So this is the first nonfiction book I've done since I started doing my reviews and I was not disappointed. This book is set to release in December so if you know anyone who loves history or true crime then consider giving this one as a gift.
Blake's book examines seven different women who were found to have committed murder, suspected of murder, or charged with murder in the Victorian Era and of the bunch I was only familiar with Lizzie Borden. So I really learned a lot reading this book and that was awesome.
I enjoyed that Blake's book looked at a diverse grouping of women as they had different social classes and even different personal backgrounds. At first I was concerned that this was only going to be a book examining women who had murdered their children but once you get past the first two chapters the crimes become more varied and in some cases more heinous.
Blake's book differently reads like a true crime documentary (think Forensic Files or Snapped) which I loved because I think it made it a faster read. Throughout the book Blake often provides insight and context into the period and circumstances which could provide for some perspective about the women and help in figuring out their motives for committing their crimes. However, I found that I wanted to know more about the gender dynamics of the period and how this played into the women being charged and sentenced. Occasionally Blake provides some of this information but it is rare.
For me Blake's book was great at detailing these women and she used her primary sources in an excellent manner, although, and maybe this was just a formatting issue on my device, sometimes it was hard to tell when she was done utilizing a source and switching back to her narration of the events. Throughout Blake provides some tidbits about women and crime but she never really delves into these matters. The book lacked an introduction to inform the reader exactly what she would be examining. Blake basically jumped into the first case with no preamble, which is why I think it had a true crime tv show feel. Blake also didn't really conclude anything. The book just stops with the end of the last case without delving into any of the issues or questions that are raised regarding gender dynamics and crime.
Despite all of this the book is still a fairly quick read that provides remarkable details about these women and their crimes. I enjoyed reading about cases that I had never heard of and enjoyed that it almost felt like I was watching a true crime show. I recommend adding this to your list if you are a history or true crime buff.

Victorian Murderesses was full of interesting women who were notorious for heinous crimes. I enjoyed learning about the history of each one before getting into the acts they became known for. In a couple cases, I wanted more but I was satisfied on the whole. The level of detail might be off putting to some as the crimes are not lightly described. I was fine for the most part as I don’t like reading gore but it is something of note. The one thing I stilled wanted at the end was some sort of commentary on how justice was given or denied to women because of their gender. Overall, this was excellent and I highly recommend.

I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

I love a good true crime read and I am also a huge fan of the Victorian period and this book combines both - I am not ashamed to admit that I am fascinated by the psychology of serial killers and there are some of the most "famous" or infamous Victorian Murderesses that feature in this book and despite women most commonly being reported as opting for poison to commit their crimes, not all of those featured in the book went down that route.

The book was easy to follow and considering the subject matter it was an easy read too, I thought that it was very well written and set at a good pace. The book focussed on facts and it wasn't overly gory, I really enjoyed it and I liked the mix of US and UK women chosen to make up the seven murderesses featured in the book.

I was able to read a couple of chapters a day without losing track as the author has laid the book out really well. It is 5 stars from me for this one - a must read for fans of true crime and the Victorian era to give a different view

I felt that this book provided a good overview of several murderesses from this time period, however it was not really balanced. I felt that Lizzie Borden was very condensed and kind of felt rushed. The last one seemed to really drag on. I think it would be more effective to provide more of a who, what, when, and where interface so it does not feel so choppy. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

I enjoy reading about the Victorian era and all the true crime from that time. I have previously read other books on the the same subject so I was dubious about how much I would already know from this book.

I was happily surprised to read things I had no previous knowledge of and Murderesses I had not heard of before.

Its a professionally written book which has been researched and is respectful of the subject matter. The cases were covered in detail and showed various reasons why these women chose to commit their crimes.

