Wicked Women of Detroit

by Tobin T. Buhk

MP3 CD Format Author Tobin T. Buhk recounts the thrilling tales of Detroit's most violent, clever, and misunderstood female criminals.

"Queen of the Underworld" Sophie Lyons faced off with detective Teresa Lewis in court three times, and twice in the street, rendering both women battered and bloodied. Nellie Pope goaded her lover to axe her husband in what the press called "one of the most atrocious, cold-blooded, and deliberately-planned murders" in city history. Mother Elinor L. Mason, "High Priestess of the Flying Roller Colony," was no holy roller but a criminal chameleon who changed personas as easily as some people change clothes. And a feud between Delray madams Julia Toth and Annie Smith exposed widespread graft in the thriving red-light industry and led to one of the worst police scandals in Motor City history. These stories and more await in this deliciously entertaining collection.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, History

1 pages, Audio CD

Published September 20, 2022

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

This book about female criminals is Detroit has little to recommend it. The telling is flat, although the stories themselves are sensational. It gets worse as the book progresses. I had seen it and was looking forward to reading it but honestly, it’s boring. How does an author make a book about female criminals boring? And why would it be published?

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. I listened via audio, and the narrator did a good job, which kept me far more engaged than I would've been reading physically. I was primarily interested not in the crimes but in the picture of the Detroit area in the late-1800s and early 1900s.

[Benjamin Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love the content - the writing was sophomoric but the information was interesting & I enjoyed the local history

[Xanthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the author speak at a conference about this book and his research in general into historical crime in Michigan while I was in the middle of his book, which confirmed my impression of the his depth of knowledge and insight into examining Michigan's murderous and criminal past. This book is full of many details about crimes in question, with supporting pictures when available and analysis of the events and historical circumstances. I especially appreciated that he spent some time on how women were included on the law enforcement side for moral and modesty reasons, something what I was totally unaware of and annoyed that I didn't know. Buhk also had a brief overview of women's gradual inclusion into the judicial system as they were only legally permitted to be on juries in the 192os in Michigan, but were still barely involved even when granted that right. I'm not a true crime buff and bloody murders do not thrill me, but the historical contexts of these crimes and the history surrounding them was well-done and I was left feeling that I understood so much more about women's lives in these times, whether criminal or not.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened as an audiobook, and I really enjoyed this one. It was a collection of fairly surface-level stories, with some more interesting than others, but it was easy to get through via audio.

My main complaints had more to do with the narrator than the author. Sometimes the narrator’s breathing was distracting, and her cadence was often annoying. I’d read more from this author, but I’d hope it was a different narrator.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Tobin T. Buhk recounts the tales of Detroit's most violent and devious female criminals. I love one of the comments by Nina Housden "I'm sorry he's gone......I really loved him." after hearing what she did to her husband. Many of the crimes were late 1870's and early 1900's so I had not heard of many and of course had no idea there were so many. The historical background of the crimes and the history surrounding them was well done. I very much enjoyed reading this book

[Cromaine Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buhk's book is an interesting history of Detroit's most famous and misunderstood female criminals and the prisons that housed them. The book was well researched and supplies wonderful contextual perspectives on the inclusion of women in the judicial system.

Recommended by Adult Services Librarian Rachel

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is written as though it were a history text book and parts of it are very dry. Some parts are also a bit difficult to follow along due to wordiness. I really wanted to rate this higher but reading this book felt like a slog considering how interesting the subject is. What I liked best about this book are the photo's as it make the history come alive as it humanizes the lady criminals.

[Dorothy R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the stories, but thought some of them were a little muddy and hard to follow, which might have been addressed through clearer writing. Choice of story and research into the past is appreciated.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at criminal women in Detroit from the late 1800's - early 1900's.

[Annette]

Did not finish. Not what i thought it was

[Rosemary Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was a bit boring. It was difficult to finish because I wasn’t excited to read it.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too dry. I was expecting something a lot more fun and entertaining.

[Jill Mess · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of historical true crime cases.

[Cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

idk how you can make this boring but he did

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short historical stories. Could not even get half way through. Perhaps because of the narrator?

[Karen]

When asked about suggestions on historical reads by Alex Lawson.