Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books for the eARC!
First of all, I just want to say that the woman on the cover is giving Taylor Swift.
The story was pretty well written, if a bit overly detailed in places. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the author wasn't so obviously disgusted with Lizzie. She also gives Lizzie an extreme hatred of men and their power over women. So much so that by the end, I wasn't sure if Lizzie was supposed to be espousing the author's views or if the author found those views so abhorrent she had to make sure Lizzie spoke them AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
I would have also appreciated a run down (maybe at the end) of what parts were true and which parts were fabricated. Obviously, with some of it, I can tell, but I wasn't always sure what parts the author was filling in (how much of the hidey-hole information was true?)
Also, I think this book could have stood to have some of the repetition (of the trial, of Lizzie's thoughts, etc.) removed.
All that being said, if you are interested in the story of Lizzie Borden, I think this book is worth a read.

I was really looking forward to this book as I am a bit fan of true crime however I found the writing clunky and disjointed. I don't feel like this rewriting of history has added anything to the original story but I appreciate the author for trying, maybe further research was needed into the time this took place.

This is a fictional take on the Border Murders. I thought this was pretty interesting up until the 60% mark. The amount of time wasted on the repetitive arguments in jail served no purpose to the story. It would have been great if those were cleaned up a bit. The way the story is rewritten is to give more perspective on why Lizzie killed her parents and fill in anything that MIGHT have happened.

I absolutely LOVED when Lizzie started playing into the stereotype that men gave women back then to win her freedom.

The story would have been much better if less time was wasted on the jail scenes and more of what actually happened and cleaning everything up.

2.75 Rounded up.

Writing a book about a true crime that was never actually solved is a mountain to climb in itself. This holds true ten times for a crime that is so well known and glamorized or romanticized. This novel focuses on the relationship between Lizzie and her sister as well has her like during and after the trial. Showing Lizzie as a strong woman who wanted nothing more then her independence from a mans world.

Lizzie is portrayed to be a woman before her time. Not wanting to be held down by what was expected of her station and the fact that she was a woman. It shows how those attributes could have weighed on the public’s perception of her and swayed the opinions of the public at the time. A key line in the book that sums it up for me is, “society does not like a strong woman to win. Ever.”

I was intrigued with this before and throughout the trial but as the book went on focusing on Lizzie’s life after I did seem to loose interest at times. So I did struggle to continue in some places. Which is why I gave it the rating I have.

Rounding up to 3 ⭐
Whilst this fleshed out the story of Lizzie Borden and her axe a fair bit for me, it's not one I'm going to rave about.
It's an easy read, and it sets the scene nicely leading up to the trial and acquittal.
The later years didn't flow quite so well for me.

Some True Crime books are written so well that they’re like fiction. In the case of Lizzie, we have a fictionalized account that reads like a True Crime book. Sadly, that’s not a compliment. It has a stiffer tone than fiction should, which made it seem clear that the author wasn’t fully comfortable writing a book for the fiction section of the bookstore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I will not be sharing this review elsewhere because I don't want to hurt the author's sales. This book went beyond the realm of "historical fiction" and sailed straight into "disgusting and offensive." As an expert on the Borden family, I was horrified at the liberties taken, particularly with regard to the family finances and the state of Emma and Lizzie's inheritance. The reality of women's rights at that time, in addition to the religious politics of Fall River, meant that Lizzie and Emma would have been made homeless and penniless when their father died; they would not have been offered charity or employment because of their religion. To paint them as spoiled children - especially when they were grown women who had been subjected to financial abuse for many years - is reprehensible and degrades the suffering of every woman who was oppressed by such laws before the Women's Suffrage was successful, not just the one woman who was tried for murder.

Beyond how disturbing this was, the writing itself was poor and would have benefited with at least one more round of editing to watch out for repeated phrases, filler words, and clunky/unnecessary descriptions.

The mysterious story of the Borden family intrigues me just as much as Jack the Ripper so when I saw Lizzzie by Diane Fanning, I couldn't...wouldn't...resist. The author did a spectacular job incorporating fiction with facts. Her writing is lovely and details are very believable. I was mesmerized the entire time and did a further bit of research as a result. Though I'm nearly certain who the murderer was, there is still that niggling sliver of doubt. True crime stories of the era are endlessly fascinating to mull over!

In Massachusetts in 1892, Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby lived in a large home with his daughters, Emma, 43, and Lizzie, 32. He was wealthy but lived frugally. The girls did not like their step mother but had a close sister relationship. Their world changed when Andrew and Abby's butchered bodies were discovered and the only person at home at the time was Lizzie who said she was in their barn a few meters from the house. Lizzie was the main suspect for several reasons and stood trial but was acquitted. The author describes the atmosphere in the family home, the crimes, suspicious actions, the servant "Maggie" and Uncle John, the trial and life after, the sisters' huge new house, Lizzie's philanthropy and their deaths nine days apart.

If you are a true crime and historical fiction fan, this is unmissable! Well worth reading.