This absolutely phenomenal true-crime fiction manages to immerse you fully in the Great Depression while building vivid characters and suspense. I've long wondered how single women lived throughout America's history, and this novel is a clear window into the lives of 3 unconventional women. This reads as quickly as any psychological thriller and you will be fascinated with the harsh world that used to be.

This advanced reader's copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Book/Story: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Book Cover: ⭐⭐⭐

TRIGGER(S): MURDER, MENTAL HEALTH, HUMAN DISMEMBERMENT, DRUG ADDICTION, ABORTION, INFIDELITY



POV: Multiple, Third Person (Part I), Singular, First Person (Part II & IV), Singular, Third Person (Part III), Open Third Person/Singular, First Person (Part V)
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Safe or Dark: Safeish (see trigger warnings)

🚨 🚨 THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS IF YOU ARE NOT AWARE OF THE TRUE CRIME CASE OF WINNIE RUTH JUDD! 🚨🚨




“She was already guilty; no matter what the truth, she was guilty. The public had already deemed it so.”

I had previously heard about Winnie Ruth Judd's (26) case. The woman who allegedly murdered two of her friends, Agnes Anne LeRoi (27/32 sources vary) and Hedvig “Sammy” Samuelson (24), in the early 1930s. 1931, to be precise. It’s a story I’ve always been interested in. So, I was obviously excited when I found this book was based on her crime or what is suspected to be her crime. This fictional account of what happened on that fateful day between Ruth Judd and her two friends does not disappoint.

It was fun to see Laurie Notaro take us into the minds of Ruth, her husband (Dr. William Judd), brother (Burton McKinnell), lover (Jack Halloran), Anne LeRoi, the two detectives working the case, and others on the days following the murders. It makes you wonder what Ruth was up to when she was on the run and how her family and acquaintances were affected by her actions.

You can tell that Notaro did thorough research on the case in order to weave factual aspects into her fictional tale. Such as the murders themselves, Ruth’s injury to her hands, the trunks she took on the train to Los Angeles with her, her relationship with Jack Halloran, her friendship with the murder victims, and the shotty police work during the murder investigation. This story is a truly wonderful mix of true crime and historical fiction.

The writing is fluid and easy to follow. It’s descriptive without being dense and bogged down by unnecessary sentences. A few times, I felt like I was with the characters, watching the events unfold right next to them. Things slow down a bit in the middle, and it can seem like it might be a bit hard to get through. But don’t let that deter you, since the information given during that time is important to the plot of the story. And don’t worry, because the story picks up with vengeance once again as things work towards its conclusion.

The author had a way of making you feel sorry for Judd as we dive into her struggles with mental illness. The murders committed by Ruth Judd will always fascinate me since I personally believe it’s a tale of a person who just...snapped.

I don’t think we will ever truly know what happened on that fateful day in the little bungalow on 2929 North Second Street in Phoenix, Arizona. I don’t think we will ever truly find out if Judd is the actual perpetrator. Even though she admitted to killing her two friends in self-defense, It very well could have been Jack “Happy” Halloran (who was indicted by a grand jury in 1932 and exonerated in 1933) whose affections the women were allegedly fighting over. Or perhaps a fifth unknown person was present during the party. Judd simply could’ve assisted in covering up the murders.

“Before the police could finish their search, he hammered a sign into the front yard announcing a tour of the murder house.”

In 2014, a letter Judd wrote to her attorney, H.G. Richardson, on April 6, 1933, confessing to the murders of LeRoi and Samuelson was discovered, seemingly settling the debate over her guilt once and for all. But we all know how confessions, whether they are written or verbal, can be unreliable.

Whatever the truth may be, thanks to subpar police work, mishandling of evidence, and the media, which treated the whole thing like a circus sideshow, WRJ was already deemed guilty by the public, which became enthralled with her before she was ever brought to trial.

This book gives us something to use to fill in the blanks. Even if it only fictional ones.

Judd’s two victims lost their lives at the ages of twenty-seven and twenty-four/thirty-two but Judd herself lived to the ripe old age of ninety-three. Which is a subtle reminder that sometimes life just isn’t fair.

Winnie Ruth Judd, AKA the Trunk Murderess, might not be as well-known as other killers (Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, etc.), but she will always be infamous in her own right.

As a true crime junkie, I could ramble on and on about this case all day. But for the sake of all you readers, I will end this review here.

If you weren’t interested in researching this case before, you definitely will be after finishing this book.

Fun Fact: Winnie Ruth Judd died in her sleep on October 23, 1998, sixty-seven years to the day from her surrender to the LAPD in 1931.

If you look online, you can find her obituary under the name Marian Lane in the New York Times.

“The trial was never going to be anything but a farce; the public demanded it.”

