Lady Killers

Deadly Women Throughout History

By: Tori Telfer

Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick

Inspired by author Tori Telfer's Jezebel column "Lady Killers", this thrilling and entertaining compendium investigates female serial killers and their crimes through the ages.

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.”

Lady Killers, based on the popular online series that appeared on Jezebel and The Hairpin, disputes that claim and offers fourteen gruesome examples as evidence. Though largely forgotten by history, female serial killers such as Erzsébet Báthory, Nannie Doss, Mary Ann Cotton, and Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova rival their male counterparts in cunning, cruelty, and appetite for destruction.

Each chapter explores the crimes and history of a different subject, and then proceeds to unpack her legacy and her portrayal in the media, as well as the stereotypes and sexist clichés that inevitably surround her. The first book to examine female serial killers through a feminist lens with a witty and dryly humorous tone, Lady Killers dismisses easy explanations (she was hormonal, she did it for love, a man made her do it) and tired tropes (she was a femme fatale, a black widow, a witch), delving into the complex reality of female aggression and predation. Lady Killers is a bloodcurdling, insightful, and irresistible journey into the heart of darkness.

©2017 Tori Telfer (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

I didn’t expect to finish it so fast

I’ve recently started listening to audiobooks daily and so I thought this one was interesting and I wanted to try it out. I didn’t expect to get absorbed into it. I love learning interesting things in history and this one definitely taught me some interesting things. The writing is well done and even though it’s just giving you facts about past events, it doesn’t sound like homework. The pacing was planned out well so each woman’s story feels fleshed out and worth listening to.

Eerily entertaining…

I was eerily entertained by this book and made me want to learn more about several of the women in it. Also made me appreciate my own life just a little bit more!

History never taught us

I absolutely loved this book! I’ve heard of only 3 of the killers in this book and was astonished by the lack of knowledge even through my own research. I definitely had to ask if we had any relation to one of the duos due to how familiar they sounded, and in case y’all gonna freak out… no we have no relation. 😂

Fantastic listen

There are some pretty gnarly women in this book. 10/10 would recommend. The narrator did a great job

4.5 stars

I enjoyed the topic overall. The way the author covered different elements of the women’s personalities, different areas of the world, along with historical and political affecters. My only qualm being the amount of times it was poison(arsenic) and husbands being murdered. A little more diversity would have been appreciated but due to most womens lots in life I can understand that accessibility, means, and motive were likely factors in the lack of diversity, so overall job well done!

Regarding the voice, her pronunciation was good, intonation entertaining, and overall five stars.

Grilled chicken tenders

Narrative was good. interesting book. I would recommend this book. kept my attention until the end. thanks

thrilling !

finished in two days, could not put it down. I found estantly other books by Telfer.

recommend to any true crime fans

The narrator did a wonderful job of keeping me interested. I have heard many of these stories in a 40 minute podcast. Getting to know more details on each woman was great.
I especially appreciated how the times, religion and class were discussed. This allowed for a better foundation for the laws, crimes, and punishments.

Depends on your reason

I love true crime and I especially love true crime that involves women. Although Telfer is perfectly correct in saying that women have always been killers (including serial killers) I feel
like she was trying to hard to point at women (and their cruelty) as a counterpoint to men’s cruelty and murderous intent. So are you reading this for “feminist validation” that women are as dangerous as men? Or because you like true crime?

My doubts on Telfer’s perspective began with her saying all the male serial killers are given media names; SOME men are given names. Some, like Son of Sam and BTK, create their own names to be used.

Because of that error, I wondered what else she was going to get wrong to make a point?

Now, I did enjoy her verve in picking these women. She chose 14 women from as far back as the 1300s and some of them I was not familiar with so that was nice.

I still feel like that was a large number and that I would’ve liked her to go into more detail with fewer women than what felt like less definitive and descriptive details of so many.

Then again, perhaps the information was harder to find? Or, I suppose, I can find books on the more contemporary ladies?

This is my opinion as a true crime reader: it’s ok as an introduction.

I think I prefer meatier and heavier biographies, investigations, and how their case influenced the law. The gentle sex, like Lizzie Borden, could simply NOT brutally murder someone.

Someone who fits the MALE definition of serial killer, including sexual components, is Joanna Dennehy (UK), who not named, but should be for being the pinnacle of the expectation, not Aileen Wuornos.

If I were a beginner, I suspect I would’ve enjoyed this a lot more.

Excellent book and well performed by the voice act

I found this via a podcast and loved it. The reader is excellent! Well done.