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Kiss of Death: True Cases of Fatal Attraction
Obsessional sexual desire is the thread which binds together the brutal crimes recounted in "Kiss of Death". Researched from the files of the "News of the World's Sunday Magazine", this collection shows that the two most common subjects for newspaper stories are often linked - sex and death.
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Published December 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 31, 2020
Look. The content and research seems on point. But the sex worker phobic, unnerving compassion for transphobia, and borderline racist comments that just got more intense over the course of the book kinda ruined it for me.
If during a story about a woman being boiled down in a domestic kitchen the thing that stands out is the authors statement about how all girls in the Philippines want is to trap a white husband to rescue them, then that kinda speaks for its self.
Anything other than three minutes of missionary sex is WiLd aNd FrEaKy KiNkY, the constant implication that sex workers are almost to blame for their murders.
Decent little casebook but honestly eh
If during a story about a woman being boiled down in a domestic kitchen the thing that stands out is the authors statement about how all girls in the Philippines want is to trap a white husband to rescue them, then that kinda speaks for its self.
Anything other than three minutes of missionary sex is WiLd aNd FrEaKy KiNkY, the constant implication that sex workers are almost to blame for their murders.
Decent little casebook but honestly eh
June 30, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I have read a lot of True Crime and this was really well written. A must read for Murderinos.
February 15, 2021
Very interesting and well written. Most of the highlighted tales are about women killing their lovers than men but overall rather interesting regardless
October 15, 2022
Each chapter featured a different story, and felt much like listening to podcast episodes jumping from historical to current day and back again.
May 10, 2025
It’s good it was just too long. Too many short stories at once. Otherwise no complaints.
July 26, 2022
An intriguing read from start to finish. Love is not always divine. Sometimes it's just smoke and mirrors. Sometimes it turns to hatred, jealousy, boredom, greed, anger, paranoia, or simply indifference. As I read these intriguing case studies ( some which are well known ), I witnessed all the different facets that toxic relationships can have, and how these ones ended in the death of someone. Sometimes it's because the murderer has a new love interest, sometimes it's because the person to be murdered has a new love interest, has lost their appeal, or has assets that the murderer wants to get their greedy paws on. Most of these stories are just graphic enough, without being over the top gory. Some left me shaking my head at the weirdness of some so called human beings. I think the case that got to me the most was the one where a lady got mauled to death by her beloved dog.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of true crime.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of true crime.
August 14, 2020
Very interesting cases and a well-written book.
July 19, 2024
Dena Thompson starts things off as the first Black Widow in this anthology. Dena used lonely hearts ads to lure men and after fleecing them of every dime, she knocked off at least two of them. Other partners vanished without a trace.
Jill Cahill made a fatal decision in marrying her husband Jim. His devoutly Catholic family opposed the union as she was not one of the flock. Their turbulent marriage was interrupted by Jim's assault with a baseball bat. After surviving the beating, her husband snuck into the hospital and forced cyanide down her throat, finishing the task.
Martha Freeman could be rightly described as a horny housewife. She hid her immigrant Latino lover in a small walk-in closet while sleeping with her husband. One fateful night, Rafael awakened Martha's spouse by snoring in his sleep. Mr. Freeman was none to pleased and was killed during the confrontation. The lovebirds are in jail.
Jane Andrews worked as a dresser for Fergie, the Duchess of York and developed a need for the good things in life. A series of wealthy men had trysts with her but she could not lure any of them to the altar. Tom Cressman would be the breaking point. A brutal rift ended with Jane killing her partner with a cricket bat.
Love triangles are the common theme and Joe and Maria Korp and his mistress, Tania Herman make for good material. Joe convinced his lover to off his wife and she did just that. The judicial outcome is terrible.
Drew Peterson made the rounds after his arrest for murdering his third wife. The cop was a media darling whose fifteen minutes of fame ended with a conviction. Wife number four, Stacy, has never been found. She was thirty years his junior. Like O.J., he was thoughtful enough to buy her implants.
A chapter on Carolyn Warmus provides no clear answer as to her guilt or innocence. She spent twenty-seven years at a prison in Bedford Hills, NY.
Chapter fifteen is a wild one with the twice divorced John Perry venturing to Manila and hooking up with a go-go dancer named Arminda. He paid for two weeks of what here in America would be called a GF experience and the diminutive twenty-year old rocked his world. The fifty-something Brit flew her home with her child and it did not last happily ever after. The hooker bored of her sugar daddy and in a fit of jealous rage, Johnny killed and cooked his ungrateful spouse, feeding parts of her to the family cat.
Catherine Woods left Ohio at seventeen for the bright lights of NY City with dreams of stardom as a Broadway dancer. Working as a stripper in order to pay the rent on her Upper East Side apartment, she dropped one boyfriend for another and Paul Cortez sliced diced his lover in a fit of rage. He is now a resident of Sing Sing.
Crimes of passion fill this volume and the last one is a doozy. Paul Dunn was a cop whose wife may or may not have committed suicide. The high maintenance woman was gifted breast implants by her husband and after a fling and resulting pregnancy, received an abortion. A shotgun blast ended Monica's life and the trial was a media sensation.
