17 Deadly Women Through the Ages: True Crime

by BUS STOP GUIDES

BUS STOP READS ARE SHORT QUICK READS17 DEADLY WOMEN THROUGH THE AGESTRUE WOMEN SERIAL KILLERS Our society can barely account for evil in males, let alone imagine it in females. The female nests, creates, and nurtures doesn’t she or is it that we just want to believe in the intrinsic non-threatening nature of women?Yet, history is full of instrumentally violent women who have fought wars and battles throughout the world, with no less ferociousness than men, women such as Dynamis of Bosphorous, who starved her husband to death and took control of his kingdom, or Artemisia, the queen of Halicarnassus in the 5th century, who conducted a brilliant but brutal military campaign against the Greeks. Mary Tudor, Queen Mary 1 of England, in 1553 became known as “Bloody Mary,” for her extreme cruelty and willingness to execute people.In this short book meet 17 less known but equally murderous cold blooded women. After reading it you may find your perception of the gentler sex changed irrevocably. Enjoy.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, History, Mystery, Historical, Short Stories

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just a few little synopsizes (that may or may not be the plural. Blame spell check). It gives a quick overview of female serial killers. Apparently the weapon of choice is poison.
There are some horrific true stories in this book, but luckily for me they weren't too graphic. Still...
That maybe why its called a bus stop book instead of a lunch hour book. 🤢

[[ J o ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a truth not universally acknowledged that, despite the fact that people seem to be increasingly interested in serial killers and make countless films about them, it's only fun if it's a white man doing it.

Bus-Stop Reads are a short series of compilations from other books to give a quick taster of what you can expect. This little surprising delight features extracts from books on female serial killers, most of which were written by Sylvia Perrini, who has a series of books of serial killers throughout the ages, split in to different themes such as those who poisoned or those of the Victorian Era who were Baby Farmers.

They're not really written all that well, but to be honest the subject matter makes up for that. I will say that there is an obvious gentleness when it comes to telling you about these killers: they are laid bare and are set out in a very factual manner with no rhyme or reason given for why it happen, simply that it happened which is how I like my facts on the ugly side of Human Beings to be presented.

It's just a really great starting point for learning about female serial killers. It's simply odd how sexist people are toward even female serial killers. How many films have male serial killers, or male killers, WHITE male killers, that are glorified and glamourised, but when it comes to the female of the species nobody cares to make any films.


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[Jazmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a quick, easy read of true crime cases of deadly women throughout history and goes as far back as 17th century Italy. There was a few cases I knew, some I didn't. I actually learned quite a bit.

However, even though this is the type of book I love reading, there were grammatical errors and missing words. This book also really lacked depth, and it feels more like you're reading high school research papers. This is why I only gave this book a rating of 2 stars.

[Neon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Would read more.

What I didn't like about '17 Deadly Women Through the Ages: True Crime (Bus Stop Reads)' was the shortness of the book, but I'm not complaining. I just would have enjoyed more.

I like that the stories were about normal women, and I was often surprised by the morbidity of some of the crimes. It keeps the reading fresh and exciting. I really enjoyed reading this.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a bit of extra time and a love for true crime.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. This would have probably been better had we seen more variety when it came to the killings, they were all either “woman just poisons everyone” or “woman strangled babies”. Both of which are extremely tragic but a tad boring to read 17 times in a row.

[Ms Sarah E Woodall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing little morsels

This book is basically a preview of the authors other books on female killers. However, the extracts are well written and fairly detailed. A good advertisement for the longer books.

[David Batterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a troubling read of history's most brutal, serial killing women. Like Dynamis of Bosphorus, who gladly starved her husband to death just so she could take over his kingdom. And of course there was the lovely Queen Mary 1 of England aka "Bloody Mary" and her enthusiasm for executions and torture. And then, Tofania for using arsenic to manufacture facial powders, poisoning her prey. It's amazing how arsenic, a known poison could be so successfully used by so many murderers both men and women throughout world history. Dagmar Overbye at least used her hands to strangle her victims, a much deeper commitment if you ask me.

