An intriguing mix of fact and fiction. This story is based on a serial killer living in nineteenth-century North America. The story begins in Norway and is told from two sisters points of view. It explores what makes a serial killer. Belle had a tough upbringing and suffered a grievous assault as a young woman. She emigrated to North America with the help of her sister, who is the story's other viewpoint. Reading the author's notes, you understand the amount of research necessary for this book. It is a detailed and grisly story with complex characters and a cleverly created historical world.

I received a copy of this book from Penguin Books UK - Michael Joseph in return for an honest review.

𝐵𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝑒𝓃. 𝒮𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 . . .

Triflers Need Not Apply - Camilla Bruce

This book is based on real life serial killer Belle Gunness whose murderous rampage started in Chicago in 1900.
I love these kind of re-imaginings and they always send me off down a rabbit hole reading around the subject and I have to admit this time it was grim.

Told in different parts of the lives of Bella; first in Norway, then America. We learn of her treatment at the hands of men as Little Brunhild then as Bella and what leads her to start her killing spree. She is ruthless, single minded and truly murderous.

‘𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞? 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.’

We get the POV’s of both Bella and her sister Nellie and this gives quite a different contrast between the monstrous Bella and her gentler sister.
Bella is angry and raging against men. An interesting character, cold, frightening and seemingly not able to socialise in what is considered a normal way. I did feel sorry for her and how she had been abused but at the same time couldn’t warm to her callous treatment of those around and closest to her. I warmed to Nellie but she is conflicted by her love for Bella and of her children and is scared of what she knows.

I could not believe what I was reading at some points, the treatment she metes out on those she meets including her children was brutal. A relatively slow paced read, I was nonetheless hooked and couldn’t put it down. This is so dark and devious, a fantastic retelling that you won’t want to miss!

✩✩✩✩✰

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With thanks to Camilla Bruce and Michael Joseph Books for my copy of this book

Based on the true story of a woman who goes on a murderous rampage in Chicago in 1900.
Early in life Bella Sorensen discovers the world is made only for men. They own everything: jobs, property, wives. But Bella understands what few others do: where women are concerned, men are weak.

A woman unhampered by scruples can take from them what she wants. And so Bella sets out to prove to the world that a woman can be just as ruthless, black-hearted and single-minded as any man.

Starting with her long suffering husband, Mads, Bella embarks on a killing spree the like of which has never been seen before nor since.

I had never heard of Bella Sorensen or anything to do with her life in the US before reading this book.

I really wanted to like this book - based on a true story of a prolific female serial killer, what isn’t too like!

Bella Gunness started life as Brynhild, born into relative poverty and hardship with a violent father, her life started unravelling at the hands of Anders, the son of the family whom Brynhild worked for. Little Brynhild travels to America, following in the footsteps of her sister, to start afresh, starting with a new name.

The story follows Bella through her rise in society, and through a number of husbands.

The story is actually good. Little is known about Bella and so the author has used imagination to write the story as she saw it. However, the novel is too long. I found the minutiae of outfits and meals and discussions to be tedious and unnecessary, causing me to lose interest and making the book difficult to go back to. Also, the repeated detail of each man she lures to her address, then kills, then disposes of - it just got boring and murder shouldn’t be boring!

I didn’t like Bella, but she wasn’t a likeable character and this didn’t impact on my final rating. I found her sister and some of the men in the book more unlikeable just because they were so non-descript and had so little impact on the book that they either felt irrelevant or you couldn’t feel sympathy for their grisly end.

This book was unexpectedly disappointing.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

The blurb of this book intrigued me as I love this genre but its not quite what I expected. Its a mixture of fact and fiction as the lead character is based on a real person who carried out some horrific crimes in 19th century Chicago. Not much else is known about the real Belle Gunness so the author embellishes and creates a character which in itself was clever and believable. She is horrific but believable and its set in a time period which was cruel and unforgiving.

The structure of the book is a chapter for the main character and then a chapter from her sisters point of view which didn't always work for me. I enjoyed the beginning and the end but I felt like I had to push myself through the middle as it felt slightly drawn out. It was different from anything I have read recently and I'm glad I persevered.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this. It's dark and disturbing and utterly compelling. I don't know how true it is to the real story but I didn't care!