TLDR: IF YOU LOVE TRUE CRIME AND DON’T MIND A FICTIONAL TWIST ON THINGS, CHECK OUT THIS BOOK!

I would like to thank Little A and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

This is my voluntary, unbiased, and honest review.

This was a well written fiction book, this one is written from the perspective of an unreliable narrator and there is some skeptical information and some that is of concern as you are not sure who to trust to get the true story.

Is Ruthie being truthful? is she schizophrenic? Did she indeed have a son? Is she making everything up? What is the deal with her husband?

There are more questions than answers in the book that eventually sort themselves out or at least the best that you can.

This was an easy read but a little dense at times mainly because there was a lot going on and you aren't sure which narrator to trust.

Laurie Notaro's The Murderess is a compelling true crime novel about Winnie Ruth Judd, a woman known for the infamous murder of two friends in the 1930s. I couldn't put down this story of a woman beset by the trials of schizophrenia and the tragedies of a world with limited life choices for women. Notaro's sensitive attention to human nature and deft handling of archival material make for a novel that I will return to over and over again.

Thank. you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC; all opinions are my own.

Having been something of an ID: Investigation Discovery addict a few years ago, there is a lot in Laurie Notaro's novel THE MURDERESS that seemed familiar so it's probably safe to assume that the 1931 case of Winnie Ruth Judd, aka The Trunk Murderess, was featured on one or more episodes of something (probably 'Deadly Women,' let's be honest) at some point.

But I didn't remember enough to make reading Notaro's novel a dull chore.

Quite the opposite. It was a thrilling ride through a 'ripped from headlines' case. I think what made it different than one might expect, different than what would have been shown on some true crime show or podcast, is that Notaro gives the perspective almost wholly to Ruth herself. And she does that without giving the murderess any sort of attempted redemption arc. Ruth apparently was and is portrayed by Notaro as a deeply troubled young woman against whom everything seems to work. And she almost certainly did murder her two best friends, just not for the reasons that played better in the headlines.

It's an expansive story, giving background on Ruth and following her all the way through her death at age 93. There are occasionally looks at the story through the eyes of her husband (the entire relationship with her husband, whom she called only Doctor, was incredibly creepy -- and a brief look through Wikipedia says that was reality) and her seeming lover (creepy in a more normal sort of 'rich man takes a mistress who happens to be mentally ill and manipulates & drugs her all the more' sort of way). It's a tragic story, both because two women were murdered and because Winnie Ruth Judd never stood a chance.

The only flaws are that the plots is choppy in places, in turns drawn out and too quick, but that might have been entirely necessary given the subject matter the plot was set upon.

THE MURDERESS will be available for purchase this fall.

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I received a copy of THE MURDERESS through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest & original review. All thoughts are my own.

Female killers have always been fascinating to me, real as well as fictional ones. The Murderess offers and intimate and shocking glimpse of what makes a murderess, and it is indeed a fascinating story!

I went into this book thinking it’s simply a historical fiction about a murderess, but halfway through the book, I realized that it’s based on a true crime. This book was a perfect mix for me as someone who enjoys historical fiction and is intrigued by true crime.

It was such an interesting read that I devoured this book in one sitting in the middle of the night. The beginning chapters grabbed my attention, and I enjoyed the use of different points of view to build up the narrative. The writing style was engrossing, and the author did an incredible job at bringing the setting to life. However, the pacing slowed down after the beginning which broke the reading momentum experience. Despite this, the book was able to pick up the pace back and pull me in.

To savor the suspense of the story, it's best to approach this without knowing anything at all. So, for now, I'll keep my thoughts on the plot and characters to myself (until release day when more people read it!) If historical fiction and true crime are your cup of tea, you would probably enjoy this! Thank you NetGalley and Little A for the advance review copy!

Link to Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6642294130 and https://www.instagram.com/p/C9G8fcfysAH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I don't know if I should even be leaving feedback since I very much skipped to the end in the one and didn't read every page. I really didn't like it. The characters were flat, not well developed, underlying insinuations not clear. Writing was repetitive and didn't hold my interest..

Fascinating look at killer Winne Ruth Judd - from the 1930s who was caught with a couple dismembered bodies in her trunks - a tragic story

This really, really interesting book , and certain not what one would expect from the very funny Notaro, but she does a wonderful job with the true story of Winnie Ruth Judd, a twenty-six year old doctor’s wife and minster’s daughter who travel’s from Phoenix to Los Angeles in 1931. One of her trunks is dripping a suspicious substance and after some tense negotiations the police are eventually called and they find the dead bodies of Hedvig Samuelson, 23, who was stabbed, shot and then dismembered and Anne LeRoi, 27, who had been shot in the head.

