“Riveting! Camilla, high-five! Amazing work!”—Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, #1 New York Times bestselling authors of Stay Sexy & Don’t Get MurderedAn audacious novel of feminine rage about one of the most prolific female serial killers in American history–and the men who drove her to it.They whisper about her in Chicago. Men come to her with their hopes, their dreams–their … their hopes, their dreams–their fortunes. But no one sees them leave. No one sees them at all after they come to call on the Widow of La Porte.
The good people of Indiana may have their suspicions, but if those fools knew what she’d given up, what was taken from her, how she’d suffered, surely they’d understand. Belle Gunness learned a long time ago that a woman has to make her own way in this world. That’s all it is. A bloody means to an end. A glorious enterprise meant to raise her from the bleak, colorless drudgery of her childhood to the life she deserves. After all, vermin always survive.
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This is a fictional account of one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Belle feels slighted by men in her life. She marries multiple times in an effort to gain wealth, but invariably the men disappoint her in some way. Unable to have children, she fosters several.
As people disappoint her, she figures out several ways to kill them, usually by poisons. Suspicions mount, but nothing seems to stick. As the years pass and the deaths continue, Belle needs to figure out a way to get away from it all.
The author explains at the end of the book that she was drawn to the story because of the killer’s Norwegian heritage. She also explains that several of the story lines were of her own doing. For example, Belle’s relationship with her sister, and James, Belle’s lover, confidant, and sometimes lover are all liberties taken by the author.
I felt the story was interesting, especially since it is so unusual for a woman to be a serial killer, plus I didn’t know about this woman. However, I felt it went on too long, and could have been told more concisely.
I don’t typically read books that are historical fiction but this was recommended at the library and I just had to pick it up especially since it was an audiobook. I loved the dual POV and the multiple narrators really brought this story to life. I remember listening to a podcast about Belle Gunness and was shocked by just how many people she got away with killing. This book really explains alot. She used her femininity to her advantage and got rid of the people that suspected her. I loved her sister Nellie’s POV because it really showed how someone who looked at Belles life from the outside saw her and then you had Belles perspective which explained why she did what she did. All in all I really enjoyed this book and liked learning about one of the only female serial killers.
This book takes you on a serious psychological journey of a mad woman! This is a disturbing tale of an elaborate True Crime based telling. The written era is so very interesting in how it differs from our world today and the book completely captivated that. The inside look at the immigrant societies as a whole is very intriguing. The story is very long and drawn out, but there is something eventful in each chapter. The book is just far too long for what it had to offer and could definitely be condensed, I felt.
**A very special “Thank You” to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this { #Gifted } copy to read and review!
Camilla Bruce does an outstanding job of letting the readers get into the head of Belle Gunness. What does a murderer think before they kill? How does this person justify taking another life? Then we go a step further and get into the rationalizations of Bella’s protective sister. Men flock around Bella and then disappear but who could suspect a poor widow? I not only loved watching the crimes occur but Bella’s outlook change. She saw things as beautiful and food as fresh. Then things became moldy and rotten. The pacing is excellent, especially if you love true crime.
I obtained this book through Net Galley and have left an honest review.
In the Garden of Spite is a fictionalized account of Belle Gunness, a notorious serial killer from 1884-1908. She lured her victims to her farm outside of LaPorte, Indiana via newspaper ads run in Chicago newspapers. The Widow Gunness needed someone to help her with her large farm and with her children. Only males with means and willing to pay a personal visit need apply. Before she was discovered, she killed forty men (at least.) She slipped away from the farm and was never brought to justice for the murders.
The novel starts back in Belle’s home country of Norway, when Belle, then known as Little Brynhild Størset lived with her family in grinding poverty. Norway is where Little Brynhild first got away with murder, a feat she would repeat over her lifetime.
Bruce’s novel is a mix of historical fiction, true crime, and suspense. She immerses the reader into Guinness’ world, and the result is a horrifying book that is difficult to put down. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time.
Recommendation
Recommended. Bruce does a fantastic job of immersing the reader into Gunness’s world. The suspense level is high throughout the book, even though the ending isn’t a surprise.
Thus far, ‘In the Garden of Spite’ was one of my most anticipated must reads this year and did the author deliver? No, no, a million times no! There aren’t enough words to describe how devastated I am. Since its announcement, I was more than ready to proclaim this as 2021 best of the best. I thought this was going to blow me away but unfortunately the drawn out, tedious painstakingly boring story has shattered all the hopes and dreams I had for this novel.
The only positive—the author managed to stay (somewhat) true to the actual tale of the infamous serial killer, Belle Gunness, but that wasn’t enough to save this read for me.
All in all, I struggled to complete this and there wasn’t anything particular I really liked. There were no characters that truly stood out which baffles me since Belle was the centralized character of this true crime thriller yet I cared little for her and what led her to become the Black Widow. I didn’t enjoy the alternating POVs between Bella and Nellie (older sister) and the dragful storyline had me yawning more times than I could count.
Frankly, ‘In the Garden of Spite’ didn’t live up to my high expectations and there is a low possibility that I will read from this author again.
This is an historical novel of horror, but not the supernatural kind. It’s the kind of horror having to do with the evil of human greed and cruelty and murder. Belle had it tough as a poor, abused child in Norway. Now that she’s an immigrant in Chicago, she schemes her way up the ladder.
In the Garden of Spite is a long novel, but it would have cheated the story to have been any shorter. It’s the perfect length to show Belle’s transformation from a teenager full of dreams to a spite-filled woman in her middle age. To meet someone like Belle in real life would be terrifying, but Ms. Bruce manages to make Belle an empathetic character, and thus we understand the feelings and behaviors of characters surrounding Belle.
Ms. Bruce writes wonderful dialogue scenes. There’s always something to “watch” while the characters talk. People dancing or chores of drudgery or children playing weave their way through the scene.
I love the way Ms. Bruce uses all the different senses in her descriptions. I could taste the porridge, smell the Germans’ cooking, hear the heavy buckets thudding, feel the gravel by the lake, and see the blood pooling around the scissors stuck in a man’s leg.
I have nothing negative to say about this book. Yes, it’s that good!
Literary, historical, psychological horror. Five huge stars.