The punishments received by most of these deadly female serial killers was worse than the murders they'd committed. You'd think that they'd either have been more careful not to get caught, or they just didn't care. Either way, a great short read for anyone who loves world history and reading about true crime.

A really great informative read!

[Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shallow in scope and nothing you couldn't find on Wikipedia; also in need of editing - mainly for run on sentences and dodgy comma usage - but still morbidly fascinating. Oh - and it's FREE.

[Ladyalexia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of baby killing and husband poisoning. I had not heard of any of those women so it was pretty interesting.

[Desireè Wingate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed a nonfiction novella for my library reading challenge and I just so happened to stumble upon this. And let me just say, I am SO glad I did. I’m not a big true crime junkie, but I do appreciate wild history. And this is full of it, even with being how quick of a read it is. I highly recommend if you’re not really into true crime, but you do enjoy learning about crazy people 😆

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have had 9th grade students who wrote better than this person. Not only is the book poorly written with numerous punctuation errors, it was difficult to follow in places because the antecedents were unclear. If the author is a junior high student, then I can understand how this level of writing would be acceptable. There are so many interesting things that could be said on this subject. It just wasn’t done in this book by this author.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an advertising book this wasn't actually not really that bad to read and I think I can say that the author understood pushing her books too much would actually turn down readers. Instead she would give several stories from one of her original books and then at the end of the grouping that the reader was reading would it only show up that the stories came from this particular book while here is the link if you are interested.

Furthermore the writing was simple and easy to understand while there was that nice flow that I enjoy in my true crime novels where you get an explanation of the person than their crimes as well as what may have drove them to do what they did. The author also included what may have caused them to be found out, their trials and of course how they were punished. Being mostly of historical crimes it definitely wasn't of a dry read.

Although women serial killers almost always seemed to use the same methods to reach their means it is the women themselves who add the variety. How they reach their goals, how they use their wits, their wealth if they had it and also even in some cases their looks is what makes them so dangerously human to our eyes.

All in all if you are into true crime or even history involving women this is going to be your book. If I had the funds I would definitely be interested in the series but as for now I will have to sit back and enjoy what I have read here while hoping someone finds my review useful.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

no better that Brain Food: Apple Slices
Scandal Level: Red
Violence: 6 poisoned cocktails
Must be ___ old to read: 16
Read if you liked: The most Evil Women in history
Re-readability: Once is enough

Thoughts: This is a series of short bios pulled from several books about evil women. Most of them are poisoners but there are a few baby killers in the mix as well. They are each presented in a very dry way, which is nice is some ways because it minimizes the creep out factor, but at the same time it makes each of the women seem very one dimensional and they loose their interest. If this was trying to get me to buy the full length books it failed. However it did introduce me to some women I had never heard of and made me want to go look for individual bios about them.

[Bettye McKee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting cases

This book consists of several brief writings about female murderers in history. While the writing is unprofessional, the information is quite interesting.

Most of the cases involve poisoners and baby-killers, and many received the death penalty. Writers, please, refrain from telling your readers that a criminal was hung. The word "hanged" was created for this one purpose; please use it.

[Adrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short version involving excerpts from other novels. For the most part it is information you could find by doing a few google searches. Regardless, it is still interesting and I learned some things.

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read

Interesting stories, especially the ones in the early 1900 period, and ones not in the USA. These women, almost got away with it.

