Mistresses of Mayhem: The Book of Women Criminals [Paperback]

Francine Hornberger (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (March 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965047229
• ISBN-13: 978-0028642604
• ASIN: 0028642600
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly researched, poorly edited..., June 29, 2004

By 

Tearsa White (Swansea, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mistresses of Mayhem: The Book of Women Criminals (Paperback)

If you are looking for solid facts, this is not something you need to invest in. I agree with several other reviewers in that I noticed that the infamous Elizabeth Bathory had her name mutilated by the author as Bathroy and not just a typo! Even though the Bathory issue was NOT a typo, I found several of those as well. Another thing that was in error was with the Susan Smith excerpt...the author states that she drove her children into a river. I live in SC and know for a fact that Susan Smith drove her children into a lake. Horribly written with a lot of the word "um" in the pages (which I find very irritating) and what appears to be a lot of "fluff" that just isn't necessary. I am currently reading the book from the prospective that these are just stories and looking at the book that way makes it almost entertaining.....but still not factual.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great concept, poor execution..., March 12, 2003

By 

meiringen "meiringen" (the Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mistresses of Mayhem: The Book of Women Criminals (Paperback)

Great concept for a book, but not well executed. Too many typos (Countesss Elizabeth Bathory, the "Blood Countess," is listed as having the last name of "Bathroy," just as one example), showing that the book was not proofread very well . The author also uses web sites and magazines for sources, many of which have erroneous information about these women.

Better research techniques, and a decent editor would have helped immensely. I was very disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars room for improvement, December 24, 2002

By 

David Group (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mistresses of Mayhem: The Book of Women Criminals (Paperback)

This is a decent guide for those who are unfamiliar with various female criminals, though more serious students of crime may find it wanting. My quibbles: 1) some of the entries, e.g., Lizzie Borden, are too brief to do their subjects justice; 2) though there is a general bibliography, one really has no way of knowing what sources she used for individual cases, which would be helpful for the controversial ones; 3) some of her facts are wrong, e.g., she repeatedly refers to Elizabeth Bathory as Elizabeth Bathroy; 4) there are occasional stupid errors, e.g., "had their fingers pulled off with hot pinschers" (pg. 15); 5) the writing is sometimes awkward, e.g. "[the police] were lucky enough to come by some great DNA samples." (pg. 118). On the plus side, I can't think of any females that were not included. Verdict: a mixed bag.