The search was on for Judd and “she was already guilty, no matter what the truth, she was guilty. The public had already deemed it so.”

This story, based on the true crime is fascinating and really well done. I was captivated throughout, and highly recommend.

Very interesting read. This was my first book from this author and I will pick her previous novel too. If you are into historical fiction based on a true crime then, this book is for you.

It tells the story of a schizophrenic woman who murdered both her best friends during one of her episodes, I felt for Ruth, she had an illness that wasn’t treated properly and assessed. I liked the fact that it has different points of views , everyone trying to figure out what truly happened ignoring her condition.

I didn't realize this was a true crime story. The beginning chapters really grabbed me, but after the initial hook, I felt a bit lost. I'm sure I would have felt differently if I'd realized right away it was a retelling of a true crime. Overall, the book is well written. But I didn't really connect to the characters so it wasn't my favorite read. I did like the writing, however, and would be interested to see what else this author has written.

An intriguing historical fiction based on the true story of Winnie Ruth Judd, the writing pulled me in from the first page and I had a difficult time putting this one down.



Thank you to Little A and NetGalley for the DRC

Winnie Ruth Judd lived a challenged life. It's hard to know whether she actually committed the murders or whether she was simply mentally ill and an easy scapegoat.

The opening gave thriller vibes. The discovery of the bodies of two women in Ruth Judd's luggage sends her on the run. Her panic and desperate attempts to evade capture hooked me. 

Unfortunately, most of the book slows to a crawl for backstory. The sympathy for Judd far outweighs any consideration for the victims, a couple who were devoted to each other.

The main strength: The settings are vivid, and Notaro brings to life the societal restrictions and economic pressures on working women in the 1930s. Judd's strained long-distance marriage, drug abuse, instability, and poor health are explored at length. She's depicted creating an independent life in Phoenix, befriended by Anne and Anne's beloved Sammy. Power disparities with men who become patrons of the women, and secrets and resentments that erode relationships come into play. The key plot points were revealed in the opening, so the prolonged imagined scenes became tedious.

The ending: Instead of pulling the book together, it fizzles. We get a choppy collage still foregrounding Judd's hardships. It isn't until the Notes section that the worst problems with the narrative become apparent.

The author wastes no time grabbing the reader’s attention with the discovery of leaky, putrid suitcases abandoned at a train station.

One of the unique aspects of "The Murderess" is the palpable heat of pain, desire, illness, and rage throughout the storyline.

“The Murderess” is a must read for fans of true crime and suspense novels. Many thanks to Little A and NetGalley for the eARC.

The Murderess follows Winnie Ruth Judd and her struggles as a schizophrenic woman who murders her two friends in a fit of madness. The true-crime novel starts with Mrs. Judd picking up trunks in Los Angeles full of decomposing bodies at the train station. She had shipped the bodies of Anne LeRoi and Hedvig (Sammy) Samuelson after murdering them in Phoenix.

Notaro explores everyone’s point of view, from landlord to mistress. I felt for Ruth, when Doctor was struggling with his addiction. I know how much that can out on a person who is not mentally stable themselves. I also felt for Ruth, because during the Depression, mental illness was not as advocated for and understood as it is today. She didn’t get the help she needed until it was too late. The story had me back and forth on who to believe until her illness was brought up. She believed so hard that she had a baby that I thought she was telling the truth until later in the story. This was my first tru crime novel and it is safe to say I’ve found a new favorite genre. The part format of this book helped to fit in everyone’s backstory. Overall this novel was extremely well written and sure to be a hit.




A couple of typos I noticed,
-Part 2, end of chapter two. at La Vina, “When the fever subsided after several days and I was strong enough to get up, I “
-Part 2, chapter 3 - Ruths quotations missing while she is talking to Mr. Reyer, not sure if this is intentional.
-Part 4 Chapter 5 - “ I couldn’t type, I was making mistakes all over the place. I my heart was beating ...”
-Part 4 Chapter 6 - in all caps “NEED TO FIND THIS QUOTE EXACTLY” not sure if that is supposed to be there

This book is the perfect mix of pulpy true crime and historical fiction. I could read a hundred more just like it.

This book is both well researched and capable of eliciting strong emotions. You find yourself empathizing with…you know…The Murderess. I didn’t expect for her longing and desperation to draw me in after reading about these truly disgusting crimes. There are many layers to this story and some questions that seemingly can never be answered.

(This book needs a strong trigger warning for frank discussion of mutilated and decomposing corpses.)

Thanks Netgalley for the arc!
I enjoyed this book, I really think the author did an amazing job with the characters and the world building. However, there were pacing issues that happened in the middle up until the last two chapters of the book. I wish it had been better structured because it could've easily been a 5 star read.