The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago

By Douglas Perry

Book Overview

With a thrilling, fast-paced narrative, award-winning journalist Douglas Perry vividly captures the sensationalized circus atmosphere that gave rise to the concept of the celebrity criminal- and gave Chicago its most famous story. The Girls of Murder City recounts two scandalous, sex-fueled murder cases and how an intrepid "girl reporter" named Maurine Watkins turned the beautiful, media-savvy suspects-"Stylish Belva" and "Beautiful Beulah"-into the talk of the town. Fueled by rich period detail and a cast of characters who seemed destined for the stage, The Girls of Murder City is a crackling tale that simultaneously presents the freewheeling spirit of the Jazz Age and its sober repercussions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143119222
• ISBN13: 9780143119227
• Release Date: July 2011
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Men Writing Women at its finest

Six pages in to the actual story and I was already taken aback at the authors writing. “Her body had a sullen prepubescence about it as though it had been stunted by cigarettes or some dread childhood disease. It was thrilling.” Or, “her body turning with erotic languor beneath her clothes, arms rising like a succulent baby’s.” Or, talking about glowing ass cheeks that resemble a clay pot out of the kiln, “a beautiful soreness”. I had to put it down. This is supposed to be a historical non-fiction and not whatever the hell this is. Bloviating about appearances with cringe worthy “artistic” liberties.

Chicago

I really liked this book. I’d just read The Devil in White City and figured it would be similar, which it was in some ways. It’s actually about the young lady reporter who wrote the play (which became a musical after her death) “Chicago.” My bf coincidentally recorded the musical the day before I started reading this so it was interesting to compare them.