What happens when a woman in 1900s is harried and abused and degraded by men? She goes on a murder spree!
Bruce does not shy away from the gore of her killings - a (I suspect rather heavily) fictionalised account of Belle Guinness - or of her Bella's exultation in them... although for my tastes the gore and detail was a little too heavy handed and became perhaps a tad ... tedious if that is the right word.
I also was not taken by the second narrative voice of Nellie, the older sister which did not seem to add much and felt somewhat like filler.

Really good read. Kept my attention and easy page turner. Plot flowed and never got dull. Enjoyed all the characters and their stories.

Pros first: incredibly interesting and well-developed characters, just enough gory details and believable dialogue

Now, cons: slow pace at some points and additional characters who (I felt) didn’t add much to the narrative

All in all, a good read for those who are fans of historical fiction - especially when loosely based on fact!

I enjoyed the premise of this novel which made for a good page-turner. I don't know that I thought it was all brilliantly realised, but it was a good romp nevertheless.

I adored this book, based on a true story this is a very well written and engrossing account of a female serial killer. really interesting tale of ultimate revenge. Read with the lights on!

Unfortunately I’m unable to review this book due to the formatting - every attempt to download resulted in random numbers being scattered across every page. A real shame as the first few pages had me hooked and I’m really keen to read it…I will return to leave a review if I manage to download a readable version!

This is such a unique book, absolutely fabulous.

Based on a historic woman this book is thrilling (and disturbing to read)

Really fresh and new.

A very enjoyable read I had never heard of Bella Gunness but a quick Google search gave me the chills. This book is very long but still holds your attention to see it through. Gruesome and disturbing in part, but also quite a sad story.

Brynhild Størset/Belle Gunnell was a Norwegian woman, born into poverty who emigrated to America in the late 1800s to join her sister Nellie in Chicago. She went on to become America’s first female mass murderess with a suspected number of victims totalling over 40, most of them never identified.
This is the fictionalised story of her life, told from both her and her sister Nellie’s viewpoint.
Her childhood was harsh, her upbringing brutal, she was starved and beaten.
Was the seed for her future ruthlessness sown back then?
So much pain - received in spades and dished out with a vengeance. Cold and calculating when killing, charming when it was to her advantage, she always had her eye on social advancement, tinged with her fear of sinking back to poverty.
The juxtaposition of the sisters’ characters and POVs is done to great effect, Nellie being the timid one, duty-bound and always suspecting Belle’s murderous character but never daring to fully acknowledge it.
Belle’s voice, on the contrary, is very matter-of-fact, detached even with only a few glimpses of feeling - mostly for “her” children and, albeit briefly, for the men in her life.
A dreadfully sad story of losing one’s moral compass and sink into depravity.

SPOILERS

I hadn't realised until after I read this,that it was based on a true story.
That always adds a bit more interest. Though,it was interesting enough.
At the beginning of the book,you cant help but feel sorry for "Bella" brought up in poverty,and treated badly by her father,and then abused in more than one way ,we find her broken and bruised and bloody before too long.

A whole new character emerges then,cold,calculating and manipulative.
She gets what she wants and appears to have no problem leaving a trail of dead behind her.
Fascinating stuff,and despite being a long book,I felt the pacing just right,and it flew by.
I'm off to google the true story now.

An intriguing novel that is based on the real story of Bella Guinness, a notorious serial killer who was born in rural Norway and emigrated to Chicago in around 1900. A very clever idea that was well executed. It does not pull any punches and is explicit about Bella's crimes and psychology, which made uncomfortable reading at times.
The author has clearly done her research and the novel felt historically correct and included the details known about Bella as well as providing the required poetic license to make this an entertaining, shocking and immersive read. I recommend this book. It is very different and could be read by a wide audience. The feminist in me appreciated the female focus and I was certainly left with an understanding of why Bella was so disturbed. (Just to be clear - I do recognise she was a murdering psychopath..)
Thank you to Camilla Bruce, her publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book. I will definitely look out for any future books by this author - she is good.

This is half true crime half historical fiction and if you have an interest in either genres I would suggest that you give this book a go.

Its a bit of a slow burn but I found myself captivated by the story of Bella. She's one of the best written villians I've come across in a long way, yknow the ones who make you think you can justify their actions for so long and then... you can't, kind of? Or can we? Was it reeaaaallyyyyyyy her fault? Its so interesting!!!