Thanks to Pen and Sword and Net galley for the ARC Copy of the book. My review is my own opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book about some famous murderesses from Victorian times both in England and the US. I knew the Lizzie Borden story pretty well but it was still interested to read here and presented in an interesting way. I also know the story of the Bloody Benders well. They were the first family of serial killers in the US and that story is insane, There is a fictionalized version of their story coming out soon. This book is focused on Kate Bender, the young and beautiful daughter who held seances in their little cabin in Kansas. She also helped lure traveling men into her cabin as her father, brother and mother helped kill them. The other stories I was not familiar with at all. They were all interesting and well presented. Two of these really stayed with me. One was about Mary Ann Cotton who likely killed a couple dozen people. She killed her husband and kids, got re-married and killed that husband and kids, and then did the same with her third family. She moved around but never too far and its boggles my mind that she could murder so many children and not have the deaths connected to her for such a long time. The final story in the book focused on Jane Toppan, a well regarded and educated nurse. How many patients would she kill before being caught? The contents of this book are very engaging and interesting. I will take say that the one downfall is that there is nothing to tie the stories together. There is no introduction of any kind discussing the time period in general and the commonalities of these women. That would have been beneficial to see included.

For all fans of true crime, or Victorian era crimes, this is a novel you should not miss. Although the crimes are gory, and disgusting, I found myself enveloped and immersed in the lives, crimes and outcomes of these 7 female killers during the Victorian Era, in the US and the UK. Deep, extensive research and well developed stories will leave you wondering how could anyone even think of that...or doing that?? What would possess a person to do such a thing??
Debbie Blake has written a true crime book that is absorbing as the the gory details of the crimes committed. I look forward to more from her.

Fascinating and rich in detail;
The book describes seven cases of female murderers in the 19th century. The cases range from infanticide in poor circumstances to a murdering nurse. The book is well written and easy to read. I was fascinated that so many details about the cases could be researched. Since the author not only describes the deeds, but also the life story and living conditions of the murderesses, the circumstances can also be classified sociologically and culturally. It's unbelievable how life has changed in the last 150 years, especially for women. Nevertheless, the motives are timeless in a certain way and show that women experience more pressure than men in many ways. An entertaining, interesting read!

Very interesting analysis of women’s crimes in the Victorian era. I think it's a very educational book, very informative, and fun to read, especially if you are into true crimes. I'm really happy to finally see more women throughout history, even if it’s not necessarily in a good light.

I liked this book but I wasn't obsessed with it, I’m not the biggest fan of this genre, but I would still recommend it, especially to people that are into thrillers, crimes, and mysteries.

My favorite kind of murderesses are Victorian ones. Is it wrong to say this was a fun read? If you like historical true crime, this is one to check out.

It was the time of hoopskirts, parasols and petticoats, of smelling salts for ladies having the vapors, and ladies taking walks and.... committing murder. Ladies were committing murder in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons.
Murder was not just something she wrote about, it was something she did.

One doesn't think of women murdering in past times, but it certainly did happen. This book tells the tales of Victorian Age murders by women, based on a variety of sources. This book covers a little known piece of history told in careful detail.

This book is a fascinating read. I always wondered what pushed these Victorian women to kill? They killed their children, husbands, lovers. Was it sheer desperation? Mental illness? Pure evil?

In this books Debbie Blake masterfully tells these women's stories ans answers the important questions: why, where, how?

I really wanted to know more about Mary Ann Brough who served as wet nurse for Queen Victoria's heir, Bertie the Prince of Wales. Her story is probably the saddest, because it appears she suffered from mental illness (no wonder, considering her multiple pregnancies that may have left her suffering from the untreated postnatal depression or psychosis).

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history and true crime. It was a perfect blend of both for me. Loved it.

What a book full of often ruthless women who murder. sometimes out of pure poverty but also calculating because one is richer or just for fun. interesting to read how the police and justice system worked and how this was not even that different from now. Although the severity of the sentences did more justice to the crimes in my eyes than in the present time.

