Thursday, December 11, 2014

DID SHE KILL HIM? : A TORRID TRUE STORY OF ADULTERY, ARSENIC, AND MURDER IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND
by Kate Colquhoun

In 1889, Florence Maybrick, a young American woman from Mobile, Alabama, stood trial for the alleged arsenic poisoning of her husband, James. He was a "rich" cotton broker from Liverpool and much older than her (twenty-four years).
The trial caused quite a sensation not only in England but around the world. It was all anybody could talk about and was on the front pages of every newspaper. The case broke the facade behind Victorian respectability and all their dirty laundry was exposed. Between finding out about debts, gambling, servants with loose lips, self-medication, hypochondria, and mutual infidelity, there was plenty of titillating information to read.
Did She Kill Him? grabs you from the first page and never stops. Kate Colquhoun has exceptional mastery in drawing you in from her descriptions of the characters with all their foibles and setting the stage for a stupendous tale. There's tension, suspense, and intrigue. The amount of detailed research that Colquhoun did is astounding, but it made everything cohesive. Her previous book Murder in the First-Class Carriage (reviewed in this blog) is just as good as this one, so it's obvious that Colquhoun is an expert at writing about Victorian murder mysteries.
If you're a true-crime addict, make sure to get this book. You won't be disappointed.
Very highly recommended.

No comments: