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Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men

Harold Schechter

3.44 · Rating details · 9,542 ratings · 1,014 reviews

In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana “murder farm.” Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them ...more

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Paperback, 334 pages

Published April 1st 2018 by Little A

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Mar 07, 2018 Nicole rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This book was a well-researched compilation of facts and rumors heretofore only available through a patchwork of different readings and articles. I appreciate the attention to details, court records, and even word of mouth from the time period- no aspect of the crime went unattended to.

Truth be told, the work itself was very much worth the read (and a boatload of stars), but... while I realize this author has written other relatively well-received works, I have a hard time believing that he This book was a well-researched compilation of facts and rumors heretofore only available through a patchwork of different readings and articles. I appreciate the attention to details, court records, and even word of mouth from the time period- no aspect of the crime went unattended to.

Truth be told, the work itself was very much worth the read (and a boatload of stars), but... while I realize this author has written other relatively well-received works, I have a hard time believing that he could be an accomplished biographical true crime author with his obvious preconceptions and biases, especially against women, African Americans, and people with less than average IQs. The author takes multitudes of opportunities to describe women in the book in unflattering terminologies rather than using objective descriptors in terms of weight, facial features, skin colors, etc., i.e. instead of saying overweight, he said fat, in place of tall, he would employ mannish. He referred to victims and perpetrator alike as ugly, etc., not terms generally used by serious writers of nonfiction and biographical accounts.

In terms of race, he makes prolific use of the “n” word, citing the common vernacular of that era. However, despite addressing the fact of the crude commonality and acknowledging it once or even twice, the author continued to use the term gratuitously, ostensibly defending the term with frequent references to the normality in the time period and his obvious belief in having the artistic license to utilize it in kind.

Additionally, in terms of opinions of the intelligence of the victims and bystanders, he references stupidity, etc., also not generally considered objective descriptions in a serious work. It is demeaning and off-putting, and, in my personal opinion, a grave detractor from the quality of the writing and the overall consideration of the work as a serious foray into a true crime genre.

Had the author maintained greater objectivity, I think I would have awarded the book four stars. I learned more about the murderess (and the victims) from this account than any single article or depiction I had ever previously read. It is a shame, in my opinion, that the subjectivity of its author was stated in such terms as to ruin the overall review of the work as a whole.

Whereas I typically complete a true crime book with the intention of seeing what other culprits the author may have explored, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth from this one. If he has written other accounts, this reader will not be indulging in them. ...more

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Oct 28, 2018 Beverly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 12, 2017 viktoria rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: murderino, biographies-and-memoirs, read-in-2018, nonfiction, true-crime-yay, meh, historical-nonfiction, i-hate-this-for-technical-reasons, it-may-be-you, my-favorite-murder

This book was a case of "I wish someone took the book's research and had someone else write it" or "Wow, I wish there had been a very strong-handed editor," because there were some good elements and then some bad elements, and the bad elements far outweighed the good elements.

The good elements:

The details!: The author gives you so many details and so much historical context; it's awesome. When I first started reading it, I immediately thought, "Oh, I'm going to have an awesome Erik Larson or ...more

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Oct 09, 2018 Katie B rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, read-in-2018, biography, history, crime, kindle, indiana

3.5 stars

I've read a lot of true crime books over the years, and I have to say this is one of the more bizarre cases. In the early 1900s, Belle Gunness lured unsuspecting men to her Indiana "murder farm". And these men vanished without a trace, that is until their butchered remains were eventually found buried on the farm. If you are unfamiliar with the case, I highly recommend you don't look up any information ahead of time because part of what makes this book interesting is all of the twists ...more

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Mar 25, 2018 Melki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: true-crime, history

An interesting, and absorbing account of turn-of-the-century murderer Belle Gunness. The author creates a unique Kindle experience, with "aged" pages, photos, and animation. The book is well researched, with a comprehensive section of notes and references. The ending is a bit dissatisfying, as there are many unanswered questions. This is why I prefer fictional, rather than true crime.

