Belle Gunness was a prolific serial killer who could rethink everything she was doing making herself the victim. In the Garden of Spite is a fascinating book about her men, her crimes, and the loving family that protected her.

Book Description: In the Garden of Spite

An audacious novel of feminine rage about one of the most prolific female serial killers in American history–and the men who drove her to it.

They whisper about her in Chicago. Men come to her with their hopes, their dreams–their fortunes. But no one sees them leave. No one sees them at all after they come to call on the Widow of La Porte.

The good people of Indiana may have their suspicions, but if those fools knew what she’d given up, what was taken from her, how she’d suffered, surely they’d understand. Belle Gunness learned a long time ago that a woman has to make her own way in this world. That’s all it is. A bloody means to an end. A glorious enterprise meant to raise her from the bleak, colorless drudgery of her childhood to the life she deserves. After all, vermin always survive.

My Review

Camilla Bruce does an outstanding job of letting the readers get into the head of Belle Gunness. What does a murderer think before they kill? How does this person justify taking another life? Then we go a step further and get into the rationalizations of Bella’s protective sister. Men flock around Bella and then disappear but who could suspect a poor widow? I not only loved watching the crimes occur but Bella’s outlook change. She saw things as beautiful and food as fresh. Then things became moldy and rotten. The pacing is excellent, especially if you love true crime.

I obtained this book through Net Galley and have left an honest review.