Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's clearly well researched, but it doesn't just throw facts at you like many killer related books do. The author's voice is very clear throughout the stories. I can't quote anything right now, but she has some fantastic comments!
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she includes serial killers, soldiers, and other notable deadly women. I went in to this book only expecting serial killers, but Wright went above and beyond.

Another thing I admired is the content warnings! Some people like to avoid certain types of gore and the warnings allow for you to skip over anything that might make you uncomfortable.

I think one of my favorite parts of this book is the little illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. The artist's interpretation of each woman was beautiful.

If you want to learn about deadly women, this book is for you!

Although the subject of the book is interesting I was let down by the strange brand of humor and the lack of research (e.g. the Nazis didn't rise to power in 1939). Not my cuppa tea.

Women who kill. Fascinating but gruesome!

I don’t often read non fiction, so this was a real change for me, despite the topic!

Well written, with short, to the point chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this.

First I want to thank Netgalley for providing me the opportunity to read this book for free in return for an honest opinion...

I hate when I can't give a great review.

Honestly...I love true crime...I find it fascinating...and I have read many true crime books...but right away I could tell this was not going to be one of my faves...there was a picture drawn at the beginning of the most of the stories...these was sorta juvenile...at least to me...The crimes committed...well...I did like that I had not heard of many of these killers...so the stories were new to me...but they seemed to be written more like a review....a snarky review...of the crime...instead of just reporting the crime...just give me the facts and I will form my own opinion ...give me the facts...and I will respond... the snarky remarks that were made ...I am pretty sure they were supposed to be funny...but didn't really strike me that way...There were some very interesting stories but most would have been better if the author just didn't try to editorialize. Over all...not a great read...it took longer than it should have but I could only read so much before just was tired of it. ...Wish I could be more positive...but not a book I enjoyed.

This was an interesting little tome full of badass women, many of whom I had never heard of before. I enjoyed the conversational tone of the author, which was a refreshing contrast to the violence & gore depicted in each mini biography.

A quick must-read for history buffs and feminists alike :)

As soon as I read the title of this book, I was drawn to it –being a fan of true crime and serial killers, I am always looking out to new books on the subject. She Kills Me promised to offer this plus the interesting fact that it would focus on women who were serial killers. I was immediately hooked because just as the author points out, history has denied or failed to recognize that women can also express their rage by killing. Unfortunately, the read was a bit disappointing: the book is a compilation of many women who have committed heinous crimes but I felt it lacked depth and detail into the lives of these characters. While I recognize the author’s work in actually finding out about these women (I was very unfamiliar with many of the names listed here, particularly those from antiquity or from Africa), I felt each chapter was too short and did not reveal a lot on these women’s context, which would have been interesting to explore in more detail, to truly make us understand –or even feel more scared– about their behavior. I felt the descriptions where very superficial and in some of the women’s stories, it was not even clear where the murders occurred as we have a wide range of nationalities represented here. I believe the book might work for those who are getting started on true crime as it is an easy read; however, for me there was no complexity depicted from each of these women which is a shame, as they no doubt are fascinating in their own, twisted way.

Thanks NetGalley for the read! This was a fast paced one for me. Initially I thought there would be a bit more detail for each of the women serial killers but once I got halfway into reading, the amount of content was perfect. I thought the chapter breakdowns were clever. I enjoyed the humor and frankness the author provides in her descriptions. Most of all I enjoyed the artwork on my digital copy at the beginning of each chapter. I love aesthetics!

I have pretty mixed feelings about this particular book. It didn't go into detail about the women almost at all. Then sometimes the author would state rumors and then contradict themselves by saying things happened. It made for a confusing read. I did enjoy the humor. Most of the stories, at least, made me chuckle. I can also appreciate that there are trigger warnings before each chapter. I have never seen this done before. Overall, this just felt juvenile and I was looking for something more. This would be a good read if you've ever read books lie "Women in Science" by Rachel Ignotofsky.

I found the book to be organized but lacking in individuality. It was more taking a list of female murderess' from history and putting a bunch in categories with a quick history lesson with a few quick points.

She Kills Me is a compilation of crime stories of women who have murdered throughout history. The stories span centuries and situations to provide insights on often lesser-known female killers.

This was an interesting collection for true crime fanatics. The stories were historical with a few more recent, and I thought they offered a good quick overview to introduce people to the cases.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Wright’s “She Kills Me” is a great quick read for any true crime fan. I recommend it to fans of Tori Telfer’s “Lady Killers” as a complimentary read. Some of the women Wright writes about were mentioned in Telfer’s novel, and she even quotes Telfer in one chapter. Having been a fan of “Lady Killers,” I loved the way Wright’s hard fact approach to crime reporting interacted with Telfer’s story telling. I have been interested in true crime as long as I can recall, and even so, Wright brought to my attention the crimes of some women I have never researched.

Wright covers a lot of territory for such a short read, but it doesn’t feel rushed. She gives the facts straight up with a side of wit, making for the perfect crash course on some of history’s female killers. Readers will appreciate the content warnings Wright gives along with the murderess’ name at the beginning of each part, as she quips that even if we all want to read about true crime doesn’t necessarily mean we all want to read about cannibalism.

I enjoyed the illustrations paired with each case (credited to illustrator Eva Bee), and the straight forward way Wright tells each story. This book is for any true crime fan who always wondered why there has never been any female serial killers. Spoiler alert: there has.

