Evil Women: Deadlier than the Male

by John Marlowe

Many people find it impossible to believe women are capable of committing brutal murders, but this book shows otherwise.Katherine Knight donned a black negligee before stabbing her lover John Price 37 times, then serving up his corpse for dinner with baked potatoes, pumpkin and all the trimmings.Sue Basso became supermarket packer Buddy Musso's 'lady love', but his dreams of happiness were shredded when she and her friends tortured him to death for a paltry $15,000 life insurance policy.Shelly Michael injected her husband with a drug that led to death by slow suffocation, then she set their house on fire.Each of the cases documented here makes for a chilling read, proving that evil transcends the sexes.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, History

253 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2012

Reviews

[Karl Wiggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Groundhog Day

I got through 41% of ‘Evil Women,’ and whilst it’s not really fair to offer a review without reading the full book, I was getting a little bored. These are interesting stories but all so depressingly similar that I’d just had enough. One tale seemed to float into another, and that one into the next, that whenever I put the book down I was unsure where exactly I was when picking it up again.

There are, for instance, a plethora of women who married into wealth and despite now having shed loads of money wanted their husband’s dead in order to own it all. Poison, shotguns, hired assassins, you name it, although it has to be said that the assassins hardly possessed Antonio Montana’s professionalism in Scarface. More bombed out of their heads on hard liquor and cocaine. Or - as the book concerns women who kill – on more than one occasion lesbian lovers.

Surprisingly there are a number of middle class, church going killers. The spur of the moment killer who finally flips after suffering years in an abusive relationship is perhaps understandable, but the calculated and pre-meditated murder by a lover of the Lord is kind of strange, and of course makes more interesting reading.

I may return to this book one day because the subject does hold a certain fascination, and a three Star rating seems a little unfair because it is compelling reading, but I honestly don’t feel I can offer this a four Star.

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories I knew, some I didn't, and some gobsmacked me!

John Marlowe has a really easy way of writing, making each account interesting without being too samey. It's definitely the sort of book you can either read a chunk of at a time or dip in to for a 2 page account. Luckily I hoovered this up in 2 goes because I couldn't stand to have it unread.

[Selvianty Yusuf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually dont know who compiled and wrote this book, John Marlowe, Nigel Cawthorne, or Charlotte Greig? My book said it was John Marlowe, so if anyone can tell me why there's another 2 different author's name, let me know.

This book consists of many real crime stories picturing women as the killers. They did henious crime, usually motivated by money or passion, and some were born a psychopath. They had bad childhood, starting from poverty, domestic abuse, or patriarchy (few female murderers had been born in the 50s or earlier where women had many restrictions growing up). It's a sad story and makes you wonder if they had born in a decent family, with good educatiom, supporting family, not issue in financial, would they ended up different? Not exactly, few muderers told in this book showed that not all bad family backgrounds can change someone into a cold bold killer. Few more variables can be added into the reasons and motives why they killes someone. Although it can't be taken as a justification for their actions. Thankfully the juries thought the same.

The title of this book can be misleading. "Deadlier than the Male". Come on. Male or female can do a lot of damage when they killed somebody. There's no 'superiorty' in this matter. They're just as deadly.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had potential. It really did. It reads more like a crime show, taking the main bits and putting it on paper. It lacks the actual description leading up to the crime, who these women actually were and their motives. It is written in very plain language and doesn't take the time to really explain. A lot of these women I had already heard of from watching crime shows, especially Deadly Women. It wasn't anything new or special, and it lacked what the show even described. This book was a disappointment.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was painful. I could not get into this at all.

This was done so poorly and I'm so disappointed by that because I was so interesting in it. There was just no rim or reason to anything. This may sound dark but there wasn't enough information about the crimes and murders. There wasn't enough background information about the women and what made them like that.

There was a lot a lot of misinformation and typos throughout the book. This was very frustrating because if I could spot the typos how could the editors WHO GET PAID to do that not catch them.

Although I did not like the writing at all, I did like the information that was presented. It was interesting just presented in a terrible way. There was about two women's stories that were done well out of the whole book.

