The Husband Poisoner, Tanya Bretherton
The Husband Poisoner, Tanya Bretherton
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The Husband Poisoner
Suburban women who killed in post-World War II Sydney

Author: Tanya Bretherton

Narrator: Toby Webster

Unabridged: 9 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/24/2022

Synopsis

**Shortlisted for the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for True Crime**
Shocking real-life stories of murderous women who used rat poison to rid themselves of husbands and other inconvenient family members. For readers of compelling history and true crime, from critically acclaimed, award-winning author Tanya Bretherton.

After World War II, Sydney experienced a crime wave that was chillingly calculated. Discontent mixed with despair, greed with callous disregard. Women who had lost their wartime freedoms headed back into the kitchen with sinister intent and the household poison thallium, normally used to kill rats, was repurposed to kill husbands and other inconvenient family members.

Yvonne Fletcher disposed of two husbands. Caroline Grills cheerfully poisoned her stepmother, a family friend, her brother and his wife. Unlike arsenic or cyanide, thallium is colourless, odourless and tasteless; victims were misdiagnosed as insane malingerers or ill due to other reasons. And once one death was attributed to natural causes, it was all too easy for an aggrieved woman to kill again.

This is the story of a series of murders that struck at the very heart of domestic life. It's the tale of women who looked for deadly solutions to what they saw as impossible situations. The Husband Poisoner documents the reasons behind the choices these women made - and their terrible outcomes.

About Tanya Bretherton

Tanya Bretherton has a PhD in sociology with special interests in narrative life history and social history. She has published in the academic and public sphere for twenty years, and worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney for fifteen years. Dr Bretherton's specialty is converting detailed research into thought-provoking works which are accessible to a general readership. Currently she works as a freelance researcher and writer. Her first book, The Suitcase Baby, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award, the Danger Prize and the Waverley Library 'Nib' Award. Her second book The Suicide Bride, was shortlisted for the Danger Prize and in 2020 she won the Danger Prize for The Killing Streets.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Amanda - on March 07, 2022

*[URL not allowed] The winner of the 2020 Danger Prize returns with another compelling and well researched true crime story. The Husband Poisoner delves into two case studies, outlining the ghastly murders committed by women who killed via a simple household poison. These shocking......more

Goodreads review by Brittney on July 14, 2021

First and foremost, if you’re living with someone who has long been on edge thanks to your love of true crime, can I recommend keeping a copy of this book lying around just to keep them on their toes when they might be getting on your nerves 😏 But seriously – thallium was new to the market, easily ac......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on April 04, 2021

This was a fabulous working-week read. The details were just enough to keep my working memory hanging-in-there for each evening. The stories exposing the weaknesses of the society of it’s times (not that it’s changed that much). But, the local history and details were the real delight. I even detour......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on February 26, 2021

So admittedly my husband was a little concerned when he discovered this book sitting on my kitchen bench – lol. This was such a fascinating read, and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I don’t usually read a lot of non-fiction books unless they are true crime related and often about stories that......more

Goodreads review by Denise on July 07, 2022

I gave this book three stars for a few reasons, 1) I couldn't find a hard copy in the US and could only get it through Audible, and I found the narrator's voice annoying. 2) The author goes into excruciating detail about the police officers involved in solving the cases, which I think unnecessarily......more

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