-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Novel
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurie Notaro comes a haunting true-crime novel about Winnie Ruth Judd, one of the twentieth century's most notorious and enigmatic killers.
It's October 1931. When Winnie Ruth Judd arrives at the Los Angeles train station from Phoenix, her shipping trunks catch the attention of a suspicious porter. By the time they're pried open, revealing the dismembered bodies of two women inside, Ruth has disappeared into the crowd.
The search for, and eventual apprehension of, the Trunk Murderess quickly becomes a headline-making sensation. Even the Phoenix murder house is a sideshow attraction. The one question on everyone's lips: How could a twenty-six-year-old reverend's daughter and doctor's wife―petite, pretty, well educated, and poised―commit such a heinous act on two people she'd called "my dearest friends in the world"? Everyone has their theories and judgments, but no one knows the whole truth.
What unfolds in this gripping work of true-crime fiction is a collision of jealousy, drug addiction, insanity, rage, and inescapable choices. At its heart, a condemned and tragic mystery woman whose trial―and its shocking twists―will make history.
"Fans of Notaro's essays will identify and appreciate the vein of absurdity and irony running throughout this novel, but there is also a pulsing brutality and shocking tragedy at its heart that will appeal to true crime fans. Fact may still remain stranger than fiction, but Notaro's compelling novel gives truth a run for the money." —Library Journal (starred review)
"As complex as it is deftly crafted―this is a pulse-pounding, page-turning, heartbreaking account of the misunderstood woman behind a sensational news story that gripped a nation. A haunting novel that never lets the reader go." ―Kirkus Reviews
This information about The Murderess was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Cat Dosset
Laurie Notaro has been fired from seven jobs, laid off from three, and voluntarily liberated from one. Despite all that, she has managed to write a number of New York Times bestselling essay collections, including The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, and Housebroken. She lives with her husband in Oregon, where—according to her mother, who refuses to visit—she sleeps in a trailer in the woods.
If you liked The Murderess, try these:
by Jessica Knoll
Published 2024
From the megabestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive comes another shocking thriller inspired by the real-life sorority and target of America's first celebrity serial killer.
by Peter Swanson
Published 2021
From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction's most ingenious murders.
by Elly Griffiths
Published 2019
Death lies between the lines when the events of a dark story start coming true in this haunting modern gothic mystery, perfect for fans of Magpie Murders and The Lake House.
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
