Lady Bluebeard: The True Story of Love and Marriage, Death and Flypaper

by William C. Anderson

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 The woman believed to be America's first female serial killer came of age in the unlikely setting of rural Idaho. Just as unlikely was the method she devised to dispatch her victims. 

Even then she could have gone scot-free had it not been for the dogged persistence of the deputy sheriff of Twin Falls, Idaho. Armed with little more than suspicion, he unearthed (literally) the evidence, then set off on a search that included a dozen states, plus Mexico and Hawaii. 

Her conviction, after a long trial, did not end the She escaped from prison and enjoyed a year and a half of freedom, during which time she continued to attract men and marry them. When she was finally returned to prison, she accumulated name was Lyda Trueblood-Dooley-McHaffie-Lewis-Meyer-Southard-Whitlock-Shaw. The newspapers of that day had their own names for her, such as "Lady Bluebeard" and "Lethal Lyda."

This is the improbably story of her life and of the dogged efforts of Deputy Sheriff Val Ormsby to dig up the evidence that finally put her in prison.

Genres: True Crime

183 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

William C. Anderson served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II up through the Vietnam War, retiring as a colonel. He began writing in the 1950s, with a series of columns for MATS Flyer, the magazine of the Air Force's Military Air Transport Service (later MAC Flyer, after MATS became the Military Airlift Command).

Several of his books were autobiographical accounts of the adventures of Anderson, his wife, Dortha, and their children, Ann, Scott and Holly.

Reviews

[Noran Miss Pumkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, based on facts, gives the account of the events from the point of view of detectives that hunted her down. Fascinating to see the grunt work of the pre-WWII era law enforcement. Personally I am surprised the sheriff approved all the leg work/travel his deputy did on this case. You only get brief points of view the the murderess. I just would like to know what she spent all her money on--never mentioned at all. I highly recommend this book to CSI fans, that enjoy history.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting to me because it is a true story based in Twin Falls. To be honest I live about a mile from where she is buried. Very interesting story and interesting how the saying Serial Killer came to be.

[Lori R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a page turner for me, because I was very intrigued with this woman. She was local to my hometown, and I needed to read her whole story in order to understand her better for a very small event in which I played the part of Lyda Southard in our local cemetery.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another intriguing true story spoilt by appalling editing, sadly. Repeated apostrophes missing, the became thd, very became veiy, were became we're, obscene became oscend and some dates were mixed up too. It didn't make for a pleasurable read though I persisted because I wanted to learn more about how Lyda ended up.
She was certainly an intriguing character who got away with more than she was prosecuted for, I'd expect. She was certainly ingenious in her escapes from the law many times.
It was a very interesting story but just not very enjoyable to plough through so many mistakes.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The is the story of the first known female serial killer in the U.S., set in a time period when most people had no idea what a serial killer was. Nor did they think a woman could be so cold blooded as to kill not only several husbands, but also her own relatives. The book is a great study into the mind of an very intelligent woman who used her cunningness to kill and get away with it, and pull a great prison escape. I found it to be well worth my time to read and enjoy.

[Mary Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As American As Apple Pie!

Extremely interesting story about America's first serial killer. Well researched and thoughtfully presented. I especially enjoyed the details around the men searching for Lyda.