I didn’t love this but found some of the stories quite interesting. A couple of the women I hadn’t heard of in other podcasts or books which was good but I don’t know why we needed another book with a section on Lizzie Borden.
I like reading true crime and the book is really well researched though.
My main gripe is that it is very clunky to read and this makes it dull in places. It reads like a text book written by someone who doesn’t really like the subject.
Its basically a rather factual (or speculative) account without any analysis or thought from the author which would have made the book great! The court room bits were dull and as someone who goes to court for work a lot- didn’t seem to see why the women responded the way they did in the courtroom.
I didn’t care what they were wearing and though that a good edit would help this a lot. And would mean the author could add more women into the book.
Read through netgalley for an honest review

I am sucker for a good true crime non-fiction, any time -- and Blake's Victorian Murderesses absolutely satisfied my every expectation of the genre. It was gory and chilling, all the more so because of the historical grounding of each case covered here.

Each chapter -- there are seven of them -- examines a specific killer and the details of her crime(s). Four of them focus on British murderesses: Sarah Drake, Mary Ann Brogh, Kate Webster, and Mary Ann Cotton, while the remaining three cross the Atlantic to provide accounts of the disturbing murders perpetrated by Kate Bender, Lizzie Borden (of course), and Jane Toppan. I was grateful that Lizzie got only a chapter; the fame of her crime has sullied my interest in her case. I've simply read it too many times for it to invoke any novel shock, but I acknowledge that the Borden murders warrant a place in a book like this.

What makes Victorian Murderesses such a fantastic read is the way in which Blake colors in the context of these women's lives; not only do we get a rare glimpse into their worlds, but the Victorian world as a whole, especially as it was for women of a certain working and middle class. The reader also gets to see how these women got away with their crimes for a significant part of their lives and how police operated to discover them. In some cases, like with Sarah Drake, I could not help but feel a bit sorry for the murderess as much as the victims; institutionalized sexism drove some of these women to extreme lengths -- though I cannot say I condone their decisions to take innocent lives. In some cases, like Cotton's and Webster's I found myself wondering how it was possible for them to commit so many crimes without getting caught earlier! I wonder at how it was that Lizzie Borden became so famous when these other women committed so many more criminal acts.

Kate Bender and the Bender family were -- for me -- the most dastardly, the creepiest of the seven chapters. Their crimes were like those out of a grisly, B-rated horror where a family of four drives down a lonely farm road... and is never seen again... Brr. I feel shivers thinking of it now.

This was a fantastic true crime read, fun and gore all around, enough to keep you wanting more.

Great Non-fiction study of female killers during Victorian times, who they were, their backgrounds, their crimes, and punishments. The book had me thinking about why these women did what they did, since it is not a normal or common trait for a woman to kill another human especially her own children.

Yet, even today we here horror stories of mothers killing their kids. Why do they? In Victorian times, it seems to be from poverty, unwanted pregnancies, or mental illness. Today, with the changes in abortion laws., we may start to see this happen again as far as unwanted pregnancies and lack of treatment for mental illness.

I felt this book was neutral as far as presenting the facts about these women, which allows the reader to think about them unbiased which I appreciated. I recommend this book for anyone trying to inderstand what pushes a human to kill another and compare the stresses of then and now. Is it really any better for women?

Rating 4/5 stars. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

A bit dry, but full of detailed information. The author does her best to build a story, not just tell it, and the depths of research show.

I found the book difficult to finish, but that might be from coming off so many fast-paced fiction novels, and not the fault of the author.

I look forward to seeing what else this author does.

I’m always interested in True Crime, but I find historic true crime fascinating.
I like to learn about the social history aspect of the killers lives. What are their circumstances? Is there a direct cause for their actions? And so on… I could go in forever with questions.
This book has it all. It’s clearly well researched, and well written. There’s a lot of thought that’s gone into producing this wonderful book.
I absolutely loved it, I can’t say anything more!
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my arc.
5 out of 5 stars!

A fascinating read about people who thought they could get away with murder in Victorian times.

Occasionally it felt a big long winded but a lot of research has gone into this.

I do really enjoy true crime books and the cover of this book really appealled to me. We normally hear about male murderers and less about female ones. I loved how this book had a section for each murderer and you could follow the story from before they committed their crimes, during it and what happened after. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.