America's Femme Fatale
The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness
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America's Femme Fatale
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Narrated by:
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Laural Merlington
About this listen
How does a Norwegian farm girl become an infamous American serial killer, responsible for upward of 40 murders? "Belle" Storset Sorenson Gunness was constantly dealt bad hands in life - so she decided to take life into her own hands.
In America's Femme Fatale: The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness, Jane Simon Ammeson traces Gunness's path from a poor teenager rejected by a wealthy lover; to a new wife in Chicago, desperate to escape the poverty of her childhood and impatient for a child to love; to an ambitious, widowed landowner in La Porte, Indiana. Ammeson's careful research reveals how the young immigrant slowly turned into one of America's most dangerous serial killers, allegedly murdering husbands, lovers, and children, and, for a price, disposing of inconvenient corpses for others. Ammeson brings this shocking story to life, detailing the suspicious neighbors who were cowed into silence by Belle's intimidating personality, the culture of orphanages trafficking children and matrimonial agencies, the carnival atmosphere that exploded around the pile of bones found on Gunness's farm, and the sensational reporting that filled newspapers for months.
Perfect for true crime fans fascinated by the creation of a sociopathic serial killer, America's Femme Fatale will leave you entertained and looking over your shoulder.
©2021 Jane Ammeson (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By Brandon on 12-27-22
By: Harold Schechter
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The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns
- By: Mitzi Szereto - editor
- Narrated by: Holly Palance, Phil Thron
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 55
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4 out of 5 stars 49
Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story - they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Crime in other countries is not my cup of tea.
- By Brenda on 01-03-21
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Don't Look Behind You: And Other True Cases
- Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 15
- By: Ann Rule
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 288
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 254
Ann Rule, who shared her own nerve-jangling account of unknowingly befriending sadistic sociopath Ted Bundy in The Stranger Beside Me, chronicles other fateful encounters with the hidden predators among us in this riveting collection, fifteenth in the best-selling series drawn from her personal files. First in line is a stunning case that spanned thirty years and took a determined detective to four states - ending, finally, in Alaska - where he unraveled not one but two murders.
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1 out of 5 stars
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DON'T BOTHER.......
- By The Louligan on 11-16-13
By: Ann Rule
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Furious Hours
- Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
- By: Casey Cep
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,411
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,209
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,213
Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the reverend. Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book, needs a Southern narrator
- By Joseph Wu on 06-06-19
By: Casey Cep
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A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal, and a Cold-blooded Murder
- By: Gregg Olsen, Rebecca Morris, Linda Castillo - foreward
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 296
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 271
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Story4 out of 5 stars 270
Thirty-year-old Barbara Weaver was content to live as the Amish have for centuries - without modern convenience - but her husband, Eli, wanted a life beyond horses and buggies. Soon he gave in to the temptation of technology and found ways to go Online and meet women. When Barbara was found dead, shot in the chest at close range, all eyes were on Eli... and his mistress, a conservative Mennonite named Barb Raber. Barb drove Eli to appointments in her car. She gave him everything he asked for: a laptop, rides to his favorite fishing and hunting spots, and sex.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Solid True Crime novel
- By justin on 06-05-18
By: Gregg Olsen, and others
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Belle Cora
- A Novel
- By: Phillip Margulies
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat, Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
In the home where Arabella Godwin was raised it is forbidden to speak her name, and her picture is turned to the wall. But in the turbulent America of the 1850s, everyone knows her as "Belle Cora", madam of San Francisco's finest bordello. Judges and senators do her bidding; a vicious newspaper editor plots her downfall; a preacher looks at her from across his pulpit and tries to forget that once she was his wife. Merchant's daughter, farm girl, prostitute, mother - the only thing that never changes is her tireless pursuit of the one man who can see her for who she really is.
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5 out of 5 stars
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excellent
- By Patricia on 05-15-20
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Our Little Secret
- The True Story of a Teenage Killer and the Silence of a Small New England Town
- By: Kevin Flynn, Rebecca Lavoie
- Narrated by: Aven Shore
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 247
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 208
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 208
For 20 years Daniel Paquette's murder in New Hampshire went unsolved. It remained a secret between two high school friends until Eric Windhurst's arrest in 2005. What was revealed was a crime born of adolescent passion between Eric and Daniel's stepdaughter, Melanie - redefining the meaning of loyalty, justice, and revenge.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A
- By Diana Hart 33 on 04-28-21
By: Kevin Flynn, and others
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The Forest City Killer
- A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice
- By: Vanessa Brown
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster - or monsters - stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn’t stop searching until his death 40 years later.
