Women Who Kill by Sarah Tanat-Jones has its pros and cons. The biggest cons are the triggers. I took this from another review: use of the words ‘trans*xual’ and ‘transv*stite’ instead of transgender, mentions of rape & sexual abuse, violence, death. Now I take issue with the use of death as it’s a book about women killers, and therefore, death is implied. However, it is the way that some deaths are mentioned or who the victims were that I am assuming they are referencing. Afterall, a few abusive husbands are no biggie to most people, but when one English woman murders several infants/young children, well, that’s a different story.
I am assuming, however, that these issues/triggers represent the publication time frame and there is the possibility that the author’s background as an author from the UK comes into play as value systems might be different, but sensibilities have since evolved.
This book is not meant to be a nice, happy read. The premise is women who took it upon themselves to end the lives of others and we read about 21 women throughout history that range from from the sister of Caligula, nurses, criminals, political people, actresses and even a bandit leader. “Power plays, love crimes and outright psychosis”’ is how they are described. Italy and Hungary have several entries and the US has an interesting one with Ma Barker (while she was aware of what was happening with “her gang”, she probably was not as involved as history has her) but each woman shows murder is not a man’s “game” or limited to one country or social background.
The pros also are multiple. The short introduction format with each entry having an image (one review called them “created in a limited color palette”), and a short description on the next is a good way of introducing and presenting serial killers, spree killers, and all types of women in between. The other pro is you can see history unfold, women’s roles throughout cultures (even as recent as the 2000’s), how they made history (one woman was the longest female prisoner in one institution) and even wonder what made these people without an in depth physiological work to work through. If you have an interest in the subject, but you are not ready for a deep dive into the mind of a killer, this is a great book.
The only drawback I had was for me the art was a bit too abstract. The odd color choices and lack of details was off putting. However, many reviews I read listed them as their favorite part or just how much they enjoyed them/how much they represent the book. I appreciate the effort and time that went into them, and honestly I wouldn’t want anything else as the illustrations as it sets the mood, but it was just a personal taste thing.