Overall, a good compilation of complicated love lives.
Jill Cahill made a fatal decision in marrying her husband Jim. His devoutly Catholic family opposed the union as she was not one of the flock. Their turbulent marriage was interrupted by Jim's assault with a baseball bat. After surviving the beating, her husband snuck into the hospital and forced cyanide down her throat, finishing the task.
Martha Freeman could be rightly described as a horny housewife. She hid her immigrant Latino lover in a small walk-in closet while sleeping with her husband. One fateful night, Rafael awakened Martha's spouse by snoring in his sleep. Mr. Freeman was none to pleased and was killed during the confrontation. The lovebirds are in jail.
Jane Andrews worked as a dresser for Fergie, the Duchess of York and developed a need for the good things in life. A series of wealthy men had trysts with her but she could not lure any of them to the altar. Tom Cressman would be the breaking point. A brutal rift ended with Jane killing her partner with a cricket bat.
Love triangles are the common theme and Joe and Maria Korp and his mistress, Tania Herman make for good material. Joe convinced his lover to off his wife and she did just that. The judicial outcome is terrible.
Drew Peterson made the rounds after his arrest for murdering his third wife. The cop was a media darling whose fifteen minutes of fame ended with a conviction. Wife number four, Stacy, has never been found. She was thirty years his junior. Like O.J., he was thoughtful enough to buy her implants.
A chapter on Carolyn Warmus provides no clear answer as to her guilt or innocence. She spent twenty-seven years at a prison in Bedford Hills, NY.
Chapter fifteen is a wild one with the twice divorced John Perry venturing to Manila and hooking up with a go-go dancer named Arminda. He paid for two weeks of what here in America would be called a GF experience and the diminutive twenty-year old rocked his world. The fifty-something Brit flew her home with her child and it did not last happily ever after. The hooker bored of her sugar daddy and in a fit of jealous rage, Johnny killed and cooked his ungrateful spouse, feeding parts of her to the family cat.
Catherine Woods left Ohio at seventeen for the bright lights of NY City with dreams of stardom as a Broadway dancer. Working as a stripper in order to pay the rent on her Upper East Side apartment, she dropped one boyfriend for another and Paul Cortez sliced diced his lover in a fit of rage. He is now a resident of Sing Sing.
Crimes of passion fill this volume and the last one is a doozy. Paul Dunn was a cop whose wife may or may not have committed suicide. The high maintenance woman was gifted breast implants by her husband and after a fling and resulting pregnancy, received an abortion. A shotgun blast ended Monica's life and the trial was a media sensation.
Overall, a good compilation of complicated love lives.
October 22, 2025
This is a true crime anthology book, written by Jean Ritchie, whose other non-fiction books impressed me. In 'Kiss of Death,' she writes about 23 cases of real-life fatal attraction; every victim was killed by the person they thought loved them. I'm a true crime buff, and many of these case studies were new to me. Some are quite recent (the book was only published in 2020), whereas a few date back decades. Most occurred from the 1980s onwards.
The cases are varied; they took place in locations all over the world. I particularly found interesting the story of a pharmacist who killed his wife to spend the rest of his life with his boyfriend, as this happened in Middlesbrough, a town I know well. Then there was the case of John Perry, who murdered his wife and fed her body to their pet cat, and Jane Andrews, the former aide of the Duchess of York. A case that has stayed with me for years was the jealous lover John Tanner, who murdered his girlfriend, an Oxford student, in 1991. I first heard of this decades ago, and appreciated the update on what became of Tanner when he was released from jail.
Some of these murders are particularly gruesome, so be prepared for some awful details. The book is illustrated with a section of photos, thankfully none of them graphic, but of the perpetrators and victims. Unlike most of her other titles, it appears that Ritchie didn't speak to anyone directly involved in any of these cases, but no matter, she has a way of putting words together in an interesting way, and her research is always on point. 'Kiss of Death ' is another one of her 'Good Reads.'
The cases are varied; they took place in locations all over the world. I particularly found interesting the story of a pharmacist who killed his wife to spend the rest of his life with his boyfriend, as this happened in Middlesbrough, a town I know well. Then there was the case of John Perry, who murdered his wife and fed her body to their pet cat, and Jane Andrews, the former aide of the Duchess of York. A case that has stayed with me for years was the jealous lover John Tanner, who murdered his girlfriend, an Oxford student, in 1991. I first heard of this decades ago, and appreciated the update on what became of Tanner when he was released from jail.
Some of these murders are particularly gruesome, so be prepared for some awful details. The book is illustrated with a section of photos, thankfully none of them graphic, but of the perpetrators and victims. Unlike most of her other titles, it appears that Ritchie didn't speak to anyone directly involved in any of these cases, but no matter, she has a way of putting words together in an interesting way, and her research is always on point. 'Kiss of Death ' is another one of her 'Good Reads.'
