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Hungary in 1929 saw the exposure of over a hundred deaths which were linked to a small group of people in a village called Nagyrev. For over a decade, Auntie Suzie, the local midwife, had helped local women get rid of inconvenient relatives by means of poison. They came to be known as The Angel Makers.

Given the source material this should have been an interesting read, but it turned out to be a chore to get through.

Finally finished! Started this months ago. Kept setting it aside. The story is really fascinating (the postscript about a crime in 1986 London, Ontario and how it relates to these poisonings in Hungary decades earlier is unbelievable!) and McCracken clearly did a ton of research. I appreciated learning about life in a 1920s Hungarian village, but I think it was perhaps overly detailed. The story (which really is astonishing) got bogged down a bit.

I enjoyed this account of a Hungarian village midwife at the center of a murder ring. Auntie Suzy herself is as cold as any serial killer, but other women got involved for much more complicated reasons. McCracken writes this like a novel which mostly worked. It unfolds slowly, not unlike the poisoning deaths of the women‘s victims. However, it meandered with irrelevant details at times instead of exploring deeper themes. Solid true crime. 4⭐️

I want to read pretty much everything my fellow campers have nominated so far (voting for #CampLitsy2023 is going to be impossible!), but I‘ll throw my six in the mix for fun. The four pictured because I already own them and am eager to get to them. I think all are repeat noms.

My fifth is a title out from Europa next month, The Postcard by Anne Berest. And my sixth is a new nonfiction title (tagged) that sounds excellent. I‘ll tag all six below.

A historical, true crime that took place between 1916 to 1929 in a small village in Hungary. Know as the "Angel Makers Murder Ring," this group of innocent looking women began poisoning men who abused and mistreated them and continued their killing spree for over a decade until they were caught. Interesting and informative, this nonfiction read is sure to please crime fans.