Inspired by the true life story of Belle Gunnes, notorious serial killer, Triflers Need Not Apply is deliciously macabre and not a story for the faint of heart.

From Norway to America, we follow the journey of Belle as she wreaks havoc and exacts revenge on men who have wronged her. Initially we may have some sympathy for her as she is subjected to cruelty and abuse. But as time goes on, her killing becomes more random and almost an addiction.

The chapters narrated by her older sister Nellie are interesting to read as she begins to realise the extent of her beloved sister's crimes. Wanting at first to protect and believe the best, Nellie is forced to accept her sister has become unrecognizable.

Written with great skill, Triflers immerses the reader in the story and it becomes darker and darker, with a final delicious twist at the end.

Exceptional and utterly wicked and brilliant. I have always had a fascination with true crime and having heard about belle Gunness and her misdeeds as well as what may or may not have happened to her, this novel based on her life is an intriguing tale. I love it because it doesn’t hold back on who she may have been and how life was like for those like her and how she would have been treated and I guess how society expected her to behave, I kind of felt my sympathies lie with her though at times I was wondering what would happen next.

An absolutely gripping tale of a true crime female serial killer, Belle Gunness. She was a Norwegian who immigrated to Chicago in the 1900s, and began her killing spree there. Belle was a strong, fascinating character, and the book allows the time for her character to develop and gives space to look at the motivation for what she did. Packed full of detail including gruesome descriptions of dismemberment amongst other things, this definitely isnt for everyone, But if historical true crime is for you, I would definitely recommend Triflers need not apply - oh and I love the title of the book too, based on a personals ad that Belle would post when looking for a husband.

Difficult to initially get in to, this book is whip-smart and reads like fiction it's so entertaining. It's also rather grotesque at times, which I found just fabulous!

Gruesome and yet clever, this book manages to take on so many different, difficult topics, and faces up to them. Belle has been treated horribly, and she handles the aftermarth badly too, in the most bloody and brutal way. I found this difficult to read due to the pregnancy loss the character suffers, but cannot praise the writing enough.

I really wanted to love this book but after numerous attempts I had to dnf it. I just could not get into it or care about what was going on. I picked it up, put it down and ended up leaving it for a long time with no urge to pick it back up.

This is clearly just a 'me' problem as everyone else seems to love it, so don't let this review influence you!

Non- fiction that reads like a gripping fiction? Hell yes!
This is the ultimate story of a woman who goes on to become a serial killer exacting her revenge. And the most surprising thing? It actually happened and that the woman actually existed. Raw and gory at parts, it'll rub you rough with the facts and thrill you with her journey.
I'd ask anyone who likes to read non- fiction storytelling to pick up this book and read. I assure you, that you're not going to put it down once you embark on this journey.
Happy reading!
Thank you Netgalley and the publishing house for granting my request, it's much appreciated.

My apologies I haven’t yet got to this book as life has got in the way. But I will hopefully get to it soon and leave a review in all the relevant places.

Hmmm, where to start with this one.
I found it incredibly hard to get into, the beginning felt quite stark yet overly detailed, rather like a foreign language book that had been badly translated into English.
It was far far far too long and I really felt could have done without the sister Nellie's chapters or viewpoints, she really didn't add anything for me - especially as Belle was such a detailed narrator.
But the subject matter was extraordinary, fascinating, and I really can't believe we haven't heard more about Belle and her incredible campaign against men! So it was an amazing read in that respect and I certainly appreciated the author's research and ability to bring the story to life. It prompted me to do some real life digging of my own and have found the whole experience gruesomely interesting!
So whilst I wouldn't say I enjoyed the book as such, I'm really pleased I read it and loved the intriguing ending, even though it took far too long to get there.

Ive just spent about five days with Bella. Bella was hurt very badly when she was younger, almost beyond repair. She nearly gave up, however, she decided she would live to spite! 'It is the mark of a true survivor...we adapt and we change whenever we have to'..
What a fantastic adaptation of a true story!

Triflers Need Not Apply, is fictionalising based on the true story of Belle Gunness whose killing spree began in Chicago in 1900.This fascinating tale, tells of how a woman's pain and suffering at the hands of a man in her youth turned her into a cold hearted murderer.

Highly recommend.

