Carol Ann Davis profiles fourteen women who used arsenic, manual strangulation, suffocation, lethal injection, multiple gunshots and stabbing to kill their victims. Each killer is the subject of a separate chapter, exploring her childhood, lifestyle and sexuality. There is analysis of the murder, the trial and the subsequent imprisonment of every woman. Ms. Davis comments on the classification of female killers, how society may underestimate dangerous women, and what it is that can turn ordinary women into killers.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this grisly, workmanlike compendium, British crime novelist Davis (Noise Abatement) examines the lives of (mostly) contemporary female serial killers from England, the U.S., Australia and Canada. Her case summaries support her contention that although only 2% of known serial killers are women, they are as "cruel and compassionless" as their male counterparts. She also recounts neglect, abuse and manipulation inflicted on her subjects during childhood by criminalized, impoverished, drug-using adults, with a few notable exceptions such as upper-middle class Charlene Gallego, who with her husband Gerald raped and killed ten teenagers. Some of the women worked as caretakers of children or the infirm, such as nursing aides Gwen Graham and Catherine Wood, who in 1987 killed at least five seniors. Others went on vicious rampages against their own gender, often in cahoots with sociopathic males. Assessing these couples, Davis notes that the women may be seen by society and juries as less accountable, despite evidence of their enthusiastic involvement. The seemingly harmless femininity of, for instance, Karla Homolka, who helped her boyfriend rape and murder her sister and two others, may have abetted the murders. Davis writes with verve, but her distanced, summary journalism and slavish attention to gory detail can have a pummeling effect, and her insights pale alongside prominent shock-value material. Despite ample psychological discussion (e.g. of criminal types with names like "Profit Killer" or "Angel of Death"), this book is more Grand Guignol than academic, unlike Deborah Schurman-Kauflin's The New Predator: Women Who Kill Profiles of Female Serial Killers (Forecasts, Jan. 1).
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.From Library Journal
Davis, a Scottish crime novelist who holds a master's degree in criminology, follows up on Michael Kelleher's Murder Most Rare (LJ 4/1/98), another book discussing female serial killers. Whereas Kelleher's study is presented in research format, Davis writes in a way that keeps the reader's interest while describing the detailed lives of 14 women who have been classified as serial killers. The women selected are from around the world and were all physically and/or emotionally abused when they were young; some ended up in abusive relationships as adults. The details of their crimes are grisly. To give an accurate account, Davis interviewed prison officers, police officers, and associates of the killers. Society has a hard time believing that women committed these atrocities, and consequently women are likely to receive lighter sentences than their male counterparts. A couple of the women mentioned have either been paroled or will be soon. Recommended for all true-crime collections, especially those libraries that have Kelleher's book, as it will serve as a good companion. Michael Sawyer, Northwestern Regional Lib., Elkin, NC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Read it for the 13 cases,
By A Customer
This review is from: Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers (Hardcover)
This book is good only for the 13 cases the author profiles. Each case is given its own separate chapter. The author does an excellent job in describing childhoods, important relationships and events that lead these women to kill. She also details these womens crimes. Keep in mind this is not for the faint at heart. She doesn't go into heavy graphic details of the crimes like other authors, but none the less what is written is still disturbing. The last three chapters of the book cover things like classifying female serial killers and why women kill. I was disappointed with the last three chapters. I felt the author could of done a better job. She references other books on these subjects which might be worth checking out.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Book on Female Serial Killers,
By AP (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers (Mass Market Paperback)
Please note: The previous reviewer is mistaken about the typos and poor writing in this book. The book was originally published in the UK, has not been "Americanized" in grammar or punctuation. This may cause some confusion to those not familiar with the writing style of the author.
I thought this book was very informative and well researched. The book has cases from Europe, Australia, and the USA. The part that scared me is that some of the women are up for parole and will be out roaming the streets again, one as early as this year! When she gets out she will only be 50 years old and free to kill again...
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I expected just a little more,
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This review is from: Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers (Mass Market Paperback)
It's a good book, don't get me wrong, it just doesn't going into the depths I would have liked of these women's pasts. It routinely portrays them as victims of their situations and a pawn for their husband/boyfriend/lovers plans instead of a willing participant. Surely not all of these women are as frail as they are made out to be
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