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A review by mayathebookworm
She Kills Me: The True Stories of History's Deadliest Women by Jennifer Wright
4.0
Check out this review and more on my blog, Maya’s Reviews.
Thank you to Abrams Image for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
//TW: torture, enslavement, juvenile death, cannibalism, death, murder, poison, rape, and abuse//
// Quick Review //
4/5 Stars
She Kills Me is a fast, yet excellent and informative read on not only the most depraved women in history, but also those whose actions were understable because of their strong morality. Featuring some of the most infamous women in history, She Kills Me briefly covers the stories of more than 40 and the circumstances that caused the actions of those described.
// Other Information //
Publisher: Abrams Image
Page Count: 176 pages
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Series: None
// Book Description (via Goodreads) //
A powerful collection of stories about women who murdered—for revenge, for love, and even for pleasure—rife with historical details that will have any true crime junkie on the edge of their seat.
In every tragic story, men are expected to be the killers. There are countless studies and works of art made about male violence. However, when women are featured in stories about murder, they are rarely portrayed as predators. They’re the prey. This common dynamic is one of the reasons that women are so enthralled by female murderers. They do the things that women aren’t supposed to do and live the lives that women aren’t supposed to want: lives that are impulsive and angry and messy and inconvenient. Maybe we feel bad about loving them, but we eat it up just the same. Residing squarely in the middle of a Venn diagram of feminism and true crime, She Kills Me tells the story of 40 women who murdered out of necessity, fear, revenge, and even for pleasure.
// Review //
Just a heads up, if you are thinking of reading this novel and expect an in depth investigation into each case, you might be slightly disappointed. While providing great information, the novel is very surface-level and doesn’t dive into anything past an overview.
Despite this, I was glad to see that I didn’t know every woman's story in this novel. Some I knew a little bit about, others I had never heard of. Some of the women talked about in the novel include: Elizabeth Bathory; Irma Grese; Lizzie Borden; Christine and Lea Papin; Susan Atkins; Grace O’ Malley; Zenobia; Mary I of England; Nadezhda Vasilyevna Popova; and Freddie Oversteegen. Though, as stated before, more than 40 women are featured in this novel.
Besides some of the gruesome details that come with practically any true crime novel, the author managed to lighten the mood with some humor at the expense of horrific people while remaining respectful of victims.
I definitely enjoyed learning about many of these women, but was slightly disappointed with the lack of depth in their stories. However, this brief overview of cases definitely piqued my interest and inspired me to research further.
Overall, She Kills Me is a solid 4/5 Stars and a well-rounded novel including various cases.
Author's Website || Amazon
Thank you to Abrams Image for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
//TW: torture, enslavement, juvenile death, cannibalism, death, murder, poison, rape, and abuse//
// Quick Review //
4/5 Stars
She Kills Me is a fast, yet excellent and informative read on not only the most depraved women in history, but also those whose actions were understable because of their strong morality. Featuring some of the most infamous women in history, She Kills Me briefly covers the stories of more than 40 and the circumstances that caused the actions of those described.
“People are very apt to believe that a woman can’t kill someone.”
// Other Information //
Publisher: Abrams Image
Page Count: 176 pages
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Series: None
// Book Description (via Goodreads) //
A powerful collection of stories about women who murdered—for revenge, for love, and even for pleasure—rife with historical details that will have any true crime junkie on the edge of their seat.
In every tragic story, men are expected to be the killers. There are countless studies and works of art made about male violence. However, when women are featured in stories about murder, they are rarely portrayed as predators. They’re the prey. This common dynamic is one of the reasons that women are so enthralled by female murderers. They do the things that women aren’t supposed to do and live the lives that women aren’t supposed to want: lives that are impulsive and angry and messy and inconvenient. Maybe we feel bad about loving them, but we eat it up just the same. Residing squarely in the middle of a Venn diagram of feminism and true crime, She Kills Me tells the story of 40 women who murdered out of necessity, fear, revenge, and even for pleasure.
// Review //
Just a heads up, if you are thinking of reading this novel and expect an in depth investigation into each case, you might be slightly disappointed. While providing great information, the novel is very surface-level and doesn’t dive into anything past an overview.
Despite this, I was glad to see that I didn’t know every woman's story in this novel. Some I knew a little bit about, others I had never heard of. Some of the women talked about in the novel include: Elizabeth Bathory; Irma Grese; Lizzie Borden; Christine and Lea Papin; Susan Atkins; Grace O’ Malley; Zenobia; Mary I of England; Nadezhda Vasilyevna Popova; and Freddie Oversteegen. Though, as stated before, more than 40 women are featured in this novel.
Besides some of the gruesome details that come with practically any true crime novel, the author managed to lighten the mood with some humor at the expense of horrific people while remaining respectful of victims.
I definitely enjoyed learning about many of these women, but was slightly disappointed with the lack of depth in their stories. However, this brief overview of cases definitely piqued my interest and inspired me to research further.
Overall, She Kills Me is a solid 4/5 Stars and a well-rounded novel including various cases.
"The family that slays together does not stay together."
Author's Website || Amazon