Scan barcode
kaylo88's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This book is beautifully written and from the very first pages you get sucked into the story.
The author is a really clever storyteller with the ability to make facts and historical accounts come to life as if they were a novel and it almost made it more shocking every time I reminded myself that these events were real.
My main criticism is the constant descriptions of Auntie Suzy as being fat. We get it, she was a big lady but not almost every chapter needed to tell us how big she was or how she moved her chubby hands etc.
At first, I wanted to give the the author the benefit of the doubt, after all this was a woman who took whatever she wanted as payment by literally taking items from the poorest people who had next to nothing and making sure she was always well cared for on top of her wage. So in a sense I think the author wanted the reader to understand that greed was a motivation and so understanding her size added to this description. However, it was just overdone and I do not think it was needed so often.
The book was also really descriptive. I really enjoyed this side of the storytelling. The sights and especially the smells really made you feel like you were there this is something that you often don't get any understanding of in non fiction books or in historical writing on the whole. But I really felt like the history was coming off the pages reading the stink of some of the characters, the smell of the houses and the atmosphere of the village. However, I would add that at times this did slow the pace of the book down. I really wanted to get down to the nitty gritty of the interrogations but the last third of the book slowed quite considerably.
The author touches upon several important topics which really created a disasterous cocktail in this case. Firstly, the treatment of woman at the time. The beatings, rape and their treatment by some men was atrocious and add the fact that family planning was little to nothing meant that often unwanted pregnancies happened yearly. Is it little wonder that some women sought to end their suffering in the only way they could? Having said that, it also showed how women could use and manipulate the men in their lives and even at times when there was no evidence of poor treatment, these women could kill loved ones in the most awful way. In my opinion, they got away with it for so long because the men thought too little of the women to find them capable of these crimes.
It was also interesting to see some of the medical developments that were happening at this time right across Europe. We see this movement from the Victorian period and into the post-war era where many in the medical community wanted to end the traditional "wise woman midwifery" and see all midwives trained under Drs, Male doctors, who often had little to no experience in midwifery and even though women had been doing this job well for millennia.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was engaging and cleverly written and it kept me wanting more to the very end. Although it had it's downsides I would still recommend it to anyone who loves history and true crime with a touch of looking into social issues as well. That is of course if you can get past the fat shaming.
I want to thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.
The author is a really clever storyteller with the ability to make facts and historical accounts come to life as if they were a novel and it almost made it more shocking every time I reminded myself that these events were real.
My main criticism is the constant descriptions of Auntie Suzy as being fat. We get it, she was a big lady but not almost every chapter needed to tell us how big she was or how she moved her chubby hands etc.
At first, I wanted to give the the author the benefit of the doubt, after all this was a woman who took whatever she wanted as payment by literally taking items from the poorest people who had next to nothing and making sure she was always well cared for on top of her wage. So in a sense I think the author wanted the reader to understand that greed was a motivation and so understanding her size added to this description. However, it was just overdone and I do not think it was needed so often.
The book was also really descriptive. I really enjoyed this side of the storytelling. The sights and especially the smells really made you feel like you were there this is something that you often don't get any understanding of in non fiction books or in historical writing on the whole. But I really felt like the history was coming off the pages reading the stink of some of the characters, the smell of the houses and the atmosphere of the village. However, I would add that at times this did slow the pace of the book down. I really wanted to get down to the nitty gritty of the interrogations but the last third of the book slowed quite considerably.
The author touches upon several important topics which really created a disasterous cocktail in this case. Firstly, the treatment of woman at the time. The beatings, rape and their treatment by some men was atrocious and add the fact that family planning was little to nothing meant that often unwanted pregnancies happened yearly. Is it little wonder that some women sought to end their suffering in the only way they could? Having said that, it also showed how women could use and manipulate the men in their lives and even at times when there was no evidence of poor treatment, these women could kill loved ones in the most awful way. In my opinion, they got away with it for so long because the men thought too little of the women to find them capable of these crimes.
It was also interesting to see some of the medical developments that were happening at this time right across Europe. We see this movement from the Victorian period and into the post-war era where many in the medical community wanted to end the traditional "wise woman midwifery" and see all midwives trained under Drs, Male doctors, who often had little to no experience in midwifery and even though women had been doing this job well for millennia.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was engaging and cleverly written and it kept me wanting more to the very end. Although it had it's downsides I would still recommend it to anyone who loves history and true crime with a touch of looking into social issues as well. That is of course if you can get past the fat shaming.
I want to thank the author, publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Rape, Murder, Addiction, Child death, Abortion, and Sexual violence
mariadonnamc's review against another edition
Really struggled with the fatphobia in this book. Every other line was trying to wedge in an insult about "aunty susies" appearance as if repeatedly calling her fat was aligned with her being a murderer, like body size is linked to virtue. "her thick hands" "wide thighs". The writer found a way to call her hands fat!!
Just yeah became painful and gross for me
Just yeah became painful and gross for me
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This was one of the best true crime books I've read recently! It kept me engaged and kept some mystery alive until the end! Even the added time at the end was interesting!
Narrator Rating: 4.5 stars
The narrator did an excellent job! One of the better non-fiction narrators!
Narrator Rating: 4.5 stars
The narrator did an excellent job! One of the better non-fiction narrators!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Gore, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Child death, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Classism, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Vomit
Minor: War, Bullying, Fatphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Self harm
Thankfully, animal cruelty is just one scene and has a happy conclusion to the situation.peggy_lavinder's review
slow-paced
3.0
I learned a lot. Great story. Way too long. Unnecessary and impossible to know microscopic experiential details.
guida315's review
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.5
Good story; poor execution. So. Many. Words.