Lady Killers: Shocking True Stories of the World's Most Barbaric Female Murderers

by Jamie King

Cunning, sadistic and deadly - the world's most notorious lady killers are brought together in this shocking true crime compendium.

What drives women to kill? Is it love, power, revenge? There is something both disturbing and fascinating about female murderers - how those perceived as the "gentler" sex can commit such atrocities. In truth, women have been the perpetrators of many violent crimes throughout history, and this book uncovers the lethal instincts of lady killers.

Filled with shocking true stories of female murderers across the globe, this anthology details their motives, crimes and victims and delves into the psychology of the killers' minds. Cases span from poisonings to strangulations and shootings to stabbings, each crime a display of the cruelty of infamous femme fatales.

Whatever their motive - be it a crime of passion or an act of vengeance - this true crime compendium covers the heinous acts of the most monstrous women in the world. Whether you're a true crime follower or simply curious, let the stories of these lady killers satiate your appetite for the macabre.

Genres: True Crime

320 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough as a 'primer' to further reading, but in truth this all felt a bit cheap and under-done. The author adds little of any insight or anything new, and though many of the cases mentioned are intriguing, the format of the book didn't really lend itself to this being a particularly worthwhile read. It's almost as if someone consulted an encyclopedia 'list of female murderers' and tasked themselves with writing 3-4 pages (no more, seldom less) of the most basic information on each.

[Simply Sienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

O m g. I think this book was amazing. I read so many true crime stories, and yet this book included cases I've never heard of! This rarely happens for me, so it was very interesting to read about new stories. It also felt nice/familiar to read because it did include a few of "The classics" like Rose West and Myra Hindley because of course they're so infamous in the history of female killers that they just had to be included. However, I did give this book 4 stars instead of 5 because it didn't include any pictures. I'm a visual learner, so this helps me understand and process what I'm reading if I see a picture relating to the subject at hand.

I love how the author includes the nicknames for the women in this book because it gave each story something different, although they are all talking about murder. I enjoyed the authors tone and writing style. Jamie told the necessary context without invading it with his opinion and instead included this near the end. He also finalised each story with a question or statement that forces you to think about what you've just read and want to read on.

I enjoy how Jamie separated each killer into a different category like Crimes of passion and Femme Fatales. He gave a description of each different category before he introduced the murderer which made it easier to understand.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I'm glad I picked it up (Whsmiths, I think). Definitely do not recommend this to new True Crime readers, though. Some of the stories weren't for the weakest of stomachs..

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories on each "killer" however there are lots of details missing on each and even a few typos to do with dates that I had to Google myself as they couldn't be true. However the writing itself was good just wish it had been more detailed