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olliekcarlson's review against another edition
2.0
This book started out with a bang! Such a great first story with lots of intrigue and a hefty dose of shock. And it just went downhill from there. So many (the vast majority) of stories felt like I was being told the same thing. Yup, another murdering wife figure using arsenic. The few stories peppered in between the arsenic tales were interesting but felt so drawn out that I just wanted the chapters to end.
alexandrabree's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
Once slogging through the garbage "women are the most overlooked underrated type of mammal" rant that the book decided to start with. Peppered with the proper third-wave feminist terminology and nonsense about female oppression and aggression and the male fear *huge eye roll**facepalm*
The actual stories are wonderfully written, although most of the women included I had read about before and I found a few things lacking in detail. I was hoping for less well-known cases and looking for something more like "the five" where it was a totally novel approach (in that case focused on victims rather than killers)
Would recommend, but ignore the first segment or you will choke on the politics
Once slogging through the garbage "women are the most overlooked underrated type of mammal" rant that the book decided to start with. Peppered with the proper third-wave feminist terminology and nonsense about female oppression and aggression and the male fear *huge eye roll**facepalm*
The actual stories are wonderfully written, although most of the women included I had read about before and I found a few things lacking in detail. I was hoping for less well-known cases and looking for something more like "the five" where it was a totally novel approach (in that case focused on victims rather than killers)
Would recommend, but ignore the first segment or you will choke on the politics
kelseyallen's review
informative
fast-paced
5.0
loved how this was written, already planning to read this author’s second book on female scam artists!
sunflowerhexe's review against another edition
4.0
All in all - I liked this book.
Less murderers listed than I expected, honestly. The writing style is engaging, and grabbing without being overtly sexual or tantalizing regarding the women and their crimes. I daresay the author views some of them with a sympathetic eye - all too aware of the times and places they come from.
Less murderers listed than I expected, honestly. The writing style is engaging, and grabbing without being overtly sexual or tantalizing regarding the women and their crimes. I daresay the author views some of them with a sympathetic eye - all too aware of the times and places they come from.
captwinghead's review against another edition
2.0
While this book detailed some crimes I'd never heard of before, it wasn't all that compelling to read. In all the true crime books I've read, this book was incredibly dry, overlong and a little cringe-y at times. The embellishments sounded as though the author was trying to be a showman and add some drama to the bleak material which made sense when discussing the way newspapers of the time sensationalized crime, but not so much when it was simply detailing sentencing or trials.
The women all fell into 2 categories - brutally violent or poisoners. That's it. I thought the author went with women that influenced the way the public views female killers today. The murderous grandmothers, heartless black widows and brutal noblewomen. However, I only recognized 5 of the crimes (Nannie Doss, Mary Ann Cotten, Bathory, the Bloody Benders and the women in Hungary). This book doesn't detail the most famous female killers that influenced other sensationalized archetypes of female killers: Aileen Wuornos, Judy Buenoano, Dorothea Puente, or really anyone that was around post 1950? It was very odd.
Perhaps their intent was to talk about women that aren't as well known. Except, these famous cases influenced the way female killers are viewed today. Even more so than some of the women that were noted here.
This book ultimately felt really, really repetitive because of the reoccurring methods, motives and the author continuously driving home the point that the women's appearances determined their media coverage and if they couldn't make the crime exciting and erotic, the press would criticize the women for being homely and evil. Truly, I thought this book went around in circles repeatedly.
So, while I think this would've made for an interesting essay, as a book, it was overlong and kind of boring. Not a recommend from me.
The women all fell into 2 categories - brutally violent or poisoners. That's it. I thought the author went with women that influenced the way the public views female killers today. The murderous grandmothers, heartless black widows and brutal noblewomen. However, I only recognized 5 of the crimes (Nannie Doss, Mary Ann Cotten, Bathory, the Bloody Benders and the women in Hungary). This book doesn't detail the most famous female killers that influenced other sensationalized archetypes of female killers: Aileen Wuornos, Judy Buenoano, Dorothea Puente, or really anyone that was around post 1950? It was very odd.
Perhaps their intent was to talk about women that aren't as well known. Except, these famous cases influenced the way female killers are viewed today. Even more so than some of the women that were noted here.
This book ultimately felt really, really repetitive because of the reoccurring methods, motives and the author continuously driving home the point that the women's appearances determined their media coverage and if they couldn't make the crime exciting and erotic, the press would criticize the women for being homely and evil. Truly, I thought this book went around in circles repeatedly.
So, while I think this would've made for an interesting essay, as a book, it was overlong and kind of boring. Not a recommend from me.
heroineinabook's review against another edition
5.0
As Tefler says in the conclusion of the book, when you hear about female serial killers, it's one of two responses: laughter or disbelief. Women can't really kill, can they? And if so, why?
Female serial killers do exist, despite what the FBI has to say, and they are just as deadly as men.
Some of these answers are found within LADY KILLERS. Women killed for love, revenge, ownership of their lives, and sometimes they were just plain evil and cruel. Tefler takes us on a very brief jaunt through history and countries showcasing over a dozen women through the ages and attempts to tease out the whys and wherefores of why these women killed.
Tofler points out that stats are nebulous for female serial killers since they are not treated like their male counterparts. She left out some other juicy stories because the facts were thin or the stories could not be verified other than by folk tales and scattered histories. She does point out that the likely hood of being killed by a female serial killer is 1:90,000,000. I think we'll be okay.
LADY KILLERS is wonderfully written, easy and accessible, without being heavy handed. Highly recommend.
Female serial killers do exist, despite what the FBI has to say, and they are just as deadly as men.
Some of these answers are found within LADY KILLERS. Women killed for love, revenge, ownership of their lives, and sometimes they were just plain evil and cruel. Tefler takes us on a very brief jaunt through history and countries showcasing over a dozen women through the ages and attempts to tease out the whys and wherefores of why these women killed.
Tofler points out that stats are nebulous for female serial killers since they are not treated like their male counterparts. She left out some other juicy stories because the facts were thin or the stories could not be verified other than by folk tales and scattered histories. She does point out that the likely hood of being killed by a female serial killer is 1:90,000,000. I think we'll be okay.
LADY KILLERS is wonderfully written, easy and accessible, without being heavy handed. Highly recommend.