[Jennifer Hillier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once you have read the first story you have pretty much read them all. I found this book to be pretty repetitive. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Jlsimon · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting read

This book offers a snapshot of many female killers. Each story gives the case in relatively broad strokes, but it was an interesting read.

[Carly]

Some historical female murderers that are not mentioned much or in this book but are still worth reading/learning about are: Belle Gunness, Amelia Dyer, Jane Toppan (A sexual sadist)
I'm getting a bit fed with the generalised sexist point of view or opinion of men that female murderers, serial killers are "rare"
I think the Introduction is a bit sexist to be honest but that is just my honest opinion.
Like it it not but women are just as capable of being a sadist, sexual sadist, perverted, deviant, sadistic & peadophiles as much as men are.
Not all female serial killers murder their intended victim(s) for profit/their life insurance. These specific types of female serial killers are known as a "black widow" they get married, take a life insurance policy sometimes multiple polices then plan how they will murder their husband. They then claim the life insurance and act like the grueving wife of the re ently deceased husband. Thry nirmally fo this several times, they usually have multiple husbands or boyfriends that mysteriously die unexpectedly because they were murdered.
A lot of female serial killers have a personal vendetta against one man in particular or all men in general.
Their type of victim(s) may resemble a man in their life that abused them, so they maybe mephahorically murdering their father, boyfriend or someone else man that has been in their life so the victim(s) symbolically represent that person from their life.
This aspect never seems to be taken in consideration as a motive for women to become a sadist/sexual sadist, murderer/potential serial killer.
For some women their motivation for murder us revenge for various types of abuse, rape, torture, gang rape.
Women can be a sexual deviant, perverted, a sadist, sexual sadist, perverted, mentally ill/disturbed, psychotic, delusional, women can sexually motivated to commit crimes.
A small minority of women would be a masochist & a sadist (they like inflicting pain on themselves & others) Joanne Dennehy is a good example. She would self-harm, but she also liked inflicting pain onto other peopke and went on a killing spree, randomly murdering people she didn't know because it was fun gor her in her opinion. She was obsessed with blood, inflicting pain onto men. She is a sadist.
Some women are a sadist & eager to please their boyfriend, husband and a willing & compliant participant in kidnapping, keeping a victim held captive, and engaging in the sexual/physical torture of the victim(s) resulting in their death.
Karla Homola, Myra Hindley & Rose West as perfect examples of sexual sadists/serial killers that are women.
There are different catergories for male serial killers why does the same apply to female serial killers?

Jane Andrews: Her relationship with her parents and having a abortion severely affected her mentally/emotionally. She may have felt neglected by her parents, or men in general hence her attention-seeking behaviour such as a drug overdoses, acting sexually provacative, flirty with any man that showed interest in her.
It seems like when things don't go her way, or the way she wanted them to be then she acts out and engages in attention-seeking behaviour. Her being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder would explain her weird behaviour, her state of mind at the time and how/why her relationship with Tom Cressman was toxic, codependent, abusive. Both of them seem like they are toxic and narcissistic peopke hence why they would go out of their way to publically humiliate eachother to prove a point. They weren't right for eachother and they should have ended their relationship amicably when Tom said he didn't want to marry her. His death could have been avoided.
Interest on bdsm in anal sex, bondage or role-playing to a lot of people is considered "tame" or "normal" I understand it's not for everyone, but I think it's not necessary to "kink-shame" men or women. I understand why people are uncomfortable about, but if it involves consenting adults and doesn't harm people then who are you or anyone to judge people for liking bdsm?
It's hard to judge and say if Tom was abusive or if Jane was saying/acting like he was abusive to gain attention & sympathy.
She is a murderer regardless of how or why it happened.