Blending fact with fiction, author Camilla Bruce has been inspired by the life of Belle Gunness, born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset, who was a Norwegian-American serial killer active in Illinois and Indiana between 1884 and 1908, in Triflers Need Not Apply (released in the US with the title ‘In the Garden of Spite’).

Bruce, who herself was born in Norway near the small town that was home to Brynhild, gives voice to a woman who stands accused of killing as many as 40 people, including two husbands, children in her care, and men she lured to her farm with a promise of marriage before killing them for their money.

Much of the narrative is presented from the first person perspective of Belle, it reveals a childhood and adolescence marred by grinding poverty, abuse, and a horrendous event. Desperate to escape, Brynhild reinvents herself as Bella when she joins her older sister, Nellie, who has settled in America, and sets out to find a respectable, monied husband. Though marriage to a churchgoing hotel clerk with a comfortable living pacifies Belle for a short while, her avarice cannot be sated, and he eventually becomes her first American victim.

In a testament to Bruce’s skilled writing, it’s uncomfortable to be in the mind of Belle, who is petulant, manipulative, cold and often cruel, harbouring a seething rage beneath her public veneer. Fury and spite was the driving force behind her several of the earlier murders, but those committed later in La Porte, were calculated, motivated by an insatiable greed. Many of the details Bruce fictionalises tries to provide context for Belle’s motives and behaviour. The narrative suggests she is a sociopath, but questions if she was born or made that way, and there is the implication of mental illness, as Belle imagines dirt and rot clinging to walls and objects in homes where her mood has soured.

The intermittent perspective of Bella’s sister, Nellie, provides additional insight to her character, though I thought her contribution to the narrative was often repetitive and hindered the pace of the story. Nellie, a quiet, pious, hard working woman whose wants are modest, loves her sister and feels guilty when she suspects Belle of various misdeeds, but it’s many years before she is able to face the truth of what her sister is capable of.

I felt the settings in the novel, from a Norwegian hovel, to a Chicago tenement, and a farm in Idaho, were well rendered, and the historical period represented accurately. It’s clear, and confirmed by the Author’s Notes, that Bruce undertook a great deal of research and while there is plenty of invention in this novel, it feels grounded in truth and plausibility. There are some pacing issues, but the writing is of a high standard.

Triflers Need Not Apply has the potential to appeal to a wide audience, including those who enjoy crime and historical fiction, and the true crime genre. A disturbing, and darkly enthralling read.

I must admit I found this title a little difficult to get into at first. It can be quite difficult reading a story which is based on fact but contains characters who don't really exist. Belle Sorenson was a serial killer who got away with murdering so many people, which is very hard to believe in today's society but in the late 19th/early 20th century frighteningly possible.
I found the tale interesting for several reasons. Nellie's (her sisters) reactions to the nature of Belle from early childhood and her inability to report her when she is positive that her sister is a serial murderer.
Why Belle is the way she is ... because she was born with a mean streak or because of her experience as a vey young woman.
This tale is obviously not for the faint-hearted!
Three and a half stars for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Camilla Bruce/Penguin Michael Joseph UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book certainly has a fascinating premise which is one reason why I wanted to read it. I have read Camilla Bruce's novel, 'You Let Me In' which was a very worthy tale.

I found the pacing steady in Triflers Need Not Apply and though the book is around 450 pages long, the author did a good job of keeping me in the story with well-placed development. The book is based on the non-fiction 'true crime' accounts of Belle Gunness, a woman considered to be one of the most prolific female serial killers in American history. The story is told from two perspectives; Belle's older sister, Nellie, and from Belle's thoughts and actions. Dark, macabre, and intensely compulsive, this is a terrific fusion of historical fiction, psychological thriller, and horror. Very highly recommended.

Disclosure: Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for providing a digital ARC of Triflers Need Not Apply by Camilla Bruce, via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I nearly gave up about 20 pages in but had another read of the blurb and realised it was based on a true story, so gave it another go. Completely shocking! It is not made clear until the end of the book how much is artistic license but be prepared for a pretty bloody story. Not for the faint hearted but I am very glad I persevered. Thanks to Netgalley.

‘Man Shall Inherit the Earth, Unless She Kills Him First’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Triflers Need Not Apply’ by Camilla Bruce in exchange for an honest review. In the USA it was published as ‘In the Garden of Spite: A Novel of the Black Widow of La Porte’. The U.K. title comes from the last line of a personal advert popularly attributed to Belle Gunness.

