A Different Side of Asimov

A Whiff of Death
Isaac Asimov
Publisher: Lancer (1958)
Mass Market Paperback: 210 pages
Rating: 5 stars of 5 possible

Some of you may know that Isaac Asimov was famous for his science fiction novels and short stories and that he wrote other books, also mostly science related. A Whiff of Death is both different and not different than Asimov's usual books.  It's different because it is not science fiction, nor is it straight science as were so many books he wrote. It is a murder mystery.

It's not too different though because, like most of what Isaac Asimov wrote, A Whiff of Death has a background in science too; in this case, chemistry.  Now, I've never studied chemistry myself so I don't know how solid, how accurate the science is in the book; but it seemed very plausible to me.  There is a lot of suspense and many of the typical red herrings buried in this story.

I was rather surprised at the end because I had believed someone else was the culprit.  All in all, I have to say I liked A Whiff of Death.  It was refreshingly different than most of what I've been reading lately.  Though it is old (published in 1958) it was a worthy addition to my reading list.