A review by ghostlydreamer
Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer

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.