Tracie Andrews: So far the women mentioned in this book seem like unreliable witnesses/the person responsible for a crime(s) and tried to deflect blame with a false, fake/made up and totally unbeliavable story. They seem to have false memories or create a fake account of what happened which is neither true or belivable They claim to be the "victim" when they are the murderer.
The audacity and sense of entitlement to claim they have been victimised due to being a narcissist, is ridiculous and disgusting.
Tracie Andrews was always guilty & suspicious from the start, I have seen a documentary about them so I already knew about the case.
I appreciate that the book includes photographs of the female murderers in the book, not all true crime books include a image, photograph of the person that is mentioned in the book.
I can't believe she bit her fiancee, and physically hit him in public and in front of people.

[Zoe Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping tales of women, some greedy and some just unreal. A great read for crime fans.

[Sam Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read but really enjoyed it as retells around 20 stories of female killers, some I knew well others not so much.

[xlinaz01 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some very disturbing stories about female killers. Like some of these f***ers out here cooking ppl. 🤨

The author kept it precise. Idk why it says the name of a different author on the book cover on Goodreads...

Do not recommend reading before bed. ;-;

[Jailynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I know a lot of people complain it's repetitive but I don't see that as a reason to give it a bad rating. This is a niche book. Compare it to a marathon of the T.V. show, Snapped. If you see the marathon on and you decide to sit and watch it, you can't be upset when every episode has the same plot. You know what you're buying. You're buying a theme book with several short stories that focus on women killers so of course, every story will be similar. Now, saying that, I will add that those murder shows are a guilty pleasure of mine so I therefore enjoyed reading this book. I don't recommend reading it too quickly. This is a good book to read when you don't have much time. The short stories are perfect for those waiting on the train, coffee, kids to pack up, etc. There are a few typos and a few lines that just made me roll my eyes but otherwise, a decent read. If you're not a fan of reading about solved murder cases, don't get this book. For all those Snapped fans, this is the book for you.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting... I couldn’t read it straight through like a true crime novel because it was just the basic information about the women who did the murders. It was too simple. I’ve read other serial killer true crime novels and thought they were well written about the evil they did, but these short stories were just that, too short. I felt like it didn’t give a full background of the crimes. I don’t necessarily would like to read all the grisly details but even the court or trial wasn’t there but the simplest details and the verdict. I would not recommend this book for many reasons, one of which it’s not a “fun” or “good” read. But also because I didn’t think it was well written about each of the crimes/murderers.

[Shayla Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yowza! The women in this book = crazier than a hoot owl after midnight as my mom would say. I give this four stars for fascinating information and an excellent research tool for novelists. It would’ve received five stars had it gone through another round of copyediting. Definitely gave me some ideas for an antagonist in my next novel.

[Kristin Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I picked this up I was expecting something very different. While the author focuses on several different stories of women they are not well told. Each story only is given a few pages and the details minute. I also picked up several Grammer mistakes and the flow does not always make sense.

[Katie Followell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very enjoyable book about female murderers! It doesn't do a deep dive on any kind of theories or particular women--but I still think it offered a great overview. A nice reference book.

There is some grammatical errors, but overall was not enough to distract me.

[Marie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Syntax and diction got weird towards the end, but murder is murder.

[Sarah Dean · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you love true crime, love getting to the heart of a chilling case, love a well-told story... this isn't the book for you.

The stories are told on the most shallow level with very little background information, making them incredibly repetitive. Yes, most of the women killed for either money or revenge so there will always be similarities but without a well-written background, a fleshed out investigation, trial information etc, the stories are lacklustre at best and once you've read one, you've pretty much read them all.

The writing itself is cringe-worthy and reads like something from a sensationalist tabloid magazine.

There's also a misogynistic undertone throughout. Every single woman is described by her looks, often in a derogatory way. Some notable mentions:

"With no qualifications except her looks ... she became a club hostess and a hooker"

"With such an attractive daughter, marriage was inevitable."

"As a lesbian, Tracey was brought into contact with people who accepted and sometimes shared her sexual orientation." (Huh?!) / "Yet the lesbian skeet shooter said nothing" (A page later, in case you'd forgotten Tracey was a lesbian.)

"The town gossips must have viewed 1942 as a special year indeed ... the attractive 21 year old girl was losing her figure."

