As a whole, I’m not as mad about true crime as many women are – though I’ve certainly been compelled by various stories over the years. Unpacking some of my childhood media memories (Tonya Harding, OJ Simpson, etc) led me to You’re Wrong About, and I also love Criminal – both because they pick interesting stories but offer a good mix. I can’t just do murder stories all the time.
But I’ve been researching the genre for a project, and I heard Monroe quoted on one of Sarah Marshall’s podcasts, and I immediately put this book on hold. It is excellent. Monroe pairs her own experience as an occasional true crime enthusiast against the stories of four women whose interest in a true crime went to the extreme. She frames them as representing four iconic roles in the criminal justice world: “the detective,” “the victim,” “the defender,” and “the killer.” We meet that lady who created The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, the women who saw themselves in Sharon Tate, a woman who fell for an accused killer and devoted her life to reversing his sentence, and a girl who worshipped the Columbine killers so much, she nearly became one herself.
Monroe is an excellent storyteller (and each of the women she picks has a compelling story). But I especially loved Monroe’s reflections on why we are drawn to these stories, and most importantly, the resolution she comes to by the end. I hope to pick up more of her work soon.