[Angela B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick easy read, correctly called “Bus Stop Reads”, as an indicator of how brief each case study/chapter is & how quickly the entire booklet can be completed. After each couple of case studies, information is provided @ the actual book that the studies are summarized from, all by the same author, Stephanie Glover. I must say, however, that the actual books that these various case studies are taken from in a condensed form, appear to be just a longer booklet form than the one that these case study summaries are in in this version! I’m unaware of the actual lengths of these various booklet forms, but I must say that upon appearance their lengths all seem fairly similar, except for this particular booklet, as it summarizes the case studies found in the original booklets, & therefore, is naturally a shorter booklet as a result of it being merely summaries! Thus, my recommendation would be to find the original set of booklets that are organized by the dates that the various female serial killers were active, & read those rather than wasting time reading the summaries provided in this shorter booklet version.
What exactly will you find in this set of case study summaries? As the famous “Dragnet” version states, “Just the facts, Ma’am/ Sir!”! Each case is approximately a page or two long, giving the basic facts @ a past criminal case involving a female serial killer. As these cases are from specific times in history, all having occurred prior to modern forensic techniques being utilized & definitely before any type of DNA analysis was available. Thus, the summaries are fairly basic in their criminal activity level, let alone in the methods to discover the guilty party. All the killers tend to be serial poisoners & are successful in their endeavors only through a lot of luck & lack of communication, & not through any brilliant, mastermind level of criminality! However, the cases & their historical significance are interesting & do make for a nice escape, if only to compare techniques used, or not, by police in the past compared to those used currently. If you are interested in True Crime case studies, however, as I suggested previously, I would not waste my time with these summaries, but would instead locate the original, more detailed, & lengthier versions of these studies, & read those.

[Sarah Jensen]

17 Deadly Women Through the Ages: True Crime by Bus Stop Guides presents a gripping examination of historical female serial killers, uncovering the brutal realities behind their infamous acts. The book delves into the lives and motivations of these women, revealing a darker side of history that is often overshadowed by their male counterparts.

Among the intriguing figures featured is Dynamis of Bosphorus, whose ruthless act of starving her husband to seize control of his kingdom is both shocking and fascinating. The narrative also casts a spotlight on Queen Mary I of England, known as "Bloody Mary," highlighting her notorious enthusiasm for executions and torture during her reign. Another standout is Tofania, who ingeniously used arsenic in beauty products to poison unsuspecting victims, showcasing the cunning strategies that some of these women employed.

Arsenic emerges as a common thread in the stories of both male and female killers throughout history, emphasizing its notorious reputation as a preferred poison. The book also includes Dagmar Overbye, who is recognized for her brutal method of physically strangling her victims, further illustrating the varied approaches these women took to commit their crimes.

One of the more thought-provoking aspects of the book is the examination of the punishments faced by these killers, often harsher than the crimes themselves. It suggests a certain level of carelessness or indifference among the killers regarding their potential to be caught, adding a layer of complexity to their motivations.

Overall, 17 Deadly Women Through the Ages is a must-read for anyone intrigued by true crime or world history. The book combines well-researched historical accounts with engaging storytelling, making it both informative and captivating. It shines a light on the often-overlooked narratives of women in the true crime genre, making it a significant addition to the literature on the subject.

[Jerimy Stoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

17 Deadly Women is a short compilation of women through the ages that committed heinous crimes against their fellow man. It was interesting to me how many people they were able to murder before people became suspicious of them and involved law enforcement. One thing I was taught by Gunnery Sargent Howes (USMC) while I worked for him was that there were just as many, if not more female terrorists than men. Psychologically, people are less likely to suspect the "weaker" sex and so they are able to operate more freely to carry out their nefarious deeds. To add to that, when I worked at an all male correctional facility as a corrections officer, some of the officers I worked with who had worked at the all female prisons informed me that female inmates were far worse than males. First of all, they were better at playing mind games, and secondly, they had a wider range of nasty things they thought up to assault their officers with. With that being said, I am glad I read this short book. It's a little more than fifty pages, and I couldn't put the book down for long, so I read the whole thing quickly. Enjoy.

[Lunara Alder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Excerpts

These are excerpts from several of the author's books, but there was enough substance to each woman's story to make a satisfying short read. I was excited to discover that I hadn't heard of a majority of them, which means this author isn't just writing about the same women everyone else writes about (Nannie Doss, Elizabeth Bathory, etc.).

I do think just one more edit would have been good to fix a couple minor mistakes, but it wasn't enough to detract from the reading experience.