"The morbidly obese Sue may not have been the sort of women most men found attractive"

"Marie attracted a great deal of polite male attention in the hallways"

"At 5 feet tall with olive skin and skinny body, she looked every inch the glamorous model... but in her first year of incarceration, she gained forty pounds"

"Aileen could never have been described as a beauty but by now, her average looks were fading"

I could go on...

Honestly, if you're a true crime fan, skip this one.

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at women who kill or attempt to kill. Some of them were repetitions of previous cases I had read about in previous books however some were new to me. One thing I found slightly disappointing was that this book seemed to heavily feature cases in America rather than focusing on some other places in the world as it would maybe have been more interesting to read about a wider range of nationalities and cases. Informative, sharp and to the point though it is well worth a read if you are into to true crime and pyschopathy.

[Ellaisa Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me it's a 4 out of 5. It's a good read to be honest for a reader like me who loves this kind of genre or topic. However it seems that the reason are like all the same (they kill their partners for fortune or just to have an affair with another man). There are some good ones also that made me like WTF?!! You killed him for no reason. And that's mind bugling to me, because it just shows that you really can't understand how the human mind work sometimes. All in all, it's a good read, it just gets a little dull once in a while because the motive for murder are like the same.

[sammiiy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written with the obvious intention of diminishing the female victims’ perspective. Yes, these women killed, but many of them claimed their own victimhood prior to their own crime and the author entirely diminishes their own experiences. Not only that, but the vast majority of these killers killed their husbands, so saying that they’re “evil women,” implies that the worst crime a woman can commit is a crime against her husband.

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, this book is one that i read slowly, pacing out over the duration of a few months. each encounter leaves you feeling horrible at the plight of some humans. an interesting observation i made while reading was that as the book progressed, some stories no longer shocked me. it was almost as if it were natural.

[Lori Rader-Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bookstore I visited had this on hand to give to Gillian Flynn as a gift after an event she was supposed to do---but the event got canceled. Like I could pass up the chance to nab a book with that pedigree. Unfortunately, the writing is awful. The other thing that bothered me is that the author spent no time at all on the concept that a female killer is so much more rare than a male one. (He goes to the trouble of being feminist in that women CAN be killers. Good job, dude, except some numbers would have been good.) And then the women are listed in alpha order not by date, so any context for these killings is lost. Kind of a weird book, actually. I saved Gillian the trouble here.

[Samantha Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

As others have noted, this a book with many stories but not a ton of context or details regarding each case. Personally, I have really enjoyed the stories, many of which I hadn’t heard before. If you like Oxygen/ID channel true crime shows, this might be a book for you.

My only issue is the “deadlier than the male” bit. In what world?

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book with several cases where women are the killers. These cases are all fairly well known and have been covered on dateline, 48 hours, Snapped, and various podcasts. The book gives an overview of the case and the perpetrator. If you want more information then looking the case up on one of the above mentioned shows will give you that.

[Courtney Skelton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. It lacked flow. I was constantly re-reading parts to try to figure out what the author was conveying. I never felt like I really got to know who the main characters were. To sum it up, it made Wikipedia look like Bill O’Reillys non fiction series of books. Well researched yet this falls short.

[Amanda Woolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 Stars*
Some interesting stories in this book. Some were quite detailed whilst others were very brief, and I felt they could have been expanded on. As these are real crimes, further information may not have been available? This book was perfect for delving into a story or two when I had limited time to read.

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read if you're into this kind of stuff!!!! Much better than having to read through it on the internet. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because some of the stories didn't go into detail as to how people died, and because some of the grammar was incorrect.

[Sofface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on the blurb, I was expecting a much more in-depth review of these cases.
Instead, we are greeted with many small overviews.
Some may appreciate this, however, I was disappointed to find this.

Having said that, it is mostly well written and well informed.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a little to get into the format. Each murderer only gets about 5 pages to tell their story. I would have liked more detail.
After a while though it became cathartic to read a chapter a night as a nightcap. I recommend to anyone into true crime