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Mar 03, 2018 Tasha rated it liked it · review of another edition

So 40% of this kindle book was references!

Overall this was a great telling of Mrs Gunness’ life and impact on society at the time. My one problem was the author’s overuse of ‘Nigger Liz’ throughout and explaining that that was what she was known as at the time each time he used the slur. Mrs Gunness was known as lots of different names after her deeds were found out but the author didn’t feel the need to go about them the way he did Ms Smith. It felt like he was justifying using the term and ...more

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Nov 18, 2018 Ronald Keeler rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

Hell’s Princess by Harold Schechter is the well-researched story of the mystery of Belle Gunness, a butcher of men. I note that she was “a” butcher of men, not “the” butcher of men or even the title without an article. Belle was a serial killer, one of many in history and to date. She was notable for several reasons. She was “she;” female serial killers were and are disproportionately few compared to males. Women nurtured; they did not “knock people off.” Second, Belle was unusually cruel in her Hell’s Princess by Harold Schechter is the well-researched story of the mystery of Belle Gunness, a butcher of men. I note that she was “a” butcher of men, not “the” butcher of men or even the title without an article. Belle was a serial killer, one of many in history and to date. She was notable for several reasons. She was “she;” female serial killers were and are disproportionately few compared to males. Women nurtured; they did not “knock people off.” Second, Belle was unusually cruel in her kill methods and selection of targets. They were not strangers; her victims were husbands, lovers, and included her own children. Finally, she operated in a time and environment that we look back upon from the present day as a time of innocence, a closely interactive environment where people trusted the common good in each other, where such things just didn’t happen.

She arrived from Norway to visit and stay with her sister. Employed as a domestic, she saw little difference from the harsh life she had lived in Norway. She saw there was money to be made and by the time she married in 1884 to the father of her children, she found a way to get large infusions of cash quickly. Insurance payouts paid well. This did not bode well for husbands, partners, and lovers who had to die to trigger the payouts. Belle was versatile; she could see that frequent insurance payoffs would appear suspicious. After a few insurance scams, she purchased a farm remotely located from town and began to offer management partnerships to men. They had to make short-term investments of a few thousand dollars. The investment was short-term because the men would soon die. To the surrounding communities, the men would just disappear. For the inquisitive, the men changed their minds or had family emergencies. Their belongings and luggage remained with Belle to be forwarded later.

Many men who answered Belle’s ads had families. Some relatives began to question their inability to follow up the fate of their relatives once the brothers or fathers had relocated to LaPorte, Indiana to help Belle. Thus, started the unraveling of some of Belle’s schemes. As with so many cover-ups of criminal activities, attempts at concealment had to become ever more complex. Things rushed forward as if a large bubble grew ever faster. The bursting of the bubble was almost inevitable. This is the story of how Belle’s life of murder and deception fell apart. Almost.

This is crime non-fiction. There are no surprises or spoilers. Schechter goes to great lengths to assure readers this is not fake news. Twenty-five pages of footnotes are referenced to the forty-three chapters. There are eight pages of bibliography and twenty helpful index pages. Still, in the end, there are questions and Schechter does a very good job of revealing unanswered questions and describing the situations that surround uncertainty.

This book is not for everyone. Academics will like it both for its sourcing and the way the author tries to bring in all possibilities and perspectives even when some of them border on the absurd. It is slow reading due to this writing process. Descriptions of how some of the murders took place, based on forensic evidence, will provide readers with an idea of how horror and thriller writers get their inspiration. Non-fiction can be scarier than fiction.

I gave this work five Amazon stars just for the careful, balanced presentation. After I post this, I will look at other reviews. I expect them to be all over the range of ratings. There will be disagreements because of the careful research methodology Schechter used. Academics love to argue. That is how they justify their incomes. I just rate the book based on my enjoyment of it. I liked this one.
...more

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Apr 19, 2018 Susan Snodgrass rated it really liked it

I have always been fascinated by true crime stories and this one is done very well. Extremely well researched and very detail oriented, it is as thorough as anyone could want. Belle Gunness was one of the most prolific serial killers of the late 19 and early 20th centuries. All for money. A vicious woman with no compunction whatsoever about taking a life. This is the best I've read about her life. Recommended.

