How do you solve a problem like Lyda? For the sake of this review, I am just going to say “Lyda” since going by one of her many last names would be exhausting. You see, she was married a lot, and her husbands had a horrible penchant for dying right after they signed insurance paperwork. How strange.
True crime king Gregg Olsen and his daughter Morgan Olsen have written an account of the strange and deadly life of Lyda Trueblood Dooley McHaffle Lewis Meyer Southard Whitlock Shaw (SEE?!?!). Fair warning to readers and especially to those of Olsen’s previous works. This is a historical true crime account of the murders. Where many of Olsen’s other works allowed for much deeper analysis of the characters, Lyda is not easy to pin down, and her tendency to kill working men meant many records never existed to know their viewpoints.
As historical true crime, I loved this one. The Olsens do the yeoman’s work of pulling together the complete documentary record to lay out the life of one of America’s forgotten serial killers and a woman to boot. The meticulous recreation allows the reader to understand this time and place in history. It also gives the reader just enough information to wonder how much Lyda did and didn’t do. Yes, most readers will undoubtedly end up on one side of the fence. However, there are just enough questions about one particular death that I still can’t quite be sure how I feel about Lyda’s guilt.
There is a ton to unpack here and the Olsens report the facts, and just the facts, so you can decide. Clearly, I recommend it.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Notorious Press.)
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