Red-Haired Ash Reads

This was an interesting look at poison and the women who have used it to kill. This book includes a primer that goes over the basics of poison, then each chapter is organized by the women’s motives. Also the author is up front in stating that the majority of these women are white because she couldn’t really find any records on minorities to make this an inclusive collection. I appreciate the author’s straightforwardness in stating this and admitting that she tried to make it inclusive, but the information just wasn’t found by her. 

Before reading this book, I knew very little about poisoners, especially lady poisoners. While almost all of the women in this book were new to me, I did actually recognize a few like Cleopatra and Lucrezia Borgia. The majority of the women in this book though come from humble backgrounds and had limited means to survive, which was the main contributor for why they turned to poison. I really liked that this focused majority on these barely known women instead of just famous or high ranking women. 

Overall, I learned a lot about poison and poisoners from this book. Also, the illustrations were very nice and well done, but I do wish there were more of them. 

TW: murder, including of children; rape and sexual abuse; torture; beheadings; 

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