The Angel Makers by veteran journalist Patti McCracken is a chilling dive into the world of true crime. The book takes us back to the 1920s in the Hungarian village of Nagyrév, where things got seriously dark.

Zsuzsanna Fazekas, aka Auntie Suzy, rolls into town in 1911, and guess what? Her husband is nowhere to be found. Suspicious, right? Then she racks up arrests for conducting illegal abortions, but somehow keeps dodging conviction. That’s when her side hustle begins.

She cooks up arsenic from flypaper and selling it to women who want to bump off their kin. And not just a few, mind you. We’re talking about husbands, kids, parents—anyone who stood in the way of what these women wanted. One woman killed seven family members! Auntie Suzy’s crew racks up a body count of at least 160 people over fifteen years. Her cousin is the clerk filing all the death certificates, so nobody blinked an eye until an anonymous note blew the lid off the scheme in 1929.

Cue the dramatic trial scenes, with sixteen women and one unlucky guy getting slapped with convictions. A few swing from the gallows, and Auntie Suzy? Well, she and a couple others die by suicide.

McCracken lays it all out with a mix of archival research and vivid storytelling. While the historical backdrop and characters are painted in rich detail, the pace kind drags because of her overindulgence in details. Don’t get me wrong, it’s creepy as heck in places, but I skimmed just to keep things moving.

In the end, The Angel Makers left me with mixed feelings. It’s an exploration of a seriously messed-up piece of history, but it might’ve worked better as a long-form article rather than a book.

Oh, and get this—some sources say the death toll could be as high as three hundred. Wrap your head around that one, if you dare.

Overall, The Angel Makers is a chilling tale, no doubt. Props to McCracken for bringing this macabre slice of history to light. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

** Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book. The opinions are my own.

The Angel Makers is a true crime story is about Aunt Suzie, a midwife who dispensed arsenic to women to aid them in escaping from abusive or otherwise detrimental situations. Unfortunately as time went on more and more murders were committed, eventually reaching into the hundreds. The book details the crimes as well as the investigation and trial. Recommend for true crime junkies who want to reach a bit further back into history.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review. This story is about a 1920’s midwife who may have been the century’s most prolific killer. As a true crime junkie I enjoyed learning about the crimes these women committed and the process in which it was investigated. I felt the author did a great job to make you feel like you were there in that time and place with them. It was a very sad story and very interesting all at the same time.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. The Angel Makers: Arsenic, a Midwife and Modern History's Most Astonishing Murder Ring by Patti McCracken was quite the wild ride! This book in nonfiction, but reads as a story; Details have been taken from first hand accounts. The writing style was gripping and made it easy to be sucked in to the story immediately. Patti McCracken did a great job of setting the scene for what was happening at that time in Hungary . I loved hearing about the midwife's treatments and about Rommany culture. The writing was vivid often feeling like we could see, hear or especially SMELL what was going on. The detail of the experiences of the people involved often made me question whether or not what they were doing was wrong. I could empathize, especially with Anna. I enjoyed almost everything about this book.
The one thing I did not enjoy, and this is why I'm struggling with how to rate the book, is the blatant fat phobia that was everywhere in these pages. Auntie Susie couldn't go anything without being described in a way that would make me cringe. It is fine to discuss body size especially to get a picture of what the people look like, but this was overboard and always seemed to describe those who were more "evil" I would have given this at least a 4 otherwise.

This was a unique take on historical true crime. It details a poisoning ring set in the early 1900s in Hungary. Ultimately, I found the book to be a bit slow moving and I had a hard time connecting to it. I think someone more into historical crime might really enjoy it, though.

In Budapest hungry they’re lived the woman named aunt Susan she was a midwife and one of the more offluent people in her little farming community. The little village would come to depend on aunt Susie for more than just the birthing needs however got an abusive husband? Call aunt Susie too many mouths to feed? No problem call aunt Susie at first she took it upon herself to take baby she thought weren’t going to make it or wouldn’t make it and be a burden to the family and she turned it in to a serial killing husband catastrophe this book was so good oh I couldn’t stop reading this I found it so interesting and for a nonfiction book it definitely reads like fiction make no mistake this is like a story from beginning to end and OMG what a story it is I truly enjoyed this book I think Patty McCracken did a stellar job with The Angel Maker and it’s a book I highly recommend. It is definitely a page turner and a five star read. I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Angel Makers by Patti McCracken is a unique entry into the historical true crime genre. McCracken writes the book as if it were a novel and the results end up being a mixed bag. Mostly enjoyable, but sometimes frustrating.

The Angel Makers tells the story of a poisoning ring in early 1900s Hungary. The setting is a farming village and the main culprit is a midwife who absolutely loves poisoning men and babies. By the end, the extent of the poisoning ring takes on mythic proportions.

I struggle to assign a final rating to The Angel Makers. The reason is McCracken's choices in her narrative. She digs deep into details and consistently highlights the sights and smells we would experience if we were standing next to each character. At first, this is very effective. You feel heartbroken for a woman whose drunk husband beats and berates her and the description of him and his disgusting breath ratchets up the emotions. McCracken avoids telling a straight story in order to invest the reader in the lives of her characters.

The problem is McCracken never lets up on her descriptions and misdirections. By the final quarter of the book, you wish the pace would pick up and the interrogations would take center stage. Unfortunately, the obfuscation of what is going on, which works very well early in the book, becomes extremely frustrating by the end of the book.

Ultimately, I am giving the book four out of five stars with a disclaimer. McCracken has written something very different than most books of this genre. If you like your true crime to be straightforward, then this is not the book for you. If you want to live more through the eyes of the people who lived this tragedy as if it were a novel, then you won't be disappointed.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and William Morrow Books.)

At first I thought I must have been out of it when I chose this book. Why did I want to read about a ring of killers in 1920's Hungary?

I'm glad I did! Very through look at life in a place and time I'd never looked into. Very descriptive writing - seemed at times more novel like than non-fiction.

Hope this is not your only book!

A true crime story about a murder ring in post WWI Hungary. I thought this story was interesting but I think it needed more background and info laid in by the author. It was very narrative but I think the reader lost out on some points because of that.

This true crime saga is a vivid, creepy and compelling page-turner. McCracken does a great job portraying the challenges and hardships of village life and sexual violence that supported the existence of the murder ring. However I was offended by her constant description of Aunty Suzy as stout and waddling, so I'm taking off a star for the lazily fat-phobic writing.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I was completely drawn into the topic and could not stop reading it.

The Angel Makers is a great story for fans of true crime and thoss who are fascinated by morality and what people will do to get ahead.

Patti McCracken brings this true story in vivid detail to readers with characters brimming with personality and making you associate anger and hatred for some such as a mother who loathes her son and empathy for many others as a town is ravaged by a midwife who has major control over everything and everyone.

I really enjoyed The Angel Maker and hope that McCracken brings another true crime tale to life again to our shelves soon

This was a really fast read for me. One thing I liked about the book is that it featured an event that a lot of people have never heard of, or only in passing, due to the location and time period. I think they did a good job of explaining the time period, which was a mess...but that there were some chapters and people introduced that only added a layer or two of confusion rather than helping.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review, but all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I enjoy historical true crime books so I figured this was a good pick.
The book is well researched and well written. It was a little bit boring for me at times and a bit drawn out. However the author was very thorough.
If you enjoy historical true crime then definitely check this one out.