Blood on Her Hands: South Africa's most notorius female killers

by Tanya Farber

Murder has always fascinated us, and when women are the masterminds, the intrigue grows exponentially. Not only are female murderers much rarer than male killers, but their crimes usually also involve a more sophisticated type of plotting.

In Blood on her hands, award-winning journalist Tanya Farber investigates the lives, minds and motivations of some of South Africa’s most notorious female murderers, from the poisonous nurse Daisy de Melker, to the privileged but deeply disturbed Najwa Petersen, to the mysterious Joey Harhoff who died before revealing where the bodies of her victims (including her own niece) were. Farber sets each case against the backdrop of the different eras and regions of 20th and early 21st century South Africa the women operated in. Her writing style is lighter than the subject matter might suggest and Blood on Her Hands will keep you reading until late at night – probably with your light on.

The women featured also include: Dina Rodrigues, Phoenix Racing Cloud Theron, Marlene Lehnberg, Chane van Heerden and Celiwe Mbokazi.

Genres: True Crime

272 pages, Paperback

Published June 21, 2019

Reviews

[Ari Damoulakis · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a true crime book, but she uses poetic licence, constructing dialogue. For me, absolutely unacceptable. So even though the rest of the book tries to be great and explain, it totally put me off. Rather then go find and read SA Criminology textbooks and other books to try enter the minds of women serial killers. Not this sensationalist thing.

[Ilze de Kock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any crime junkie. Tanya Farber is a writer who captures the emotions of the victims and the killer. The book reads more like a story than a factual courtcase, which makes her book stand out from the others. Please write more books, you have gained a loyal fangirl.

[Kim Ebner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew, I’m not going to lie, that book has left me feeling a little shell-shocked. This non-fiction account of South Africa’s most notorious and brutal female killers is nothing if not utterly fascinating and somewhat dark. If you’re a fan of true crime, or are someone that’s fascinated by what makes these sicko’s tick, then I would highly recommend this book. To say that I was absolutely gripped is an understatement! Once I started reading this, I just couldn’t put it down. Holy Moly, this was an excellent read.

Every chapter in this book focuses on a different killer, and at the end of each chapter I was left feeling like the wind had been knocked out of my lungs. There were times during some of the chapters where I literally had to stop, take a deep breath, gather myself and then move on. If someone was sitting with me in my lounge or in my bedroom when I was reading this book, they would have frequently heard me whispering obscenities to myself. It just couldn’t be helped because some of these crimes were so severe and so unbelievable that I had to utter the odd expletive. At times, it was difficult to comprehend that such evil lives among us.

The book starts with the story of Daisy De Melker and although I was generally familiar with her story, I wasn’t totally up to speed. I learnt a lot about her, the murders she committed and what her ultimate fate was. We then move onto the stories of Marlene Lehnberg, Charmaine Phillips, Joey Haarhof (Gert Van Rooyen’s partner), Dina Rodrigues and the one that I found most distressing, Chane Van Heerden. These are just examples of some of the chapters contained in the book but there were a few more, and they were all intriguing. I must say, being the true crime fan that I am, I was surprised by the number of cases that I hadn’t heard about before. Perhaps I was too young at the time, or too sheltered, but somehow there were a few stories in the book that were totally new to me, including the story of Chane Van Heerden. This is probably the case that will stick with me the most after finishing this read.

This really is a fantastic read for those of you interested in the subject matter. What made these stories exceptionally interesting for me is that I knew a lot of the places mentioned in the book. If you’re a South African, you’ll be familiar with many of the killers in this book, you’ll recognize place names, towns, cities and events. Also, the chapters are detailed enough to give one a good understanding of the crimes committed and the people involved, but they aren’t long enough that you lose interest or find them overly descriptive. They’re punchy and so they held my attention easily. All in all, this is a very fast paced and intriguing read, and it isn’t very long either coming in at 235 pages.

As far as non-fiction, true crime reads go, with one is a new-found favourite of mine. I definitely recommend it.

[sinovuyo.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still reeling from Tanya Farber's Blood on Her Hands: South Africa's Most Notorious Female Killers. It's impossible to deny that this book about South Africa's most infamous and deadly female killers is both fascinating and a little disturbing. If you're a fan of true crime, or if you're curious about what drives these sickos, this book is a must-read. You may say that I was really engrossed! I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. This was a fantastic book.

Every chapter in this book deals with a different killer, and by the time I reached the conclusion of each one, I was quite exhausted. I had to take a long breath, gather myself, and then continue on in some of the passages. When I was reading this book, I would have regularly been heard saying obscenities to myself in my lounge or my bedroom. Some of these offences were so outrageous that I couldn't help but utter the occasional curse. In some cases, it was hard to believe that such evil existed in our midst.

This one is a new favourite of mine when it comes to non-fiction and true crime books. It's something I'd highly recommend.

[Marion Roux]

I really do not know how I should rate a book about notorious female killers from my own country, South Africa. The book's text/writing style is very informative and readable, giving just enough before, during and after information about each darstardly deed. However, it is a very harrowing read and unsettling to think how some people's minds, hatred, greed and psychoses can play out, affecting so many other beings. At the time that Joey Haarhof and Gert van Rooyen were indulging in their horrendously despicable activities, we were resident in Johannesburg and had a daughter of 7. I remember the horror and sadness we experienced then and I actually felt physically sick reading about it now again.

[Chantelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 round up to 4

True crime being one of my favorite genres never disappoints, even more so when it is so close to home being a South African myself.

This book follows the stories of 9 of South Africa’s most notorious female killers, each chapter dealing with a different one. Some detail being somewhat overwhelming, I sometimes only read one chapter a day, especially when it got to those stories involving children.

The book is well written, well researched and reads like a story rather than a news article putting you inside the head and heart of the killers and the victims.

It is quite short, but believe me, has a lot of information to be processed. I highly recommend to any crime junky looking for something a little different.

[Catherine Geldart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have several distant relatives who live or have lived in South Africa and recently reading about the trial of Oscar Pistorios I was intrigued about that society. Violence is becoming more common everywhere but the descriptions in this book focused on very disturbing cases. There is little to be found on the internet now about most of them and they follow patterns long established in most societies, lust, hate and greed. The story of Joey Haarhof and the picture of her and her boyfriend made my blood run cold

[Rozeltte Vermeulen-Crooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is such an interesting topic and the author clearly did her research. However, the end of each chapter left me very disappointed. I would have liked to know what happened to the women after sentencing. How are they doing in prison? When are they eligible for parole? I know that Google will answer these questions, but it would have interesting to know, especially from the author that a good writing the book.

[ptwino · Rating 3 out of 5]

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