Well, that was quirky! I had loved Camilla Bruce’s 2020 folk horror ‘You Let Me In’, so was very excited about this book. While this lacked the obvious folkloric element, aside from references to the Scandinavian tales of trolls and the hulder, certainly it was an unusual story and what a character Bella Sorenson was!

Set in the opening years of the 20th Century, it is a blend of fiction and historical true crime, a reimagining of the life of notorious American serial killer, Belle Gunness Sorenson. I had never heard of Sorenson before reading this novel though clearly she has been the subject of interest in true crime circles.

The novel opens in 1877 Norway and chronicles Bella’s (then named Brynhild) life there including the events that lead to her coming to America to join her sister, Nellie, in Chicago. To Nellie Belle will always be ‘Little Brynhild’, despite indications that something is very wrong.

The novel is narrated by the sisters allowing readers both perspectives. These dual voices worked especially well in its audiobook edition read by Natalie Naudus and Stacey Glembosk.

I found this an excellent novel and felt that Bruce did well in establishing Bella’s motivations over time. There’s something about Bella that draws you into her worldview. As the publishers write: ‘be frightened of her, secretly root for her.’

Obviously there is a fair amount of violence though a novel about a prolific historical serial killer is not going to be all sweetness and light.

I consider this a brilliant novel, well written and researched. Camilla Bruce’s Author’s Notes provides details of the real life Belle, various theories, and where she exercised artistic license.

Highly recommended.

Part true crime novel, part historical fiction, 100% what I wanted. Dark, gritty and macabre, Belle Gunness' chilling and sordid tale of revenge is just terribly captivating from start to finish and the author does a great job getting into the head of a serial killer.

Sadly this was a case of a book sounding better in theory than it ultimately was. I can see many others enjoying this book, but there was something about the pacing that wasn't quite right for me. However, this was really strong when it came to crafting a protagonist you wanted to follow regardless of all else, so I'd be looking forward to reading more from the author in the future

Bella Gunness is one heck of a character, and this book will have to staying up way past your bedtime to find out what dastardly thing she’s going to do next - and if she’s going to get away with it!

Set in the late 18th/early 19th century, Little Brynhild grows up in rural Norway wanting more from life than just being a farmhand. After a harrowing experience at the hands of the man she hopes to marry - who soon receives his comeuppance - she decides to save up all of her wages to be able to join her sister Nellie in Chicago. It’s here she reinvents herself as Bella. She soon discovers how hard it is to find a husband who can meet her exacting requirements, and just how easy it can be to dispose of them when they no longer serve their purpose.

This isn’t a book for the faint-hearted, and as Bella descends even further into the murky depths the descriptions of the situations she find herself in become increasingly graphic. I’m quite a squeamish person so this wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea, but by this point you’re so invested in Bella’s journey that you just can’t stop reading - desperate to know how far she’ll go and whether she’ll be found out.

I was gripped from the start, and the author really conjures up a sense of place. This is the perfect book for fans of historical fiction who like a little bit of the gothic thrown in. It’s a fascinating story made all the more intriguing to know it’s based on true events. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a rather disturbing read. So much violence treated in a matter of fact way. I began to wonder when it would stop! I was shocked to find out that the story was based on real events.

Could. Not, Put. This. Down.
This book was everything I wanted. Deliciously dark, macabre, and so so hard to put down.
I was familiar with the true story of Belle Gunness and wanted to see how it translated to fiction.

From the very first chapter the pages almost seemed to turn themselves. It sucked me right into the very disturbing mind of someone who was truly very very sick and I ended up sympathising with her!

I loved all the author's notes and thoughts and the end and can't stress enough that they too should be read.

This was a gruesome delight and I'm so glad I was able to read it before publication. Anyone fascinated with historical crime, killers, or just generally a good thriller will enjoy this.

Sitting somewhere between a true crime novel and an historical fiction, Triflers Need Not Apply tells the story of a woman who emigrates from Norway to the United States around the turn of the 20th Century. Despite the fact that Bella is a serial killer, Bruce paints a really sympathetic picture of her. The alternate POV of Bella's sister, Nellie, provides a great contrast as she gives a useful third party perspective.

As stated in the author's note at the end, large liberties have been taken with Bella's story so do not go into this book expecting a true account of her life however she remains somewhat of an enigma so who can truly say what kind of woman Bella was?

