Murder & Mayhem in Seattle

by Teresa Nordheim

Seattle harbors a dark and violent history that stretches back to a bloody battle between natives and settlers in 1856. In the early 1900s, Dr. Linda Hazzard stole money from countless patients after starving them to death in her infamous sanitarium. Three robbers opened fire in the notorious Wah Mee gambling club in 1983, killing thirteen people in the state's deadliest mass homicide. Some of America's most notorious serial killers wrought terror in Seattle, including the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway. Ted Bundy's murder spree started in King County before reaching national attention in the 1970s. Local author Teresa Nordheim exposes these and many more gruesome events that scarred the city.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2016

Reviews

[A.B. McFarland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this in the Seattle airport. It was a fairly quick read. I learned some interesting things I didn't know about Seattle's history.

[Willow]

When you use "however" 56 times in a 167 page book, it might be time to invest in a thesaurus.

[Ben Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the author, Teresa Mayhem, for being on the front lines during the epedimic of 2020.

The book reads like a newspaper more than novel, in a way I find educational. If you're from the PNW you're likely to be more interested in this than other geographies, though it's a good way to learn about some of Seattle's crime history.

There were events I wanted to learn more about and would prefer to see another 50 pages expanding this, but overall I was happy to support a local writer and learn some interesting facts in the process.

[Kirt Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not easy to read

Being from Washington State, I was intrigued about a book relating to Seattle. The first half of this quick read book was interesting from the perspective of the early history of Seattle. I found in the latter half of the book, the reality of what evil, humans are capable of, was a bit hard to stomach.

[Cat Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a good read and a solid foundation on Seattle history. Would have loved a bit more depth on the events, though I could have done without the personal conservative views of the author being sprinkled in, that gave nothing to the stores being told.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty interesting book with lots of history going back to the founding of Seattle and the various cities and towns surrounding the area.

[Dae]

Pretty good book about the history of murder and mayhem in Seattle. Quick read!

[Patrick Whitehurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on the darker side of Seattle. Detailed, descriptive, and historical. Learned a lot about that place!

[Teri Reck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up, I believe at the Sea Tac airport, and I must say, it is not the greatest piece of writing that I have ever read. Interesting topic and some fascinating stories, but the writing is very immature. It's really not up to professional writing standards, and in some ways, I wondered if it had even been edited. Although it claims to be written by an award winning writer, you couldn't prove it by me. Also, just by some of the language used, it makes me wonder the amount of research done? Or was everything hearsay? It has a bit of the urban legend in some of the tales it tells. But yowza, there is a weird plethora of serial killers in and around Seattle. That part of it was at least interesting. However, there have got to be other sources that address those crimes. I would not recommend this one.

[Tori Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'ed at 40%. I've had some recent luck with short form true crime writing lately, and thought the Seattle focus could be interesting. But I think this tried to cover too many topics in far too short a time, each subject getting condensed down so small as to become unrecognizable. I'm decently well-read about Linda Hazzard and her grifts and her abuse of the Williamson sisters, which made reading that section very frustrating, when I could see how much had been omitted. And that made me doubt the reliability of the rest as well. I think I'd be better served looking into these individuals on their own, with texts that can afford to take the time to tell their stories in full.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crime is always interesting, and especially when it occurs in my home territory of Seattle. I'm afraid this book is not the best, though. Of course, it's meant to be a quick read, not a comprehensive look at the subject, but what ruins this item is the poor writing style. It reads like a middle school term paper.

Can't recommend this one.

[Akay Tuncak · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the Seattle airport because I was intrigued to learn more about my hometowns darker past. It has some interesting tidbits in it, but is so poorly written I had to skip large chunks of it. The writing could be appropriate for a book dined at teenagers, but I’m not sure the content is.

[Gina Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

As a kid growing up in the PNW, we heard the more recent stories. The older stories I found interesting. Something to strike a conversation with a friend or family member as “did you know”?! I enjoyed how every character was a different story and all factual. Most likely useful knowledge, nonetheless a good read.