She Kills - by Skip Hollandsworth (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A superb collection of true-crime stories-written by the magazine's legendary feature writer, Skip Hollandsworth-which reminds us why America is perennially obsessed with the genre. Skip Hollandsworth has been covering true crime since long before the podcasts, networks, and television shows discovered it. Texas born and bred, the revered journalist joined Texas Monthly in 1989, and the stories he has written over three-plus decades have helped define a locale and a culture. Curated by Hollandsworth, She Kills brings together the favorite stories he has written for the magazine, from the tale of the high schooler who grew so close to dear old Dad that she had "no choice" but to poison his refried beans, to the suburban dentist who killed her loving husband by driving over him three times with his teenage daughter in the car. These are expertly crafted tales that will stop readers in their tracks and leave them gasping with shock and pleasure. Each story is updated by Hollandsworth, who provides background on his original storytelling and new information on the perpetrators and victims, where available. She Kills is jaw-dropping, addictively readable compendium of the evil that women do. And why"--

Book Synopsis

"I love Skip Hollandsworth. I love his extraordinary stories, I love his rabid curiosity, and I love that as a writer, he personifies toeing the line between horror, humor, and absurdity. I am inspired by every single character he has introduced us to. "--Laura Dern

A superb collection of true-crime stories--written by Texas Monthly's legendary feature writer Skip Hollandsworth--that reminds us why America is perennially obsessed with the genre.

Skip Hollandsworth has been covering true crime since long before the podcasts, networks, and television shows discovered it. Raised in Texas, the revered journalist joined Texas Monthly in 1989, and the stories he has written over three-plus decades have helped define a locale and a culture.

Curated by Hollandsworth, She Kills brings together beloved stories that focus in particular on female perpetrators--from the high schooler who was so desperate to move back in with Mom that she had no choice but to poison her father's refried beans, to the wallflower nurse in small-town Texas who one day started killing off her patients, to the lovelorn dental hygienist who ordered a hit on her rival.

These are expertly crafted tales that will stop readers in their tracks and leave them gasping with shock and pleasure. Each story is updated by Hollandsworth, who provides background on his original storytelling and new information on the perpetrators and victims, where available.

She Kills is a jaw-dropping, addictively readable compendium of women whose often sensational crimes and circumstances put them on the wrong side of the law.

She Kills is illustrated with 44 black-and-white photos throughout.

Review Quotes

"Each story is astonishing. The characterization. The details. Skip finds magic in the mundane. The alchemy he creates leads you to feel a certain sympathy for the victim and, somehow, the perpetrator. He will make you see a murder from the murderer's point of view without remotely excusing the act . . . . He is and will always be a master." -- Texas Monthly

"These are expertly crafted tales that will stop readers in their tracks and leave them gasping with shock and pleasure . . . She Kills is a jaw-dropping, addictively readable compendium of women whose often sensational crimes and circumstances put them on the wrong side of the law." -- USA TODAY

"[An] unshakable storyteller . . . . Like the emblematic bloodhound, Hollandsworth keeps trotting along, nosing around for the next puzzling crime to capture his, and his readers', attention." -- The Austin Chronicle

"An undisputed master of long-form true crime reporting, Skip Hollandsworth brings nuance, sensitivity, cultural context and a big, beating heart to every story he writes, but probably foremost in his pieces on women. There are no simple femme fatales in this stunning collection, only complicated women, all of whom--some justified, some not--have their reasons. Not only is this an exhilarating, illuminating read, it is vital social history." - Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of The Turnout

"The real true-crime aficionados have always read Skip Hollandsworth, because we care more about terrific story-telling than trying to solve cold cases. This collection has all the Hollandsworth hallmarks--fascinating women whose mysteries only deepen the more we learn about them. Profoundly empathetic, compulsively readable." - Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of Murder Takes a Vacation

"Texas readers have had a long love affair with Skip Hollandsworth--for good reason. He tells us stories about who we really are, and he does it with an unsparing eye. Even the killers get a fair hearing in his court. Count me as a student in his class on literary journalism." - Lawrence Wright, author of The Human Scale

"Skip Hollandsworth does not so much report a story as sidle up to it. He writes with such unhurried decorum and gentlemanly curiosity that sometimes you forget--even as your eyes are glued to the page--that you're reading about some of the grisliest forms of human behavior." - Stephen Harrigan, author of Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas

"I love Skip Hollandsworth. I love his extraordinary stories, I love his rabid curiosity, and I love that as a writer, he personifies toeing the line between horror, humor, and absurdity. And yet, he is just always trying to find the humanity and the truth of the thing. Who knew it would take an Eagle Scout from Wichita Falls to love complicated women in all their despair as much as this actress does? I am inspired by every single character he has introduced us to. " - Laura Dern

"The words of master True Crime storyteller Skip Hollandsworth will get under your skin--and worm their way into your heart. These stories are unpredictable, unforgettable, and revelatory." - Lise Olsen, author of The Scientist and the Serial Killer

"Skip Hollandsworth isn't just a master of the True Crime genre; he is also a master of journalism, period. He is such a deft and inspired writer that it's easy to forget that he is also a five-star reporter. The soup will get cold, the grass won't get mowed, the bills won't get paid because his readers can't stop reading!" - Mimi Swartz, longtime Texas Monthly contributor and author of Ticker: The Quest to Create an Artificial Heart

"Masterful storyteller Skip Hollandsworth guides us across Texas--from moneyed suburbs to sleepy towns where some women murder out of desperation and others do it simply because they want to. In his patented Hollandsworth style, the writing is crisp, the imagery visceral, and the compassion authentic." - Kate Winkler Dawson, author of The Sinners All Bow and American Sherlock