These beans contain a protein known as abrin, which is highly toxic to humans. Unfortunately for mystery authors, we don’t know the amount one might need to make another ill. But we do know that symptoms of A. precatorius poisoning…