“A deeply researched and morbidly fascinating chronicle of one of America’s most notorious female killers.” —The New York Times Book ReviewAn Amazon Charts bestseller.In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she … joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana “murder farm.” Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace. When their bodies were dug up, they hadn’t merely been poisoned, like victims of other female killers. They’d been butchered.
Hell’s Princess is a riveting account of one of the most sensational killing sprees in the annals of American crime: the shocking series of murders committed by the woman who came to be known as Lady Bluebeard. The only definitive book on this notorious case and the first to reveal previously unknown information about its subject, Harold Schechter’s gripping, suspenseful narrative has all the elements of a classic mystery—and all the gruesome twists of a nightmare.
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I liked how this tale was written in the fashion of a fiction book. I was thrust back in time with the wording and thoughts of the day along with an outsiders view on the goings on of the case at hand. Although I do love a good mystery, when it was true, it makes me wonder what the fear of not knowing did to the public during the next several years. Very much enjoyed this retelling of true horror.
This is not the sort of book I normally choose to read, but I found myself fascinated with the true story of a female serial killer. It’s turn of the century Indiana, Belle Gunness is the daughter of Norwegian immigrants and isn’t all that attractive. In fact she later gets tagged “The Ogress”.
Good name for her, although it might be a bit on the mild side considering the number of people she killed, including children. The book includes so much detail that it’s impossible to wonder “what if” about Belle.
To say she was sane is debatable. I think she knew exactly what she was doing and why, but I can certainly see why she’d be thought insane by others.
The trial of Ray Lampere, her hired man, is thoroughly substantiated and interesting.
One other thing that may surprise some readers is finding out that people in general don’t change, though clothing & hairstyles do. People always have been and are still obsessed with the macabre and will shun rules of polite society to get their fill.
I’m not going to say too much because I’m not one for spoilers, but she was one seriously evil woman.
The book includes hundreds of references you can use to find more information if you’re so inclined. There are wonderful graphics included as well, and everything is thoroughly researched.