Murder for profit — what Belle Gunness, The “Bloody Benders” and Johann Hoch all have in common. — People kill for a variety of reasons — jealousy, rage, greed, the sheer thrill of it. Greed has and continues to be one of the top motives for murder. When I first heard about Belle Gunness, there was no doubt in my mind that she was a heinous monster. …

The Shocking Story of the Danish Baby-Burning Serial Killer — On Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast, we have been in the midst of recording a series on Charles Cullen; dubbed an ‘angel of death.’ Often, these ‘angels’ are considered mercy killers; they are hospital workers, care givers — those who we entrust our sick and aging loved ones to be…

Dead residents of a small town narrate this wholesome, quirky, and tear-jerker of a story centered around the Starling family dealing with love, grief, and acceptance. — “…he said that not knowing what happens next and the fear associated with the not-knowing, that uncertainty and anticipation is what makes us human.” — Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett I’ll admit that I chose Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett for the nature of the cover. Who doesn’t love a…

Diving into the wildly popular Fantasy series of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas — “You don’t hold onto power by being everyone’s friend. And among faeries, lesser and High Fae alike, a firm hand is needed. We’re too powerful, and too bored with immortality, to be checked by anything else.” — Lucien, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas I thought…

Alternate Point of View from The Island of Dr. Moreau — “She recalled what Ramona had said, that Yaxaktun was the end of the world. And she though that yes, this man was here because he believed that was the case, that he had reached the end of the world and he was simply waiting for the annihilation of all things.”…

How far are you willing to go to save your spouse? — Two Nights in Lisbon is the latest novel by Chris Pavone, an author known for crafting fly by the seat of your pants international thrillers. This was my first! Ariel Pryce wakes up in her hotel room alone in Lisbon. Her new husband, John, is gone, leaving no note, and…

A Semi-Unpopular Opinion of a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Winner — “I mean, of course I wanted to help people. But that was a secondary aim — particularly at the time I started training. The real motivation was purely selfish. I was on a quest to help myself. I believe the same is true for most people who go into mental…

The Finch Sisters are forced to confront the past to move into the future together. A review of The Birdcage by Eve Chase. — “That’s the problem with digging, there’s always another layer and the soil is colder, rockier, and harder to work the deeper you go. And you can never be sure exactly what you might find.” — Eve Chase, The Birdcage The Birdcage by Eve Chase is about three sisters who are…

“Boy, Snow, Bird” reminds us of the story of Snow White — the evil stepmother and the lost princess — and how our perceptions of beauty can become distorted under the lens of race. — Technical Details: Genre: Contemporary Fiction Length: 336 pages Goodreads Rating: 3.36 stars Published: 2014 This is not a retelling of the fairy tale classic Snow White; this is something else. “Boy, Snow, Bird” by Helen Oyeyemi is an inversion of that tale, a story of three women with a connection…