This is the fictionalisation of a true story. Belle Gunnsen was a serial killer in the USA. Of Norwegian origin, she is thought to have killed at least 14 men, perhaps as many as 40.

I found this a difficult book to read. Not much happens other than the murders. Apart from the first two, she kills them all in the same way either poisoning them with cyanide or with chloral in which case she often has to finish them off with a cleaver. It's a brutal, demoralising read and has in my opinion, little to redeem it. Belle, as you might imagine, is not an attractive personality in spite of the author trying to inject some humanity into her by making her a loving mother. I heartily disliked this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Having suffered a brutal attack which almost killed her, Brunhild persuades her parents to send her to Chicago where her sister has settled. But once she arrives in America, Bella (as she’s now known) finds herself dissatisfied with her new life. The husband she finds, whilst rich, fails to live up to her expectations, and so she embarks on a scheme to rid herself of him.

Based on the antics of a serial killer in 1900s America, Triflers Need Not Apply is not an easy story to read. Bella is a hard character to like, not showing any love, care or even gratitude for everything that people do for her. With few redeeming features, she is not your typical heroine!

Sadly I struggled to get going and didn’t enjoy reading it at all. Not one for me.

This book is a fictional account of the life of a real person known as Belle Gunness, a woman who was responsible for over 40 murders during her lifetime.
Camilla Bruce gives us a very believable rendition of Bella’s life and she writes in a style that I found easy to read.
The story kept me interested right to the bitter end. All in all a very enjoyable read.

I love learning about true serial killers from history – the psychology of their minds in particular fascinates me. However, a lot of American podcasts and books just assume you know every detail about their most famous cases and jump in without giving a good amount of backstory. Triflers Need Not Apply is a real treat – a fictional story based off the real-life story of Belle Gunness who is thought to have killed 14 people and possibly faked her own death.

From the authors note at the end of the book it seems that this story was very well researched and crafted by Camilla Bruce. There’s a mixture of true incidents and facts mixed in with well researched assumptions and guesses as well as other real-life characters and events added into the story for dramatic effect. This results in a book which is engaging and interesting but also feels realistic and grounded at the same time.

Belle is written in a way that means you sympathise with her to a certain extent. There’s a childhood trauma, the expectations and behaviour of men in her life and an ambition which cannot be sated within societal values and constraints at the time which really make you feel for her as a character. As the story progresses however, you start to feel the chill of her sanity going off the rails and priorities shifting to an unlikeable person who has gone too far. The ending is really sad but also fitting and made me want to look up all I could about the real-life Belle.

I liked the fact that Camilla added the close relationship with Belle’s sister Nellie which helped add a conscience to the story. I also liked the addition of a psychotic lover who helped shape Belle into who she was as well as supporting and helping her. My only criticism would be that the book felt a little long in places – it dragged as too much detail was put into small every-day events which did not drive the story forward.

Overall, Triflers Need Not Apply is a well-crafted story based in historical truth that also keeps the drama and tension high. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin – Michael Joseph UK for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This fictionalised account of the life of real serial killer Belle Gunness had me hooked from the start. The author has taken the known facts of Belle's life and history and elaborated and expanded on them to create a novel that is as compelling as the crimes it describes are disturbing.

Whilst not exactly making her a sympathetic character, Bruce has given Belle a backstory which goes some way to explaining how she came to be the way she was. As a reader, watching the character develop and move from crime to crime is fascinating yet, despite everything, the terrible conclusion of her life of crime still comes as something of a shock.

If you like true crime or historical fiction with a gruesome edge, then this is the book for you.

Really disappointed. Uploaded this book on several occasions and had numbers between paragraphs which were very distracting while I was trying to read it so gave up in the end

Didn't really work for me. I felt I knew more about other characters, particularly the sister in Chicago than I did about the main character and I just lost interest.

It is well written with some really evocative descriptions.

Triflers Need Not Apply is both perfectly heartbreaking and disturbing at the same time.

It is a fascinating novel, based on a true story, about how one woman became a serial killer. The story is absolutely captivating and very character driven but it is a little slow in parts.

This novel is perfect for true crime lovers!

A novel based on the true story of Belle Gunness, a Norwegian immigrant in late 19th Century USA who became a serial killer. It is a very dark and gruesome read but I liked the period detail and the insights into Belles twisted pysche. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc