Book Review: Mystery of the Poison Cups

Reviewed by Josie Prado

An unpredictable story of the mysterious deaths of top Democratic candidates

Fast-paced and a real shock to the system, Mystery of the Poison Cups is rather self-explanatory. During a secret emergency meeting of the National Democratic Party’s Election Committee, Bertha Bagley, a top contributor to the party, drinks from a cup laced with cyanide and dies. This event sets the stage for the avalanche to come, focused mostly on Senator Mudbuttom, another member of the Committee, and his family.

Unbeknownst to many, Bertha and Senator Mudbuttom are planning a coup to have Mudbuttom replace the current top candidate, Nix, as the Democratic Presidential election pick. With Bertha’s murder and more deaths from cyanide poisoning happening during the campaign trail, Senator Mudbuttom may face a detour from the White House into a jail cell.

The investigation begins with local police, but as the number of cyanide-related deaths rises following a watch party at the hotel, the FBI steps in to take over. Agents Lewis and Shelton Ledbetter, along with their boss Bob Cummings and his daughter Phyllis, form a task force to identify those responsible and prevent any future attacks. For every rock they lift, though, nefarious political snakes slither out and complicate their case. They would gather evidence and come close to an arrest, only for their prime suspect to be killed. In a room with corrupt politicians, who is actually willing to be cutthroat in the literal sense?

Mystery of the Poison Cups is a compelling exploration of the ultra-wealthy and the political underbelly that prioritizes power over morality. The story is filled with affairs, backstabbing, and complicated family dynamics, all while the characters struggle to maintain a respectable image. Senator Mudbuttom, for example, has a mistress and is simultaneously searching for evidence of his wife’s infidelity to justify divorcing her. The text does not attempt to dulcify any character’s actions; rather, it portrays them naturally and unapologetically. The Mudbuttom family feels like a real, tense family that has learned to survive with one another as opposed to loving each other.

I enjoyed traveling down this winding road of twists and turns, but sometimes I did find myself wanting more of a foundation in the setting to make the plot clearer. The text is primarily in dialogue with limited exposition and description, which is great for the pacing, but leaves some to be desired when it comes to building the conflict. Since everything is happening so quickly with no time reference, it can be difficult to feel impacted by the deaths other than Bertha’s. The shifts between FBI agents to campaign events can also sometimes feel jarring.

For readers looking for a fun, novel approach to murder mystery and politics, Mystery of the Poison Cups would be a great choice. It’s a fast-paced whodunnit for a rainy day, a mystery to solve with the soundtrack of a storm.

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