Hell Hath No Fury Review

Hell Hath No Fury: Women Who Kill by Les Macdonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hell Hath No Fury is a fascinating look at female murderers. We tend to think of women as the nurturers so we are stunned when we hear of these cases. Some of the murders in this book you will instantly remember. Others, it was the first time I heard of them. A number of the cases in this book are mothers who kill their children for reasons that range from postpartum depression/psychosis to straight out narcissism. I think we find these types of murders the hardest to take. Children should be safe in their homes. Parents should be protectors. Too often they are not. I appreciate the authors bringing up postpartum depression/psychosis. I think this is a subject we all need to learn more about. Many women have postpartum depression after giving birth. What is it that makes the difference between those who get past the depression and recover and those who slip into psychosis? What factor is present that some women step over the line and kill their child? I have the most difficulty with those who kill multiple children over the course of a few years. How does this happen? Is it really postpartum psychosis? Does the mother never come out of it? I mean how do you kill your child, then get pregnant, give birth, kill that child and repeat yet again? Do you never think about what you did? Is there no remorse that prevents you from even taking that chance of getting pregnant again? There are so many unanswered questions or unsatisfactory ones that books such as this are necessary reading. They bring up what was down and make you question, wonder, think. They require a response, an accounting, research. History forgotten is history repeated. Then there are the others in here. Women who kill out of jealousy or for greed. We all deal with some form of jealousy at some point and even the rich sometimes want more yet we all are not out there committing murders, though, in reality, we are all capable. What is the difference? This is what makes true crime fascinating to me. Perhaps, to me, the most chilling chapter of this book is the last. Youth who murder. Are we becoming a more violent society? Are we losing our moral compass? The cases in this book make me wonder if our children, (society on the whole), are capable of feeling empathy. What needs to be done to prevent the violence from rising? This book will bring these questions to you. The cases are horrifying, chilling and even baffling. Excellent book to open up discussions on society and violence. If you think women who kill are a rarity or that they kill in less horrifying ways than a man, read this book.

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