The League of Lady Poisoners: Illustrated True Stories of Dangerous Women

Illustrator Perrin debuts with an entertaining and enlightening survey of more than two dozen women who deliberately poisoned strangers or family members. Divided into six chapters according to their motivations, including “Money and greed,” “Power and Politics,” “and Love and Obsession,” Perrin’s subjects run the gamut from the famous (one section spotlights 19th-century serial killer Mary Ann Cotton; another surveys reports that Cleopatra was an expert poisoner) to the lesser known, including Wu Zetian, a seventh-century Chinese ruler whose introduction is indicative of Perrin’s wry, winning voice: “The story of Wu’s rise to power is almost Cinderella-like—if the story ended with Cinderella deposing her enemies, staying in power for decades, and becoming the sole ruler of an empire entering its golden age.” Perrin’s concise, insightful biographical sketches carry the penny-dreadful punch of Edward Gorey’s vignettes, and her gorgeous full-color illustrations lend a note of playfulness to the macabre proceedings. This is catnip for true crime devotees. (Sept.)