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marieintheraw's review against another edition
3.0
The writing style sometimes fails to balance the author's wit (and remarks) and the subject matter discussed...which is a hard line to toe.
shirley098's review against another edition
Wrong expectations; was expecting play-by-play looks into the lives of each of the women, but instead got speedruns through their deeds, investigations, and eventual deaths. Was also a bit uneven tone-wise, going from loose and un-serious then to lessons on morality.
From the chapters I did read, Erzsébet Báthory (cruel, bloody, un-caring) and Nannie Doss (narcissistic, petty, starlet) stood out.
Memorable quotes:
If there's one word I would use to describe the women in this book (other than "yikes"), it would be "hustle". Time and again I found myself gasping in grudging admiration at the number if jobs these ladies worked the number of husbands they conned, the number of times they fooled the authorities.
These lady killers were clever, bad tempered, conniving, seductive, reckless, self-serving, delusional, and willing to do whatever it took to claw their way into what they saw as a better life. They were ruthless and inflexible. They were lost and confused. They were psychopaths and child slayers. But they were not wolves. They were not vampires. They were not men. Time and again, the record shows: they were horrifying, quintessentially, inescapably human.
From the chapters I did read, Erzsébet Báthory (cruel, bloody, un-caring) and Nannie Doss (narcissistic, petty, starlet) stood out.
Memorable quotes:
If there's one word I would use to describe the women in this book (other than "yikes"), it would be "hustle". Time and again I found myself gasping in grudging admiration at the number if jobs these ladies worked the number of husbands they conned, the number of times they fooled the authorities.
These lady killers were clever, bad tempered, conniving, seductive, reckless, self-serving, delusional, and willing to do whatever it took to claw their way into what they saw as a better life. They were ruthless and inflexible. They were lost and confused. They were psychopaths and child slayers. But they were not wolves. They were not vampires. They were not men. Time and again, the record shows: they were horrifying, quintessentially, inescapably human.
valentina_legge's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Vomit, Blood, and Torture
shhchar's review against another edition
5.0
I was first drawn to crime literature after reading Lost Girls by Robert Kolker, an engrossing and ultimately frustrating (for its unsolved nature) look at a serial killer who killed early-Internet sex workers and left their bodies on the side of a Cape Cod beach. This doesn't have much to do with Tori Telfer's book, but this genre in and of itself forces its consumer to take a look at their own place in the narrative more than any other genre.
Why are we drawn to wound culture? I still don't really know, but Telfer sure does an amazing job at balancing this complicated question of humanity with tasteful wit and compelling storytelling. As a fan of Jezebel, I saw the tone of the outlet reflected in Telfer's unique writing style. I am not usually one for short stories -- I don't even read novellas from my favorite series -- but it was the ideal structure to give each woman their own story as well as an insight into the cultural setting and relevancy. Each story ended when it needed to (many women didn't have enough historical data to warrant more pages) but still had me wishing I could Google more about a murder that happened in the 1300s.
The biggest takeaways I had from this book weren't necessarily new ones. Women did often use poison, because who else had access to the kitchen? Beauty really did come in handy, especially in Chicago in the 1920s. But more just learning what I already knew, Telfer drove home themes of class inequality, oppression, abuse, and simply being misunderstood in a way that has never before been applied to female serial killers. Even though such themes have been applied to male serial killers many times over.
If you're into the true crime, this should be a compulsory read. Maybe we'll have reliable statistics on female serial killers one day, but then again, what an odd thing to wish.
Why are we drawn to wound culture? I still don't really know, but Telfer sure does an amazing job at balancing this complicated question of humanity with tasteful wit and compelling storytelling. As a fan of Jezebel, I saw the tone of the outlet reflected in Telfer's unique writing style. I am not usually one for short stories -- I don't even read novellas from my favorite series -- but it was the ideal structure to give each woman their own story as well as an insight into the cultural setting and relevancy. Each story ended when it needed to (many women didn't have enough historical data to warrant more pages) but still had me wishing I could Google more about a murder that happened in the 1300s.
The biggest takeaways I had from this book weren't necessarily new ones. Women did often use poison, because who else had access to the kitchen? Beauty really did come in handy, especially in Chicago in the 1920s. But more just learning what I already knew, Telfer drove home themes of class inequality, oppression, abuse, and simply being misunderstood in a way that has never before been applied to female serial killers. Even though such themes have been applied to male serial killers many times over.
If you're into the true crime, this should be a compulsory read. Maybe we'll have reliable statistics on female serial killers one day, but then again, what an odd thing to wish.
nicoleswanson's review against another edition
5.0
This was, strangely, a refreshing book about serial killers. The way that the author approaches the subject is with a considerable amount of humanity. She seems to try very hard to avoid sensationalizing the crimes and to point out when it was done in their time. The women aren’t romanticized but they also aren’t made out to be demons- indeed, the author is careful to remind us that doing so is a way of excusing murder. If a murderer is inhuman than how can we have ever expected humanity of them?
Given a couple years for the details to grow foggy I’d happily read again, and definitely recommend.
Given a couple years for the details to grow foggy I’d happily read again, and definitely recommend.