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Jul 24, 2018 Ghost of the Library rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As a principle I prefer facts, biographies, history and not fiction, it's no secret, look at my book lists!
However this particular genre, albeit non fiction, is one that somehow I've avoided...95% of time that is.
Don't get me wrong, not squeamish or afraid of blood at all, just most of the time I don't get a book that simply tells the facts and doesn't try its hardest to persuade you to believe whatever theory the author defends.
Well as luck would have, or simply Kindle taking a peek at my As a principle I prefer facts, biographies, history and not fiction, it's no secret, look at my book lists!
However this particular genre, albeit non fiction, is one that somehow I've avoided...95% of time that is.
Don't get me wrong, not squeamish or afraid of blood at all, just most of the time I don't get a book that simply tells the facts and doesn't try its hardest to persuade you to believe whatever theory the author defends.
Well as luck would have, or simply Kindle taking a peek at my research and suggesting reads, I believe this one may be the one I was looking for.
The author here is simply a narrator, he relates by means of a thorough and careful research the true story of Belle Gunness and her murder farm, where she planted all the men she lured to her with promises of love and happiness.
This is not an easy read, gory details of how she did it aside, simply because - and maybe I'm being partial - I find it always much harder to stomach when a woman is capable of such horrible actions....in my defense, I am a ghost from Victorian England, my sensibilities might be somewhat non pc in this day and age!
However, and that is where I believe my background served me well, this is a fascinating read, because once you can push aside a 21st century view of society and acceptable behavior, this turns into an engaging tale that catches one's attention and keeps you turning the pages to find out how it ends.
That Belle was a serial killer, long before such term was officially coined, it's a fact and quite soon shown, but the details surrounding not only the investigation but also society's reaction - on both a local and national level - make this both repulsive and yet appealing...human nature at its finest.
Some may disagree with me but personally I think the author did a great job here and succeeds 100% in taking a reader back in time.
If you're not easily impressed - in a bad way - by all means this is a read for you.
My only quibble?....well I can't tell you...spoilers!

Happy Readings! ...more

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Apr 02, 2018 Chandra Claypool (wherethereadergrows) rated it it was ok

Shelves: arc

If you've read my reviews before, you know I'm not the biggest fan of non-fiction or history.... except when it comes to true crime and the like. I was SO excited for this book. I have done countless research on serial killers when I was younger as I had a bit of an obsession (still do but less research has been made in the past decade of my life). I already knew the story of Belle Gunness but didn't realize how much I remembered until I started reading this. Unfortunately, I was a tad bit ...more

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Jun 08, 2019 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well researched and written account of the brutal murders perpetrated by that rare enigma, the female serial killer.

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Feb 26, 2019 Valerity (Val) added it

Shelves: non-fiction, true-crime, 2019, serial-killer-s, murder-mayhem, historical

Review to follow

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Mar 22, 2018 Siobhan rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-first, kindle-books-read

I love a bit of true crime, so interesting. Glad I chose this as my Kindle First book this month. It was my first Kindle in Motion book too and I liked the little videos and newspaper clippings etc. Very cool!