Its VERY well written, a longer book than I usually reach for but it kept me engaged and eager to read on throughout the whole thing.

I was looking forward to reading Triflers need not apply and was happy to receive the e-book from the publisher. But alas, it turned out differently. After diving into the first few pages I found my enthusiasm evaporarting. This does happen from time to time and in this case it is not the author's fault. This book is simply not for me. I gave it another try some weeks later, but with the same result.

Still I would recommend it to those of my friends with a habit of reading crime novels. The case in itself is gruesome and so very much interesting. I am sure this novel will find its' readers. but unfortunately it is not me this time.

This historical fiction book is based on the true story of serial killer Belle Gunness. Born in Noway and killer in America. After a violent assault in her youth she was never mentally the same again. The story flits from past to present so we get a great insight into her mind and what triggered the violence.

This is a dark and bone chilling read but I couldn't stop reading it. I found her mindset fascinating and intriguing. She had endured a lot of suffering in the hands of men and I did feel for her. This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last.

Loved this, Bella is a little fire cracker, I loved her although the ending was gruesome. Full of blood, guts, murder, lust this would make a brilliant movie. The story alternates between bellas story and her long suffering sister who is also a very likeable character. Definitely a 5* read. Thanks to netgalley for my advanced copy.

Dark and entertaining retelling of one of the most infamous female serial killers of the 20th C. This is more an ‘inspired by’ story of Belle Gunness’ rampage in Chicago 1900 rather than a fictionalised biography. At times it’s pretty gruesome. However the book is fast paced, well plotted and the historical setting is excellent. It’s refreshing to see a female anti hero too.

An interesting interpretation from Camilla Bruce of presumed true life serial killer Belle Gunness, a Norwegian who moved to America for a better life but found that her husband's & properties always seemed to have unfortunate accidents, but it's lucky she always had the foresight to purchase a little insurance policy. Little is known about the true Belle but reading " Triflers need not apply "allowed the reader to imagine what her life might of been like and through her fictional sister you can almost feel sorry for her but also marvel at her ingenuity and how she managed to get away with everything for so long.

This is the story of a murderess and the body’s just keep mounting and mounting?!
I enjoyed the book a lot but got quite desensitised to the killing towards the end. Is quite a long book but well written and such a fa I sting story!

"Triflers Need Not Apply" by Camilla Bruce is the kind of book you update friends and families about the goings-on as it is so unbelievable. Based on a true story about Belle Gunness, the black widow of La Porte, it follows a fictional account of her life (author's words), starting when she was young and an incident that set her up for her life of doing away with men, in particular her husbands and lovers. It is seriously addictive stuff and gob-smacking to read how many husbands she got through and how many insurance policies she claimed on. Truly fascinating!

I first learned about Belle Gunness from the raucous Last Podcast on the Left series, which was based on Harold Schechter's Hell's Princess, an incredibly well-written piece of true crime. No prior knowledge of Belle is required to enjoy Triflers Need Not Apply (what an incredible title that is!), although readers may find themselves heading to Wikipedia (or ideally, Schechter's book) to find out whether the real case was really as gruesome and shocking as Bruce makes out. Much of Belle's life in Norway is unknown, but Bruce takes various rumours and scandals that appeared in newspapers following her crimes to give her protagonist an origin story that screams "anti-hero" rather than "murderer". It is left to Belle's older sister Nelly to fill in the details that our unreliable narrator omits- while Belle undoubtedly suffered much in her young life, it's possible she always had a calculating streak. Her accomplice and lover James does not appear to be based on any real-life person, and I found it somewhat unlikely that stodgy labourer Belle would ever take up with a "spiv". His career as a baby farmer, trafficker and illegal adoption broker is sadly all too believable. Some newcomers like Nelly and her husband John found a place in communities just like the ones they left back home; women like Belle, who never played by the rules to begin with, are perceived as a threat to the slice of Norway her fellows have carved with the sweat of their brows.. Others like James and Belle quickly discover that the American Dream is far easier to catch if one is willing to lie, cheat, steal and even murder. I don't think it's necessary to have any prior knowledge of Belle's case to enjoy this book, but readers might want to research the Chicago World's Fair and that other infamous serial killer, H. H. Holmes.