A very interesting account of some of the most famous female murderers in history. The stories are a quick read and the author does a great job in relating not only the crime, but the reasons behind it. This book really held my attention. A must read for the true crime enthusiast!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is great for any true crime fan. It breaks down female killers in nine different sections. They range from psychos, women scorned, and avenging angels to name a few. Each woman was given her own page or pages with her name, date of birth and date of death. Each story about the woman was well written and very informative. There are several people that I had read about previously but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of women in the book that I had not heard of before.

She Kills Me is a book with 40 stories of women who have killed people in the past. It is about people in the 1500s, but also in the 1800s and even some from present day. The book is divided into section. Every section has a different theme of murders, like murders with poison or queens who murdered. Every story has an illustration at the beginning that suits the story. The book has 176 pages and it's written by Jennifer Wright.

I really enjoyed this book. I am very interested in history and true crime, so this is a perfect combination for me. Also, you usually hear a lot more about men who kill people, but you almost never hear about women killing people. I think it's really important that we don't forget that only men can take someone elses life, but women can too. My native language isn't English, so I usually read a bit slower when I'm reading a book in English, but that certainly was not the case with She Kills Me. I read this really fast, because there weren't a lot of difficult words used. Over all, I really enjoyed this book. If you're interested in history and true crime, I think you should give this one a try.

I read this book on NetGalley. NetGalley is a website where you can read books before te release date for free. The only thing they ask in return is an honest review about the book. I think this is a great website if you like to read.

This book will be released on September 14th 2021.

A collection of crime stories where the murders are women. If you listen to podcasts or watch any true crime you may recognize some of the names.

Well written really interesting at times humorous.A book of women murderers .some who are well known.Really enjoyed this collection from first story to last.#netgalley #abramsbooks

I really wanted to like this book. I love true crime and this book seemed very similar to Elizabeth Kerri Mahon’s book Scandalous Women, which I loved. However, I just couldn’t finish it. I got about halfway though but I could not get past feeling like this was more similar to a bunch of Wikipedia pages combined than an actual book. Each passage was so short that the gravity and severity of these women’s actions were not able to come through fully. if the author had cut down on the number of women covered and increased the content in each portion, this book would have a lot more power.

Thank you for this book.
This was well written. Informative with a touch of humor here and there. I am surprised Lorena Bobbitt didn't make the cut though.

Great collection of true crime stories with the common thread being the killers were women. Well researched and reads like fiction rather. Interesting and informative.

Book 26 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

She Kills Me: The True Stories of History's Deadliest Women
by Jennifer Wright

Summary (via Goodreads)
published 2021

A powerful collection of stories about women who murdered—for revenge, for love, and even for pleasure—rife with historical details that will have any true crime junkie on the edge of their seat.

In every tragic story, men are expected to be the killers. There are countless studies and works of art made about male violence. However, when women are featured in stories about murder, they are rarely portrayed as predators. They’re the prey. This common dynamic is one of the reasons that women are so enthralled by female murderers. They do the things that women aren’t supposed to do and live the lives that women aren’t supposed to want: lives that are impulsive and angry and messy and inconvenient. Maybe we feel bad about loving them, but we eat it up just the same.
Residing squarely in the middle of a Venn diagram of feminism and true crime, She Kills Me tells the story of 40 women who murdered out of necessity, fear, revenge, and even for pleasure.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover
I chose this book from NetGalley (full disclaimer below) because of the title and cover art. Looking at the description, this book has a lot of potential for me to enjoy it. It's true crime with an unusual slant (women who kill) and covering so many different women makes it likely there will be crimes I haven't heard of.

My Opinion
4 stars

**I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley and would like to thank the author and/or publisher for the opportunity to read and honestly review it**

Looking at my first impression, I was correct in my assumptions. What you expect going into the read is the minimum of what you'll get; there were many unusual extras that enhanced my reading as well.

The book really leaned into the point that women can be just as evil as men. Historically, women were able to get away with murder because men underestimated their mental capacities and physical strength or they assumed they must have had a good reason to commit the act (but it wasn't all roses since they could be accused of witchcraft or sent to an asylum because their husband didn't like them). Now we realize women can be just as conniving as men. To quote the author, "Yeah, that's right, women can be horrible people, too." Yay feminism!

The book was divided into sections: psychos, poisoners, family, black widows, scorned, mercenaries, royalty, warriors, and avengers. There were also summaries at the end of each section with extra information about the topic, such as how to spot a psychopath, the timeline of women's independence, and quotations from men throughout history about women in power (spoiler alert: they've never liked it).

There were trigger warnings at the beginning of each story so you could skip ones involving children, sexual assault, etc. if you wanted to. Each story ended with the citations of the author's research (instead of one big chunk at the end like usual) so if you wanted to know more about a specific case you could find the information easily and immediately.

I wavered between 3 and 4 stars but rounded up because of the extra details mentioned above that I haven't seen before. Even if everything stayed pretty short and superficial in terms of content, it was well-researched and the majority of the information was new to me. It was entertaining and funny without mocking or being disrespectful.

Quote from the Book
Note: I read an ARC so this quote may be altered in the final version

" "The world would be so much gentler if it was run by women." - A Man Who Never Read a History Book "