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Jun 03, 2018 KC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: serial-killer, 123-s, audiobook, true-crime, crime, non-fiction, turn-of-the-century

In the early 1900's, La Porte Indiana was a quiet farming community that was shaken to its core after a gruesome discovery was made on a local farm after a fire destroyed the home of Belle Gunness. Her supposed charred bones were uncovered in the debris along with her three foster children, but as the day progressed the workers, while filtering through the wreckage, unearthed what appeared to be a make shift grave site of human bones, clothing, and personal belongings. This is the story of ...more

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Mar 16, 2018 Katya Kazbek rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, books-i-own, true-crime, texas, amazon-first-reads

A true crime book should not feel like you could have been better off reading the wikipedia page. And yes, I understand that Schechter's research did not pay off with a juicy twist he had hoped for. But that doesn't explain to me why there was a need to insert all the boring back and forths of the trial and everyone and their mother's suspicions. It was interesting for the first third (even though I found the intro oddly structured) but then it was too long. I was actually wondering why the book ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 Mike Bevel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Could Schechter have been a little less obnoxious with the misogyny (he never misses a chance to tell us how fat and unattractive Gunness was)? Did he seem a little too comfortable using Elizabeth Smith's nickname ("N----- Liz") repeatedly when once was really enough?

There aren't answers to these rhetorical questions and there aren't definitive answers to the case of Belle Gunness, which Schechter muses briefly about at the end of the book.

For a book about Hell's Princess, a lot of time is ...more

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Mar 02, 2018 Mary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Excellent, entertaining true crime

I've read another book about Belle Gunness, which was ok, but left me wanting to know more. I'm just delighted Schechter wrote this book--the answer to my wish for a more thorough treatment of the killer and her many crimes.

For what it's worth, I think she killed her kids, plus another woman to make it look look like she died. Then she took off for parts unknown. It's too bad that the California lady was who she said she was. It would've made for an excellent ...more

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Mar 30, 2018 Terri rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2018

There once was a woman named Belle. She killed lots and LOTS of people, chopped them up and buried them on her farm. Nobody knows why. Nobody will ever know why. The End. You just saved yourself from having to read 300 pages. :-)

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Jun 23, 2018 Alaina rated it liked it

Shelves: june-challenge-2018, fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, horror, kindle-unlimited, nonfiction

Interestingly boring.

Okay, I wont even lie. I am so freaking happy that I was not born around the time that Belle was on her killing streak. I thank my lucky stars every day. Now before I dove into this book, I honestly had no clue who Belle Gunness was. Nope, I just went into because I've been on a murder mystery kick. Since this book is based off a true murderer, well shit - I had to dive into it!

At the beginning, this book was completely interesting. We get to meet Belle and learn about her ...more

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Mar 10, 2018 Katie rated it it was ok

2.5 stars

I enjoyed the first third of the book, but found the rest disappointing. I suppose I did not realize the mystery was not Belle herself but rather than two-thirds of the book is dedicated to speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death.

The author's excessive use of the "n" word seemed like using historical license to repeatedly use a slur for no reason at all. The author's insistent descriptions of how hideous and obese characters were, only to include their photos which ...more

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Apr 27, 2018 Teri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, goodreads-giveaways, read-in-2018

The strange and brutal murders of at least 9 people in La Porte, Indiana in the early 21st century has perplexed the town residents for years. It is the case of Belle Gunness, a matrimonial murderess dubbed "Hell's Princess" among other erstwhile nicknames. Young Belle was a Norwegian immigrant to the US in the late 1800s. Once she arrived, she moved to Chicago to live near her sister. Unmarried with no kids, Belle takes on the foster care of a couple of children, as well as her niece. Soon ...more

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Apr 04, 2018 Jessica rated it it was ok

Shelves: cjsreads

Thanks to Amazon Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you've followed my reviews for awhile, you'll know that true crime and historical fiction are my jam. I love these genres and will pick up any book that falls under true crime. HELL'S PRINCESS was one of those rare books where I didn't know any information about the subject. Belle Gunness, the Butcher of Men, sounded intriguing and I was ready to learn more about her.

This felt more like a regurgitation of some ...more

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Apr 01, 2018 Emily rated it it was ok

2.5

"She is entitled to be known to future generations as the arch fiend of the twentieth century."

Hell's Princess is a good introduction to Belle Gunness if you don't know anything about her. If you are familiar with her story, you're probably going to be pretty bored. There's just so little information on Belle Gunness, it's tough to write a full book on her.

