Four true crime stories explore women, violence and obsession including a 1940s heiress whose dollhouse crime scenes established forensic science as well as a woman who moved into Sharon Tate’s guesthouse and entwined herself with the family. 50,000 first printing. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

A provocative and original investigation of our cultural fascination with crime, linking four archetypes'Detective, Victim, Defender, Killer'to four true stories about women driven by obsession.

In this illuminating exploration of women, violence, and obsession, Rachel Monroe interrogates the appeal of true crime through four narratives of fixation. In the 1940s, a frustrated heiress began creating dollhouse crime scenes depicting murders, suicides, and accidental deaths. Known as the 'mother of Forensic Science," she revolutionized the field of what was then called legal medicine. In the aftermath of the Manson Family murders, a young woman moved into Sharon Tate's guesthouse and, over the next two decades, entwined herself with the Tate family. In the mid-nineties, a landscape architect in Brooklyn fell in love with a convicted murderer, the supposed ringleader of the West Memphis Three, through an intense series of letters. After they married, she devoted her life to getting him freed from death row. And in 2015, a teenager deeply involved in the online fandom for the Columbine killers planned a mass shooting of her own.

Each woman, Monroe argues, represents and identifies with a particular archetype that provides an entryway into true crime. Through these four cases, she traces the history of American crime through the growth of forensic science, the evolving role of victims, the Satanic Panic, the rise of online detectives, and the long shadow of the Columbine shooting. In a combination of personal narrative, reportage, and a sociological examination of violence and media in the twentieth and twenty-first century, Savage Appetites scrupulously explores empathy, justice, and the persistent appeal of violence. - (Simon and Schuster)

Rachel Monroe is a writer and volunteer firefighter living in Marfa, Texas. Her work has appeared in The Best American Travel Writing 2018, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and elsewhere. - (Simon and Schuster)

Booklist Reviews

Monroe's collection of four longform essays sits at the intersection of true crime, journalism, and memoir. She bases each piece on one of four crime archetypes—detective, victim, lawyer, and killer—and intertwines her own narrative and ruminations about when an interest becomes unhealthy, disrespectful, or even dangerous. Frances Glessner Lee made detailed miniatures, an acceptable hobby for a 60-something woman in the 1940s—but hers were crime scenes made to educate officers and combat bias. Alisa Statman became enmeshed with the Tate family after moving into the back cottage of the house where some of the Manson Murders occurred. Lorri Davis was so consumed with the innocence of one of the West Memphis Three that she started a correspondence, which ultimately lead to marriage. And Lindsay Souvannarath identified with the Columbine shooters to the point of planning her own mass shooting. Monroe's writing is superb and each woman's story is fascinating even if, as a whole, the book lacks a cohesive narrative thread. Regardless, true crime aficionados will appreciate this spin on the genre. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

Notorious murder cases linger in the American imagination. Journalist and debut author Monroe argues that women, especially, are responsible for the growing fascination with true crime both as media consumers and as indirect participants. An introductory chapter outlines the rationale for the ten-year study. Based on interviews and other primary sources, chapters detail examples of the roles that women play in violent crime: detective, victim, defender, and killer. The life of Frances Glessner Lee, described as the "mother of forensics," exemplifies the detective role. Sharon Tate's 1969 murder forms the basis for the victim role. Women as defenders are illustrated by a death-row reversal case. The book concludes with the tragic story of a failed murder spree in the style of Columbine. Each case is described in historical context with a focus on the dramatic involvement of key figures. Astonishing details are reported in the Tate case. VERDICT This provocative work is best suited to readers with a strong interest in true crime and its historical roots. Though lacking the rigor and documentation of an academic work, it manages to create an original and bold contribution to the genre.—Antoinette Brinkman, formerly with Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville