In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Where to start with this one…
I think my expectations where completely wrong. I knew that this was a fictionalized account of Belle Gunness but I didn’t expect it to be almost completely made up or based directly on proved false claims and rumors. After checking out some documentaries and other factual info about The Widow of La Porte, it seems that very little of the book is based on facts. I mean, her name, the names of the kids, and the names of a few of the victims were accurate – and that she killed a bunch of people – but beyond that, not much. That was disappointing to me.
If you’re still thinking of reading the book after the above, then I suggest avoiding the audiobook. There were two narrators and both had, for me, cringe-worthy performances. One sounded like she was on the verge of tears constantly and both had the same tone and style for every man – a sly, airy, sleazy sort of voice – no matter their station or situation. After a while, it only made my existing frustration worse.
Andy, Colette, and I featured In the Garden of Spite on the March episode of Cocktail Hour if you’d like a more in-depth – and more humorous – discussion.
To Be Read Book Reviews 