Ordinary Wife: The True Story of America's Forgotten Serial Killer
Did you know that flypaper used in the early 1900’s contained enough arsenic to kill a man? Lyda Trueblood, an Idaho housewife, figured it out. In fact, she made sure her first four husbands took out life insurance policies with her as the beneficiary before they “mysteriously” died after falling ill with severe stomach distress, as did a brother-in-law and her own two-year-old daughter. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction these days, but when I was offered Gregg Olsen and his daughter Morgan Olsen’s newest book, Ordinary Wife , I was intrigued by the story of this woman who seemed to kill without conscience, yet had no shortage of men willing to take her latest dead husband’s place. I read my fair share of thrillers, but honestly this was riveting stuff, not because it was action packed or terribly suspenseful, but because this was a glimpse into an actual human’s mind that seemed to exist without empathy or regard for anyone outside herself. We’re numb to stories of men who commit thes...