September 30, 2025
A rather simple but enjoyable read which sets out multiple different murder cases ranging from cheating partners to abusive lovers. The book offers a wide spectrum of different gory cases meaning you'll find something which makes you go 'ew' or at the very least causes you to pause in discomfort.
The writing itself is average and nothing special but it gets the job done in a fluid and semi-descriptive manner. Jean Ritchie set's up the scenes well and plunges us head first into dysfunctional relationships ending in sadness and blood but the book doesn't hold any truly noteworthy descriptions or prose which would make it stand out. There are pictures included of the couples which I found to be rather helpful when it came to visualising the people, and of course makes the reality of the stories you read hit harder. Because they are real cases with real lives and real death.
The actual cases themselves range from occurring in the modern day to times when finger print checking wasn't really a thing. Something which I actually appreciated although it did make certain chapters more complicated to read then others especially when the date isn't instantly written in.
In all, this book would be a fitting holiday book. One you can easily read under the sun beside a pool. So, if your looking for an easy but interesting read this is it.
The writing itself is average and nothing special but it gets the job done in a fluid and semi-descriptive manner. Jean Ritchie set's up the scenes well and plunges us head first into dysfunctional relationships ending in sadness and blood but the book doesn't hold any truly noteworthy descriptions or prose which would make it stand out. There are pictures included of the couples which I found to be rather helpful when it came to visualising the people, and of course makes the reality of the stories you read hit harder. Because they are real cases with real lives and real death.
The actual cases themselves range from occurring in the modern day to times when finger print checking wasn't really a thing. Something which I actually appreciated although it did make certain chapters more complicated to read then others especially when the date isn't instantly written in.
In all, this book would be a fitting holiday book. One you can easily read under the sun beside a pool. So, if your looking for an easy but interesting read this is it.
October 11, 2023
I listened to the Audible edition
As the title says I did enjoy this book even though some important stuff was missing, most notably for me was the section on Buck Ruxton. This was the first time a photos were superimposed on the skulls of the suspected victims thus helping to identify the murder victims and solve the crime instead we are told that the life cycle of flies and insects were used….I’ve not found this in anything else about this crime though I may be wrong. That aside I heard about some cases I didn’t know about and most importantly the book was a freebie!
As the title says I did enjoy this book even though some important stuff was missing, most notably for me was the section on Buck Ruxton. This was the first time a photos were superimposed on the skulls of the suspected victims thus helping to identify the murder victims and solve the crime instead we are told that the life cycle of flies and insects were used….I’ve not found this in anything else about this crime though I may be wrong. That aside I heard about some cases I didn’t know about and most importantly the book was a freebie!
September 21, 2021
*Warning* - This book contains stories involving domestic violence/abuse.
This book is a very interesting read for someone with a background in Criminology. Each chapter tells a dark and horrific story about people who murdered for love or control. It really gave an insight into the minds of those who are cold calculated murders. My heart is heavy for those who innocently lost their lives to these monsters.
This book is a very interesting read for someone with a background in Criminology. Each chapter tells a dark and horrific story about people who murdered for love or control. It really gave an insight into the minds of those who are cold calculated murders. My heart is heavy for those who innocently lost their lives to these monsters.
May 5, 2024
This book take the reader trough different cases.
Please be WARNED as there is a lot of domestic violence cases. So this book might not be for everyone.
Even though each case is presented shortly I think it gives enough information to understand the awful crimes committed.
*this review is placed on multiple platforms
Please be WARNED as there is a lot of domestic violence cases. So this book might not be for everyone.
Even though each case is presented shortly I think it gives enough information to understand the awful crimes committed.
*this review is placed on multiple platforms
September 6, 2022
honestly the way the author wrote about some of the victims was horrible, there was not much great story telling and they all ended on weird snippets. just an interesting way to write a true crime book
April 2, 2023
2.5* honestly i wanted to love this book and i was so excited going into it but the writing style just wasnt for me, out of all the cases featured i only enjoyed reading about 5 or 6. idk if its just me but it felt very boring and bland at times.
February 26, 2024
This book had a new case every chapter and although the author wasn’t from the United States and used terms I needed to look up and reference it was a great book! Every case was thoroughly detailed and I would highly recommend this to any true crime fans out there!
January 6, 2021
Very sad true stories.
The book is written in a very simple and easy way, very straightforward and interesting 🧐
The book is written in a very simple and easy way, very straightforward and interesting 🧐
June 14, 2021
Some twisted people out there!
July 17, 2022
Lots of cases I hadn't heard of before. Well written.
September 12, 2022
Enjoyed the true short stories from around the world
December 31, 2024
i support women's rights and women's wrongs
February 1, 2025
Overall good book, well written.
February 6, 2025
Some interesting true stories but written badly. A good book to dip in and out of as each chapter was a different crime.
August 4, 2025
Lots of stories I haven't come across before which is always interesting! Shame about some of the untrue tropes about sex workers and women from the Philippines
October 9, 2025
A shame about the stereotyping as I enjoyed that the chapters were small snippets of lots of different cases. LOTS of DV so may be upsetting
January 16, 2024
ive already forgot
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews