Reviews

Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer

dhasenkampf's review against another edition

3.0

This was okay. Most of the chapters I thought were pretty well done. There couldn't be much depth to the women because most of them have been dead for hundreds of years. There was very little from the women themselves because most of them didn't leave anything in their own writing. Mostly we get observations from the press at the time or court records. I thought the author did a good job of exploring the culture and time period that women lived in and speculating on the effects those would've had on the lady killers. This was good to pick up and read a chapter or two at a time. It was too repetitive and shallow to binge read, however. 

rosietheripper's review against another edition

4.0

i’ve ready many true crime and serial killer books, and this was the first time i’ve heard of any of these women. so for that, i was intrigued. i think the author did a pretty good job of balancing on the fine line of not glamorizing and still admonishing these terrible women while acknowledging why they might have turned into killers.

regallyjay's review against another edition

dark informative fast-paced

4.0

suba's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

2.5

This was a little underwhelming. I loved the premise, but wasn’t impressed with the book. It was an easy/quick read, but the most interesting woman was the first one covered in the book. 

korusurok's review

dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

micasreads's review against another edition

3.0

Author: Tori Telfer
Narrator: Jamie Lamchick
Started: March 9, 2024
Finished: March 12, 2023=4
Format: Digital
Genre: True Crime

Serial killers have always been men, haven't they? Women are usually the victims of violent crime but according to one FBI profiler there are no female serial killers...but he's wrong. This book covers the stories of several female serial killers from the past and offers insight into how female serial killers kill.

A book about a female serial killer other than Aileen Wournos is rare so I thought this would be something interesting.. While the author tries to make every story seem interesting and new - all of the stories chosen seem the same. The majority of the killers did away with their victims by poisoning - a female way of killing evidently. She does give voice to the fact that female killers are seen through a sexual lens as opposed to a violent one which is a grave mistake - females can be psychopaths just like men. The narration was wonderfully done and added to the enjoyment of the book, I just wish the book had more substance to it.

ghostlydreamer's review against another edition

dark funny informative medium-paced

5.0

It's not often I find myself drawn to a nonfiction book the way I was with Lady Killers. Usually my experience with nonfiction is I find a topic I'm interested in, find a book to read, and am inevitably disappointed in how dry the information is conveyed. That was not the case with Lady Killers. I loved every single moment of this book.

Something I really appreciated about this book was the author's sense of humor. I was genuinely laughing (ironic, when you're reading a book about murder and death) at some of the phrases the author used to describe the...antics...of our titular lady killers. They took a heavy subject and lightened it (not to the point of flippancy), which not only made it easier to understand, but more...palettable. The information was easy to digest, and my interest didn't fade once.

Something unique about this book is the lens through which we read it. The author draws many comparisons between how murder is viewed when committed by a man as opposed to a female. How society views it, how the media portrays it. How men are the expected killers, while women are either the devil incarnate because they're too sexual for their own good, or are otherwise too sweet, too maternal, too prim and proper to be a killer. Your looks matter, your wealth matters, and your motives...sometimes don't, depending on the other two factors. It was truly fascinating, because it isn't often we look at the subject this way. I think if you want a detailed synopsis on different female killers throughout history set against a sociological lens, this is the book for you.

And that's the other thing. This book featured many different killers from many different eras and locations, some recent, and many even considered ancient. We see how these women have transformed into myth and legend. Tales to scare little children from doing bad things. We are shown some who have made names for themselves, like Countess Bathory, and others who have been largely forgotten from time. This myth that women don't kill, can't kill, or haven't killed until recently, is debunked almost immediately. I think murderous thoughts do not discriminate; man, woman, or other, you could be just as susceptible to this as anyone else, and don't let the media's portrayal fool you otherwise.

I feel like I left this book having actually learned something. I didn't gloss over anything, my eyes tired and heavy from so much information. I didn't wish that it was over sooner. I took my sweet time with the book, and I genuinely wish more nonfiction, more true crime, was written this way. I waw fascinated. Call it a morbid fascination, I don't care. I'm just glad I finally read this. Some of the information is mind-boggling, infuriating, even sad. But it is so interesting, for someone who is continuously intrigued by the human mind and how our experiences and environments often shape that.

If you're at all interested in the history of female serial killers, something which the media often pretends didn't exist until the last century, then this is the right book for you. I eagerly await more from this author, and hope others take note of it as well.

suhmown's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.5

TLDR: this should’ve been called “Lady Poisoners” 

Some of these stories were fascinating and detailed and shocking and others felt like Telfer was trying desperately to call someone a “serial killer”. 

audioandereadergrrly's review against another edition

5.0

I was going to rate this a 4 but then the audiobook had some of the best credit music I’ve ever heard in an audiobook, so I bumped my rating to 5.

theboldbookworm's review against another edition

4.0

I typically don't like true crime anthologies that much because I already know all the cases. I really enjoyed this one and I had only heard of a few of the cases. There is a lot of poisoning going on in this book since that is how a lot of ladies like to kill, but there is some torture and very gruesome murders as well. These cases take place mostly in the 1800s with a couple in the 1700s and 1900s. There were some very interesting cases here and I enjoyed learning about some new ones. These women were ruthless in both how and who they killed. Some of them killed for money and some of them killed seemingly just for fun.

I recommend this to anyone who likes true crime anthologies or learning about lesser-known female serial killers.