The Murder Mystique

Although they account for only ten percent of all murders, those attributed to women seem especially likely to captivate the public. This absorbing book examines why that is true and how some women, literally, get away with murder. Combining compelling storytelling with insightful observations, the book invites readers to take a close look at ten high-profile killings committed by American women. The work exposes the forces that underlie the public's fascination with female killers and determine why these women so often become instant celebrities. Cases are paired by motive—love, money, revenge, self-defense, and psychopathology. Through them, the authors examine the appeal of women who commit murders and show how perceptions of their crimes are shaped. The book details both the crimes and the criminals as it explores how pop culture treats stereotypes of female murderers in film and print. True crime aficionados will be fascinated by the minute descriptions of what happened and why, while pop culture enthusiasts will appreciate the lens of societal norms through which these cases are examined.

Although they account for only ten percent of all murders, those attributed to women seem especially likely to captivate the public. This absorbing book examines why that is true and how some women, literally, get away with murder. Combining compelling storytelling with insightful observations, the book invites readers to take a close look at ten high-profile killings committed by American women. The work exposes the forces that underlie the public's fascination with female killers and determine why these women so often become instant celebrities. Cases are paired by motive—love, money, revenge, self-defense, and psychopathology. Through them, the authors examine the appeal of women who commit murders and show how perceptions of their crimes are shaped. The book details both the crimes and the criminals as it explores how pop culture treats stereotypes of female murderers in film and print. True crime aficionados will be fascinated by the minute descriptions of what happened and why, while pop culture enthusiasts will appreciate the lens of societal norms through which these cases are examined.

Although they account for only ten percent of all murders, those attributed to women seem especially likely to captivate the public. This absorbing book examines why that is true and how some women, literally, get away with murder. Combining compelling storytelling with insightful observations, the book invites readers to take a close look at ten high-profile killings committed by American women. The work exposes the forces that underlie the public's fascination with female killers and determine why these women so often become instant celebrities. Cases are paired by motive--love, money, revenge, self-defense, and psychopathology. Through them, the authors examine the appeal of women who commit murders and show how perceptions of their crimes are shaped. The book details both the crimes and the criminals as it explores how pop culture treats stereotypes of female murderers in film and print. True crime aficionados will be fascinated by the minute descriptions of what happened and why, while pop culture enthusiasts will appreciate the lens of societal norms through which these cases are examined.

Mystery writers describe their writing techniques and examine the history of fiction concerning crime

With the 1965 publication of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote declared he broke new literary ground. But Capote's "nonfiction novel" belongs to a long Naturalist tradition originating in the work of 19th-century French novelist Emile Zola. Naturalism offers a particular response to the increasing problem of violence in American life and its sociological implications. This book traces the origins of the fact-based homicide novel that emerged in the mainstream of American literature with works such as Frank Norris's McTeague and flourished in the twentieth century with works such as Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and Richard Wright's Native Son. At their heart is a young man isolated from community who acts out in desperate circumstances against someone who reflects his isolation. A tension develops between how society views this killer and the way he is viewed by the novelist. The crimes central to these narratives epitomize the vast gap between those who can aspire to the so-called "American dream" and those with no realistic chance of achieving it.

Women Who Kill explores several lines of inquiry: the female murderer as a figure that destabilizes order; the tension between criminal and victim; the relationship between crime and expression (or the lack thereof); and the paradox whereby a crime can be both an act of destruction and a creative assertion of agency. In doing so, the contributors assess the influence of feminist, queer and gender studies on mainstream television and cinema, notably in the genres (film noir, horror, melodrama) that have received the most critical attention from this perspective. They also analyse the politics of representation by considering these works of fiction in their contexts and addressing some of the ambiguities raised by postfeminism. The book is structured in three parts: Neo-femmes Fatales; Action Babes and Monstrous Women. Films and series examined include White Men Are Cracking Up (1994); Hit & Miss (2012); Gone Girl (2014); Terminator (1984); The Walking Dead (2010); Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Contagion (2011) and Ex Machina (2015) among others.