It got pretty disjointed, and I feel like Schechter tried way too hard to create filler for this book. There were a lot of parts about ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Erin Dunn rated it did not like it

I’m interested in this, but had to DNF because the writing isn’t for me.

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Apr 07, 2018 Erica rated it did not like it

I was excited for this because I love true crime, I love reading about female serial killers since they are few and far between. I already knew the story of Belle Gunness and felt excited that I could learn more and relearn some things I might have forgotten. Unfortunately I did not like this at all...it felt like I was reading a Wikipedia article instead of a true crime novel. Now it is insanely hard to write a book and easy for me to criticize but this did not work for me. I knew the ...more

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Mar 06, 2018 Shaneice rated it liked it

As a fan of authors such as Erik Larson and murder mysteries in general, I was very excited when this came up as an option for Amazon Prime's First Reads. It has a slow start but starts to pick up around the time Belle moves to La Porte. However, the book starts to slow down again around the time of the Lamphere trial. Now, I don't know if it's just because the author needed some filler or had to hit a word count, but there was A LOT of verbatim from news clippings and even passages from a pulp ...more

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Feb 07, 2019 Heidi rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2019-goal, audio-books

Slightly fascinating true crime book, but the second half is just a case of an author seriously padding his not long enough book with time period appropriate fact loading not related to this crime. I just wanted to scream, “Where was the editor?”

While I don’t necessarily recommend this book, its gruesome first third was worth reading. So few female killers of this magnitude have been discovered that I was thoroughly fascinated by the nerve of this black widow spider!

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Mar 21, 2018 Nyx rated it liked it · review of another edition

2.5 out of 5; rambling and ultimately unsatisfying

This was my Kindle First choice for March.

I also read "Depraved" by Schechter this month and I've rated "Hell's Princess" the same as that, despite finding it a lot less engaging. Clearly, a great deal of research has been put into both books. However, Schechter presents his findings in a manner that flips between stale and insultingly ill-mannered. When Schechter is not giving lengthy quotes or paraphrasing a whole pulp true crime pamphlet, ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Kelly added it

Shelves: audio-book, read-in-2018, non-fiction

The big hard "okay" on this one. It was okay. There's really nothing here that, for as little as I knew about Gunness, I learned that was new. The writing is serviceable, though I found the choice to keep some of the language around individuals in the story (N-word Liz, for example) to be utterly unnecessary.

Audio was fine, too.

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Oct 04, 2019 Jamie (The Kansan Reader) rated it liked it · review of another edition

2.5 stars

Find all my reviews: https://jaynikkibelthoughts.wordpress...

Could have been better

First off has anyone had a book on their kindle and it had show media? This is the first book I’ve had that did this. I felt like Hogwarts. The pictures move!!!

Now the review:

When asking most people, they never heard of Belle Gunness. I first heard of her through a WatchMojo Top 10s. I can’t fully remember how I came across this book but I decided to give it a try.

Belle Gunness was a lady fair In Indiana ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter -> Starting June 25th, 2018	2	10	Jun 23, 2018 11:46AM
MFM Book Cult: Welcome Murderinos!	1	18	May 22, 2018 06:18AM
Obsessed with Tru...: Hell's Princess	15	35	Apr 27, 2018 07:35AM

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About Harold Schechter

Harold Schechter

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Aka Jon A. Harrald (joint pseudonym with Jonna Gormley Semeiks)

Harold Schechter is a true crime writer who specializes in serial killers. He attended the State University of New York in Buffalo, where he obtained a Ph.D. A resident of New York City, Schechter is professor of American literature and popular culture at Queens College of the City University of New York.

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“In comparing Belle to Jack the Ripper as a murderer driven by bloodlust and employing a signature MO, this anonymous expert accurately identified her as the type of homicidal maniac for which no name had yet been coined: what a later age would call a serial killer.” — 9 likes

“She held him spellbound,” he went on, then let out a ragged breath. “So he went to his death.”[” — 9 likes

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