Table of Contents

Illustrations Introduction The Quiet Killers Black Widows Angels of Death Sexual Predators Revenge For Profit or Crime Team Killers The Question of Sanity The Unexplained The Unsolved Appendix 1: Statistical Information About the American Female Serial Killer Appendix 2: Alphabetical Listing of Female Serial Killers Appendix 3: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Selected Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

A fascinating, disturbing and thorough exploration of the shocking crimes and complex motivations of female serial killers.

About the Author

MICHAEL D. KELLEHER, who has written widely on the subject of violence, specializes in threat assessment, strategic management, and human resource management for organizations in the private and public sectors. He is the author of Profiling the Lethal Employee (1997) and New Arenas for Violence (1996), both published by Praeger. C. L. KELLEHER is a volunteer counselor and human rights advocate.

Reviews

.,."[T]he common perception is that serial killers are invariably white, male, sexual predators. But according to the fascinating (and quite unnerving) new book, Murder Most Rare, female serial killers may be even more lethal and cunning than men."-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

?...[T]he common perception is that serial killers are invariably white, male, sexual predators. But according to the fascinating (and quite unnerving) new book, Murder Most Rare, female serial killers may be even more lethal and cunning than men.?-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

?[T]he book provides new insights about the borderline female mind which can systematically, and easily, calculate cold-blooded murder.?-Palo Alto Daily News

?[T]he Kellehers...detail each [serial murderer] with a relish and breezy objectivity....The cumulated savagery is what horrifies, as tables rounding up malefactors' motives, methods, and backgrounds abound. This is a fine true-crime entry, tasteful when possible and engrossing as either reference or episodic reading....?-Booklist

?As the title suggests, Murder Most Rare offers up ripping yarns.?-Amazon.com

?Michael Kelleher has explored violence and murder in several works...he now offers a rare, mostly clinical overview of the female mass murderer. The book profiles nearly 100 deadly women....The grim succession of murder accounts here...cuts an often shocking swath of feminine terror.?-Publishers Weekly

?The two Kellehers are the encyclopedistes of female violence. Not only have these diligent authors collected a vast number of gruesome tales; they have also drawn up a taxonomic chart for each killer....In putting together their survey, the Kellehers' principal aim seems to have been thoroughness: they have tracked down and categorized every female serial killer they could get their hands on.?-The New Yorker

?This book is interesting and useful in that it provides a thought-provoking overview of female serial killers. It will provoke discussion about women's history and about gender issues and invite the reader to discuss, and perhaps reconsider, the roles of women in our society and in the criminal justice system.?-Women & Criminal Justice

?Undergraduate and graduate students will find this book a worthwhile supplement in courses on homicide, violence, or women and crime. There is little doubt that researchers in these areas will find it to be a handy reference work. For both students and professional criminologists, the strongest feature of the book is the case histories, which can be used to suggest numerous lines of inquiry into issues of gender and violence.?-The Great Plains Sociologist

..."�T�he common perception is that serial killers are invariably white, male, sexual predators. But according to the fascinating (and quite unnerving) new book, Murder Most Rare, female serial killers may be even more lethal and cunning than men."-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"�T�he book provides new insights about the borderline female mind which can systematically, and easily, calculate cold-blooded murder."-Palo Alto Daily News

"�T�he Kellehers...detail each �serial murderer� with a relish and breezy objectivity....The cumulated savagery is what horrifies, as tables rounding up malefactors' motives, methods, and backgrounds abound. This is a fine true-crime entry, tasteful when possible and engrossing as either reference or episodic reading...."-Booklist

..."[T]he common perception is that serial killers are invariably white, male, sexual predators. But according to the fascinating (and quite unnerving) new book, Murder Most Rare, female serial killers may be even more lethal and cunning than men."-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"[T]he book provides new insights about the borderline female mind which can systematically, and easily, calculate cold-blooded murder."-Palo Alto Daily News

"[T]he Kellehers...detail each [serial murderer] with a relish and breezy objectivity....The cumulated savagery is what horrifies, as tables rounding up malefactors' motives, methods, and backgrounds abound. This is a fine true-crime entry, tasteful when possible and engrossing as either reference or episodic reading...."-Booklist

"As the title suggests, Murder Most Rare offers up ripping yarns."-Amazon.com

"Michael Kelleher has explored violence and murder in several works...he now offers a rare, mostly clinical overview of the female mass murderer. The book profiles nearly 100 deadly women....The grim succession of murder accounts here...cuts an often shocking swath of feminine terror."-Publishers Weekly

"The two Kellehers are the encyclopedistes of female violence. Not only have these diligent authors collected a vast number of gruesome tales; they have also drawn up a taxonomic chart for each killer....In putting together their survey, the Kellehers' principal aim seems to have been thoroughness: they have tracked down and categorized every female serial killer they could get their hands on."-The New Yorker

"This book is interesting and useful in that it provides a thought-provoking overview of female serial killers. It will provoke discussion about women's history and about gender issues and invite the reader to discuss, and perhaps reconsider, the roles of women in our society and in the criminal justice system."-Women & Criminal Justice

"Undergraduate and graduate students will find this book a worthwhile supplement in courses on homicide, violence, or women and crime. There is little doubt that researchers in these areas will find it to be a handy reference work. For both students and professional criminologists, the strongest feature of the book is the case histories, which can be used to suggest numerous lines of inquiry into issues of gender and violence."-The Great Plains Sociologist