I would have liked to have spent a little more time with Bella as the bodies mounted as a large portion of the story is dedicated to her marriages however the punchy narrative style gave a great impression that Bella killed in very quick succession.

3 star read. Would certainly recommend this book to those interested in female serial killers, and darker historical ficition/true crime, but for my personal tastes it fell a little flat. Nellie and Belle's voices were extremely similar, which I felt could have been combatted easily with more adventurous narrative voice/s - but I was intrigued by the story, especially towards the end. Gasped out loud more than once.

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2021/08/04/triflers-need-not-apply-by-camilla-bruce/

My Five Word TL:DR Review: One Word Will Suffice: Brilliant

Fairly recently I was delighted to discover Camilla Bruce when I read her excellent debut You Let Me In so I was so happy when I saw her most recent work Triflers Need Not Apply (or, In the Garden of Spite as it is also known) become available. To be honest, the two books couldn’t be more different if they tried but one element they undoubtedly share is excellent writing and the ability to hold you gripped, mesmerised even.

Firstly, I have to hand it to the creator of both titles because they’re so pertinent. If pressed I’d probably say In the Garden of Spite is my favourite simply because it resonates in more than one way for me in terms of the story but both have their logic.

Moving on, this is a reimagining of the life of a notorious serial killer known as The Black Widow of the Midwest. To date it is unknown exactly how many people fell victim to her schemes but Bruce does an amazing job of bringing her story to the page. It’s like watching a disaster unfold – it’s horrible, grisly, bloody and twisted but at the same time creepily hypnotic, you’re simply unable to drag your eyes away.

We start our story with Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset, a young woman born into poverty and hardship. Her family are unable to afford land instead working the farms of others. Brynhild has bigger dreams but unfortunately her schemes backfire and she almost dies when she is viciously attacked. Living in Norway becomes impossible for Brynhild and with help and some hard work she finally escapes to America, reinventing herself in the process and changing her name to Belle. Belle moves in with her sister Nellie and her husband and child until eventually marrying herself.

Here’s the thing, I’m not going to go any further with the plot. I think Bruce has done a fantastic job in researching this story and it clearly shows in the attention to detail both in terms of true events and the historical descriptions provided.

So, characters. Well, Belle is an unusual character. Being inside the head of a serial killer is not a pleasant experience, quite rightly so, but she certainly is intriguing to read. I mean, you can’t like her, she’s monstrous, and I didn’t like her, if anything she scared me but there was just this horrible fascination with her thought processes. Strangely enough I usually struggle to read a novel where I don’t like the central character and yet I had no difficulty with this one. There are moments where you feel you can perhaps see how she found herself on this terrible path and there’s a clear demonstration here of the argument of nature vs nurture. Belle has not had an easy life in many respects. That being said, as we follow her sister Nellie’s chapters it does become apparent, fairly early on, that something is not quite right with Belle and as we continue to read her chapters you can’t help but see that she is different, and not in a good way, perhaps psychopathic even – she doesn’t seem to feel remorse or regret, she seems emotionally detached and yet at the same time she integrates into society with ease coming across as virtuous and kind.

Belle’s sister Nellie, as mentioned above, provides alternating chapters which is a positively inspired choice. Firstly, it gives a little respite from Belle’s twisted line of thinking and roller coaster emotions. Secondly, it serves to ratchet up the tension as the story moves along and Nellie becomes increasingly worried about her sister’s actions but is too afraid to confront her.

At just shy of 500 pages this isn’t a short novel but I seriously didn’t feel that this was drawn out. I think I was enjoying the writing, the setting, the details that helped pull me into the time and place and the stylish delivery so much that it never felt over long to me. Maybe the fact that this is a serial killer that I wasn’t familiar with also helped with that. I was hooked completely and in fact it was only on reading the author’s note after completion that I realised this was based on a true character. Mind = blown.

Overall, this was a fascinating reimagining of real life events that even to this day remain shrouded in mystery. And, whilst I realise that this is a fictional account I loved the way the author portrayed the character of Belle. Positively chilling.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 of 5 stars

A fascinating and well written story based on a woman serial killer.
The book is compelling and fascinating, you can feel the horror of the sister who see her sisters murdering.
i appreciated the storytelling, the well researched historical background.
The characters are fleshed out and interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine