Lady Killers

Deadly Women Throughout History

By: Tori Telfer

Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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. 😂

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.

Fantastic listen

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

Excellent book and well performed by the voice act

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

The past??

Looking into the past seeing how popular and widely used arsenic was used to murder family members is fascinating it’s not something I ever knew until listening to this book

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.

I think the narrator really made this one for me

The book itself was very good and I did read a bit of it myself before finding the audio book. But Ms Narrator really made the book for me. 10/10 would recommend though I might pick up the book again at some point to see if I can read it half as well as she told it (author or narrator)