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1 out of 5 stars
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All Wrong
- By Merkavius on 11-02-19
By: Vanessa Brown
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Alice & Gerald
- A Homicidal Love Story
- By: Ron Franscell
- Narrated by: Chris Lutkin
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 144
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 142
In 1974, Alice, a desperate young mother in a gritty Wyoming boomtown, kills her husband and dumps his body where it will never be found, then slips away and starts a new life. But when her new man's ex-wife and two kids start demanding more of him, Alice delivers an ultimatum: fix the problem or lose her forever. With Alice's help, Gerald fixes the problem in an extraordinarily ghastly way...and they live happily ever after...that is, until 2013, almost 40 years later, when somebody finds a dead man's skeleton in a place where Alice thought he'd never be found.
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3 out of 5 stars
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HORRIBLE narration!
- By gauzy on 09-25-19
By: Ron Franscell
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America's First Female Serial Killer
- Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster
- By: Mary Kay McBrayer
- Narrated by: Mary Kay McBrayer
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4 out of 5 stars 43
This book is for listeners of true crime podcasts and audiences of both fiction and true-crime nonfiction. It's the true story of first-generation Irish-American nurse Jane Toppan, born as Honora Kelley. Jane Toppan was absolutely a monster, but she did not start out that way. When Jane was a young child, her father abandoned her and her sister to the Boston Female Asylum. From there, Jane was indentured to a wealthy family who changed her name, never adopted her, and wrote her out of the will.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I couldn’t put it down
- By Jason Hejna on 05-09-20
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No Regrets: And Other True Cases
- And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 11)
- By: Ann Rule
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
A ship's pilot legendary for guiding mammoth freighters through the narrows of Puget Sound, Rolf Neslund was a proud Norwegian, a ladies' man, and a beloved resident of Washington State's idyllic Lopez Island. Virtually indestructible even into his golden years, he made electrifying headlines more than once: after a ship he was helming crashed into the soaring West Seattle Bridge, causing millions in damages; and following his inexplicable disappearance at age 80. Was he a suicide, a man broken by one costly misstep? Had he run off with a lifelong love? Or did a trail of gruesome evidence lead to the home Rolf shared with his wife, Ruth?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Finally...worth it!
- By Luv lots on 09-04-13
By: Ann Rule
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Love Me to Death
- The Chilling True Story of WIlliam “Wild Bill Cody” Neal—The Vicious Denver Lady-Killer
- By: Steve Jackson
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
William Neal, who called himself "Wild Bill Cody," was seductive and skillful at separating love-struck women from their money, and ultimately, their lives. Apprehended by police, Neal, who proclaimed himself “better than Ted Bundy,” pleaded guilty to three murders then insisted on representing himself at his death penalty trial. But the psychopathic killer found himself up against the incredible courage of his one surviving victim.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed
- By donald on 02-09-23
By: Steve Jackson
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Dying for Daddy
- The True Story of a Family's Worst Nightmare
- By: Carlton Smith
- Narrated by: Dustin Tucker
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4 out of 5 stars 107
On a picturesque street in Sacramento County, California, three healthy saplings stand side by side. But what they symbolize are the deaths of three innocent people - two of them children. The man who took their lives, then planted trees in their honor, was their own husband and father. Hearts went out to Jack Barron when his wife, Irene, died mysteriously in her sleep. Soon after, his two young children were also found dead in their beds. Barron claimed they suffered from the same rare genetic disorder as their mother.
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4 out of 5 stars
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unbelievable
- By Anonymous User on 04-14-20
By: Carlton Smith
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Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22,554
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19,769
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19,724
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An outstanding story, highly recommended
- By S. Blakely on 06-22-17
By: David Grann
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Lady Killers
- Deadly Women Throughout History
- By: Tori Telfer
- Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
When you think of serial killers throughout history, the names that come to mind are ones like Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy. But what about Tillie Klimek, Moulay Hassan, Kate Bender? The narrative we’re comfortable with is the one where women are the victims of violent crime, not the perpetrators. In fact, serial killers are thought to be so universally, overwhelmingly male that in 1998, FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood infamously declared in a homicide conference, “There are no female serial killers.”
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2 out of 5 stars
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An ode to arsenic
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 03-04-24
By: Tori Telfer
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One Day
- The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America
- By: Gene Weingarten
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 140
On New Year’s Day 2013, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Gene Weingarten asked three strangers to, literally, pluck a day, month, and year from a hat. That day - chosen completely at random - was Sunday, December 28, 1986, by any conventional measure a most ordinary day. Weingarten spent the next six years proving that there is no such thing. That Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s turned out to be filled with comedy, tragedy, implausible irony, cosmic comeuppances, kindness, cruelty, heroism, cowardice, genius, idiocy, and much more....
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3 out of 5 stars
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I'm giving this book more credit for its concept
- By J. F. Boyd on 12-24-19
By: Gene Weingarten