The Death Dealers is a mystery novel by Isaac Asimov published in 1958 . It is about a university professor whose research student dies while conducting an experiment. The professor attempts to determine if the death was accidental or planned. One Thursday afternoon, Prof. Brade goes to visit his graduate student's laboratory. He finds Ralph Neufeld dead, having inhaled hydrogen cyanide. In his experiment, he had somehow used sodium cyanide instead of sodium acetate, both white powders. Later, Brade is questioned by Detective Doheny, who is in charge of Ralph's case. When he gets home, he... reveals to his wife his suspicions that Ralph's death was murder. She cautions him not to tell this to anyone, as he would destroy any chance of getting associate professorship and tenure. The next day, he meets with the emeritus Cap Anson, who seems to blame him for Ralph's death. They visit the zoo together, and Anson encourages Brade to go into comparative biochemistry.
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