Reviews for The Martinsville Seven: Race, Rape, and Capital Punishment

The average rating for The Martinsville Seven: Race, Rape, and Capital Punishment based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-05-28 00:00:00 Roger Ash If I wasn't reading this for a book club I'd have put it down half way through. While a fine document it's dry as dust. The author didn't seem to really get into the world that Anna lived in - I didn't get a sense of the culture and smells of the time. The middle third of the book is dominated by her trial and seems to be mostly outtakes from the trial transcript. And it read like a trial transcript. While much of this can be excused because all of the participants are long dead I think a little leg work would have added color to this colorless narrative. For instance, I'm not a life-long Cincinnatian nor am I particularly active but I recognized three names of folks who I'd wager were grandparents or parents of some of the participants. What diaries or diner table stories do these folks know? I have a feeling we'll never know.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-09-16 00:00:00 Alicia Nisbet An interesting book for any true crime aficionado. This tells the tale of Anna Marie Hahn who befriended, swindled and killed several old men via poison and was executed for her crimes. She also poisoned and sickened several other people along the way as well. What makes her interesting is that she is a female serial killer and that she was from "back in the day" when women were considered meek and it was unthinkable that a woman could commit such a crime. Yet she did and was convicted by an 11-woman, 1-man jury. Another thing that struck me is that as much as things have changed in the decades that have passed, the serial killer remains the same, preying on the weak, justifying their actions by lying and a feeling of entitlement, not caring who they harm along the way.