I love watching documentaries, movies, and even TV shows (Criminal Minds, Bones, CSI, etc.) that delve into serial killers and all the background and forensics that go along with them. If they do get caught, it always fascinates me to see how – what they slip up was, who turned them in, etc. For that reason alone, this book was really fascinating to read, and then secondly, I love Coletta’s fiction series – The Mayhem Series and Grafton County Series so being interested in this book as well was a no-brainer.

The cover is the book is eye-catching and special detailed work on some of the pages is really cool. The book itself is divided up into sections for each of the women being highlighted – Jane Tappan, Lydia Sherman, Nellie Webb, Harriet E. Nason, and Sarah Jane Robinson. Each lady gets her time in the spotlight as we get to learn their individual modus operandi, details of their crimes, and their backstories. With Coletta’s writing style and the meticulous research details provided for each case, it was easy to become immersed in each lady’s tale along with their motivations, justifications, and the disturbing workings of their minds. The explanations of how female and male serial killers differ were surprising. I was engrossed in the details and fascinated by each story being told. If you are a true crime buff of any fashion, definitely grab Pretty Evil New England for a chilling eye-opening read!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the advanced reader copy received through NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review; all thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

Very well researched and well written book that delves into 5 female serial killers in 19th century New England. The book is broken down into 5 sections, one for each of the profiled killers. The details provided about the crimes and trials is pretty amazing all things considered which clearly shows how meticulously the author researched each of the cases.

This book is not gruesome, as some content can be when it comes to serial killers, but still manages to convey how horrendous the crimes were. At times I did find the level of detail into conversations a bit too much when the conversations did not seem to be entirely relevant, but that is just a personal preference and did not detract from the overall content of the book.

I always find it interesting how when a female is accused of murder, everyone wants to find a rational explanation or claim the woman must be insane. It was like this back then and to a degree remains that way - the public seems to never just want to assign the label of "evil" to a woman.

Great read for October for me - as it is spooky season and I live in New England.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this ARC.

I absolutely love reading about the evil women of days gone by. This is not a disappointment at all. I have heard my aunts tell stories of such stories and to see inside the minds of some of these people is amazing. A++++++ read

Award winning Crime Fiction writer Sue Coletta brings a fresh perspective to the True Crime genre with her book: Pretty Evil New England – True Stories of Violent Vixens and Murderous Matriarchs.

With expressive descriptions, Coletta solidly brings you into a time and place. With a deft hand she brings characters alive, clearly demonstrating their duplicitous natures and calculating ways.

I particularly liked Coletta’s approach of adding modern forensic input by referencing a study by Penn State researchers and the work of FBI behaviorists. This one in particular is my favourite:

…the best way to survive a male serial killer’s attack is to let him get to know you on a personal level. By humanizing yourself, you’ll ruin his fantasy of you as a victim. This won’t work with a female serial killer. They already know you.

Pretty Evil New England is rich in atmosphere, genuinely factual, and savvy in style. A highly recommended read

I was approved for a book on netgalley called Pretty Evil New England. It is a book about female serial killers in the new England states of the USA.
This is my honest review:


I am done the first "story" not sure if that is the right word since this is a nonfiction/true crime book. I had heard about Jane Toppan before and her case usually interests me but for some reason this account was a little boring. It could be that I am reading this as part of a 24 hour readathon and have already been up for 18 hours at the time of finishing this account. I will read more of it tomorrow when I am more awake.

I finally finished the rest of the book and I have to say it didn't get much better. Not sure if this was because it was a review copy that I sent to my kindle and it wasn't formatted right or if it was the actually content of the book. I am leaning more towards it being because of the fact that I have never read an Arc before so I wasn't ready for the formatting to be off so much.
I did like most of the content of this book. Out of the 5 segments I would have to say my least favorite was the first one and my favorite was the last one. All the ones in between were ok.
I can say that the writer of this book Sue Coletta did do her research and even tho I have read up on all of these cases online and have seen true crime shows where they were featured there was some information in this book that I had never heard about before. That bumps up my star rating a little.

All in all this book was pretty good and well written.

I loved the first 3 sections of this book. However, section 4 mixes two different serial killers, alternating chapters which I found very confusing. I understand the desire to combine them, they have a lot of similarities and there is less information on both but two shorter sections would have been easier to follow. Overall, I really enjoyed the mix of personal perspective, confessions, and trials. Highly recommended!

This is an awesome true crime book about 5 women in the New England area, all killers. What really surprised me was that I’d never heard of any of them and I’ve been reading about this subject for 45+ years. Author Sue Coletta does a section on each of the women. You get Jane Tappan, Lydia Sherman, Nellie Webb, Harriet E. Nason, and Sarah Jane Robinson each with their own details, history, and M.O. It’s wonderfully researched and written, and I highly recommend it for true crime readers. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Sue Coletta, and the publisher.

The true account of five women who are serial killers. Between them over one hundred people were killed. This book tells you of their lives. The trials of murder and how they died. Some had absolutely no reason to kill the people they did. It was opportunity and pure unadulterated evil.
Well written. Very interesting.

Interesting stories. Reading electronically made some of the pictures and notations difficult to read.

Review of Pretty Evil New England by Sue Coletta
Five Stars – Sue Coletta is the next Ann Rule

Pretty Evil New England reads like a fictional thriller but is a gripping true crime book about five female serial killers in New England during the late 1800s. The tales are horrifying and riveting at the same time. Author Coletta’s research is meticulous and thorough but historical details don’t slow the narrative pace. Also included are fascinating facts about forensic procedures that are surprisingly sophisticated for that era.
Pretty Evil New England is a must read for fans of true crime as well as history. Coletta is the heir apparent to true crime queen Ann Rule.

Debbie Burke
Award-winning journalist
Author of Tawny Lindholm Thrillers with a Heart
Blogger at The Kill Zone

I thought this was a super fun read and gave a really vivid look into female killers during the just barely post Victorian era. It was interesting to see these women violating the idea of the demure woman that we hold in the modern ear, and I look forward to discussing it with students in the future.

I love a true crime book this one is about women committing horrific murders. This book is nonfiction but it tells stories in a way that seems like fiction. If you’re into true crime this is the book for you.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Before reading this book I didn't realize how many women serial killers there were in the early 1900's. This book was very informative and gave great description into what made these women kill. This book was well written.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Pretty Evil New England.

I don't read much nonfiction but I know female serial killers take a backseat in history as opposed to their male counterparts and should be given their due so when I saw the premise to Pretty Evil New England, I knew I had to request it and was pleased when it was approved.

The author has done copious research, digging into archives and courtroom documents and transcripts to bring to life five of the most notorious female serial killers.

And these women are just from New England!

This was a fascinating, shocking and, at times, a dry read especially when courtroom transcripts took the place of a narrative, but I was engrossed and kept flipping the pages.

This definitely isn't for anyone but if you enjoy nonfiction crime about female serial killers, you should consider picking up Pretty Evil New England.

This book was very good. I am from New England, and I did not know of any of these cases!!! Very well written and engrossing. I could not stop reading this book. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

I received an advance copy of, Pretty Evil New England, by Sue Coletta. This book is pretty evil, too evil for me. The women in this book are pretty sick and twisted. Others might enjoy this, those who really enjoy horror movies.