Just a girl and her books
THE BABYSITTER | Liza Rodman & Jennifer Jordan 03.02.2021 | Atria Books Rating: 4/5 stars Growing up on Cape Cod in the 1960s, Liza Rodman was a lonely little girl. During the summers, while her mother worked days in a local motel and danced most nights in the Provincetown bars, her babysitter - a kind, … Continue reading Book Review: The Babysitter
NONFICTION MINI REVIEWS THE BURNING by Tim Madigan: On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing black from white Tulsa, Oklahoma, and obliterated a black community then celebrated as one of America’s most prosperous. 34 square blocks of Tulsa’s Greenwood community, known then … Continue reading Nonfiction Mini Review: The Burning & Last Call
DANCING WITH THE OCTOPUS | Debora Harding 09.22.2020 | Bloomsbury Publishing Rating: 4/5 stars DANCING WITH THE OCTOPUS is a memoir of childhood trauma and its long reach into adulthood. In November 1978, Debora Harding was only fourteen. She was abducted at knifepoint from her church parking lot. Debora was thrown into a van, assaulted, … Continue reading Book Review: Dancing with the Octopus
THE FIVE | Hallie Rubenhold 02.01.2019 | Black Swan Rating: 4/5 stars Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane are all famous for the same thing. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They experienced a variety of careers, from writing ballads to running coffee houses to living on country estates. They … Continue reading Book Review: The Five
AMERICA’S FIRST FEMALE SERIAL KILLER by Mary Kay McBrayer: Jane Toppin was a first-generation Irish-America nurse who started very far from the monster she became. Born as Honora Kelley, her life started with her father abandoning her and her sister to the Boston Female Asylum. Jane was indentured to a wealthy family, who changed her … Continue reading True Crime Mini Reviews
THE GRIM SLEEPER | Christine Pelisek 04.27.2018 | Counterpoint, LLC. Rating: 4/5 stars In 2006, Christine Pelisek broke the story of a serial killer who went unchecked in Los Angeles for decades, killing the most vulnerable women in one South Central neighborhood. Two years later the killer was dubbed “The Grim Sleeper” due to his … Continue reading Book Review: The Grim Sleeper
FURIOUS HOURS | Casey Cep05.07.2019 | KnopfRating: 4/5 stars Years after Harper Lee penned her novel, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, she found herself entranced by the true crime case of an Alabama serial killer. Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher, who was accused of murdering five of his family members in order to collect … Continue reading Book Review: Furious Hours
LOST GIRLS | Robert Kolker 05.06.2014 | Harper Perennial Rating: 4/5 stars Investigative reporter, Robert Kolker, has assembled within LOST GIRLS an account of the true-life search for a serial killer who still remains unknown on Long Island. The book is a detailed look into the world of online escorts and the dangers associated with … Continue reading Book Review: Lost Girls
BIND, TORTURE, KILL | Roy Wenzl 05.27.2008 | Harper Rating: 4/5 stars For thirty-one years, a monster was allowed to roam the streets of Wichita, Kansas. A serial killer calling himself “BTK”, standing for “bind, torture, kill” was known for slaughtering men, women, and children. He had the ability to effortlessly enter homes and kill … Continue reading Book Review: Bind, Torture, Kill
THE GOOD NURSE | Charles Graeber 07.29.2014 | Hachette Rating; 4/5 stars Registered nurse Charlie Cullen was arrested in December 2003 and quickly dubbed “The Angel of Death” by the media. Cullen was not a mercy killer however, he chose to take his victims without any rhyme or reason, often simply choosing the easiest target … Continue reading Book Review: The Good Nurse