I also think the cover could be changed - Medusa doesn't quite fit, and not just because she's a mythological being.

Overall, I'd recommend this to those curious about female murderers. It's a good introduction with less known cases, and if readers are interested in more, they just need to read the books these pieces were excerpted from.

[Donna M Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, buuuut...

The cases were interesting, and I liked that they were in chronological order. I thought they were informative but not boringly so. However, all but one; maybe two, had to do with poisonings. I would have rather seen a variety of methods, so to speak. Also, I liked that there were photos, when possible to procure. I think though it would have been acceptable to have sketches for the cases dated early, even if they didn't accurately depict the person. I feel photos and illustrations help the reader get lost in the book. With all my prattling finished, I really enjoyed the book and wouldn't mind reading more of the author's works :)

[Quinesia Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very personable read, having respect for clarity and brevity. The 17 deadly women chosen to be discussed were basically all shockers. However, I rated this at 3 stars because there was a mid- way redundant lull, due to the same cases being all similar poisonings. Maybe not a bus stop read, this is more of a city-to-city bus read, as was it is a little long for me. Pretty shocking cases, if you're not completely aware of what 1700- 1800 women serial killings were like. I loved it, I wish Glover would do more true crime bus stop reads.

[Bookworm86 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and quick read about 17 women who murdered several people including their own families. I had not heard of any of the women in this book so ili found it quite interesting to learn something new and it also shows that the typical white male murderer may be the most spoke about but is certainly not the only "type" to kill. Sometimes the "shock factor" comes from some of the worst female killers who you wouldn't expect to kill their own and other people's children. An easy read and well written book

[Charissa Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview: We are all aware of the many serial killers in the world. At least we're aware of the men. But, women couldn't rack up a major body count, right?

Dislikes: It's amazing how many bodies that these women were about to rack up, simply based upon their gender.

Likes: The stories moved fast. As well the killers were punished for their actions; at least they were taken out of society.

Conclusion: This is an interesting book. It will be for the true crime fans. And it might give the writers a good idea for some villains. Enjoy the read.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough little book , nice quick read, and punctuated with each chapter being a different subject, good book therefore to dip in and out of if out and about. School run/bus stop/ dr office etc.

Takes excerpts from larger books on subject matter. Gives brief description of the crimes and punishments, and a good starting point to see which subject you may wish to read further about.

wont take more than 30 mins of your life, so not much to loose.

[ruby2shoes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some might assume that women serial killers are rare, that is not the case. This book reveals that women have been involved for centuries.

These cases maybe a samplers of Stephanie Glover's other books yet each individual case opens the door of what women are capable of doing. Intriguing, leaving one wanting more. Very fascinating.

[Lynnaurya · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read as stated in the title. All the women mentioned used the same main method of killing: poison. It would've been nice to have a little more variety in the women chosen. Some I had heard of before while most I never knew about which was nice to learn but the killing method became a bit stale after a few women.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

Now and then I like to read true stories without all the fluff (long backstory, dialog, drawn out court room scenes, etc). I like it when an author gives the facts. Book like this are a good reminder that life has always been what it is and that there a boogeymen (and women) out there. And it’s good to know that sometimes they get caught and held accountable.

[sequoia spirit · Rating 1 out of 5]

while i like this genre of book, this one just didn't do it for me.. it really didn't even merit 1 star.. the writing is flat.. nothing more than reading snippets on a wiki page.. the author is simply writing down the facts.. 17 stories of woman poisons husband.. woman poisons son.. yada yada yada..
i'm glad it was such a short book & quick read..

in my opinion, skip it..

[Savannah Lee Sailors · Rating 3 out of 5]

17 Deadly Women Through the Ages by Bus Stop Guides. 3⭐️.

while i REALLY enjoy true crime and learning that most women in these little short stories kill with poison i wish they were longer inserts. they weren’t written very well and i just wanted MORE , but with it only being 64 pages it was an easy read and i loved all the pictures.