Human Harvest: The Sacramento Murder Story [Hardcover]

Daniel J. Blackburn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

On November 11, 1988, Sacramento police exhumed seven bodies from Dorothea Puente's backyard. They were Puente's senior citizen tenants, for whom Puente acted as legal "representative payee" for their Social Security benefits. While the intent of such legal authority over the incompetent is commendable, unfortunately, because of lax or nonexistent regulations, this system is wide open to abuse. If not for the vigilance of two county social workers, Puente, apparently a rare female serial killer, would still be free--and possibly still be collecting payments. Extremely disturbing and thought-provoking, this well-paced book, written by a Sacramento reporter who knew Puente personally, is highly recommended.
- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Knightsbridge Pub Co Trade; 1st edition (February 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877961108
• ISBN-13: 978-1877961106
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,575,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Think Women Do Not Kill, July 26, 2002

By 

The Orange Duke "orangeduke" (Cupertino, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Human Harvest : The Sacramento Murder Story (Paperback)

This is the story of the notorious Sacramento Black Widow killer who preyed upon the aged and the invalid in the 80s. Dorothea Puente used the weakness of our social net to exploit the less fortunate while stealing their social security checks. Running an illegal boarding house for invalids, she was able to maintain the illusion of respectability because the Social Welfare bureaucracy was simply to overworked to root her out. Although some did try to bring her to the attention of authorities when her charges continued to cash their checks even after they disappeared. Dorothea, a petty con woman turned mass killer, simply killed them and planted them in her well groomed garden, all without even batting an eye. Her cold blooded grandmotherly persona even allowed her to escape the police and flee to LA as the cops were digging up her yard. She simply walked away, escorted though the gawking public by the very police who were investigating her. While it is true that she was not a serial killer per say (since her killings were not sexually motivated) she still gives lie to the myth that women are less willing to kill to men. Her selfishness dominated her so completely she was unable to feel remorse, indeed, when caught red handed; she still tried to play the injured party and attempted to bask in the limelight. She worried continually about who would own the rights to her story and complained about all sorts of imagined slights, never once acknowledging guilt for her crimes.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 9, 2006

By 

Patrick M. Blackburn "BruinsRule23" (El Dorado Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Human Harvest: The Sacramento Murder Story (Hardcover)

Great book about one of the most notorious female mass murderers in American history. Human Harvest is like two books in one -- the fascinating story of the woman who killed the people she was caring for, and buried them in her yard, and an indictment of our Social Security Administration, who continued to blindly send the killer the victim's checks long after they had been killed.

OK, so the author is my dad! It doesn't change the fact that any fans of the true crime genre will be fascinated by the story of the old woman who killed and buried those who were supposed to be in here care.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't have been written any better !, January 12, 2008

By 

Klassy Books "Klassybooks" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Human Harvest: The Sacramento Murder Story (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book about a Sacramento woman who did away with many people and written by a reporter that really got to know her and wrote an exceptional book on her. Gave away my first copy to someone else and then bought myself another copy. . . .