The Murderess - by Laurie Notaro

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"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

Praise for Laurie Notaro

"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...Fact may still remain stranger than fiction, but Notaro's compelling novel gives truth a run for the money." --Library Journal (starred review)

"Notaro portrays this exciting sliver of time with historical accuracy, providing an authentic glimpse of the era (including photographs), and then adds a pump of adrenaline by including dialogue and drama of her own imagination, creating a captivating historical fiction." --Kirkus Reviews

"[Notaro] leverages her...keen eye for human foibles in an ambitious fictionalized account. [An] action-packed, character-rich romp." --Publishers Weekly

"Best known for her offbeat essays on contemporary topics, Notaro breaks new literary ground and demonstrates an intuitive sense of narrative and indelible appreciation for history's ironies." --Booklist

"Fascinating...Well-researched novelization...A compelling story." --USA Today