The angel makers : arsenic, a midwife, and modern history's most astonishing murder ring / Patti McCracken.

The angel makers : arsenic, a midwife, and modern history's most astonishing murder ring / Patti McCracken.

Alternate Title
Arsenic, a midwife, and modern history's most astonishing murder ring

By
McCracken, Patti.

Publication Date
2023

Publication Information
New York : William Morrow,

Physical Description
viii, 316 p. : ill.

Subject Term
Poisoning.
 
Murder.
 
Serial murderers.
 
Serial murders.
 
Women murderers.
 
Women serial murderers.
 
Serial murders -- History.
 
Serial murderers -- History.
 
Murder -- History.
 
Murder -- Hungary.
 
Arsenic -- Toxicology.

Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references.

Summary
The horror occurred in a rustic farming enclave in modern-day Hungary. To look at the unlikely lineup of murderesses--village wives, mothers, and daughters--was to come to the shocking realization that this could have happened anywhere, and to anyone. At the center of it all was a sharp-minded village midwife, a "smiling Buddha" known as Auntie Suzy, who distilled arsenic from flypaper and distributed it to the women of NagyrÔev. "Why are you bothering with him?" Auntie Suzy would ask, as she produced an arsenic-filled vial from her apron pocket. In the beginning, a great many used the deadly solution to finally be free of cruel and abusive spouses. But as the number of dead bodies grew without consequence, the killers grew bolder. With each vial of poison emptied, a new reason surfaced to drain yet another. Some women disposed of sickly relatives. Some used arsenic as "inheritance powder" to secure land and houses. For more than fifteen years, the unlikely murderers aided death unfettered and tended to it as if it were simply another chore--spooning doses of arsenic into soup and wine, stirring it into coffee and brandy. By the time their crimes were discovered, hundreds were feared dead.

Language
English

ISBN
9780063275034


LibraryCollectionCollectionCall NumberStatus
Gander (GGR)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction364.1523 M13Checked In
Placentia (APA)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction364.1523 M13Checked In
St. John's - A.C. Hunter (SJH)Adult NFicAdult Non-Fiction364.1523 M13Checked In