The Girls of Murder City

Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago

By: Douglas Perry

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Chicago, 1924. There was nothing surprising about men turning up dead in the Second City. Life was cheaper than a quart of illicit gin in the gangland capital of the world. But two murders that spring were special - worthy of celebration. So believed Maurine Watkins, a wanna-be playwright and a "girl reporter" for the Chicago Tribune, the city's "hanging paper".

Newspaperwomen were supposed to write about clubs, cooking, and clothes, but the intrepid Miss Watkins, a minister's daughter from a small town, zeroed in on murderers instead. Looking for subjects to turn into a play, she would make "Stylish Belva" Gaertner and "Beautiful Beulah" Annan - both of whom had brazenly shot down their lovers - the talk of the town. Love-struck men sent flowers to the jail, and newly emancipated women sent impassioned letters to the newspapers. Soon more than a dozen women preened and strutted on "Murderesses' Row" as they awaited trial, desperate for the same attention that was being lavished on Maurine Watkins's favorites.

In the tradition of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City and Karen Abbott's Sin in the Second City, Douglas Perry vividly captures Jazz Age Chicago and the sensationalized circus atmosphere that gave rise to the concept of the celebrity criminal. Fueled by rich period detail and enlivened by a cast of characters who seemed destined for the stage, The Girls of Murder City is crackling social history that simultaneously presents the freewheeling spirit of the age and its sober repercussions.

©2010 Douglas Perry (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Beneath the sensationalism, Perry finds anxieties about changing sex roles as feisty flappers and aggressive career women barged into public consciousness; his savvy, flamboyant social history illuminates a dawning age of celebrity culture." ( Publishers Weekly)

Fairly well

This book, despite being slightly less enthralling then hoped for turned out to be a great insight into Chicago as a city in the late 1800's and early 1900's and a great insight Into the play that was born forth from it.

Some books should be read

This is a book that I would have liked better if I'd read it instead of listening to it. The pace is very quick and there were so many characters. If you lose your concentration at the wrong time, you'll be rewinding like I did--wait, who is she? If I'd had the photos that are in the book, it would have greatly enhanced the story. I tried to find photos online, on Mr. Perry's site, but I had to go to the library for the full experience. Not all the photos in the book are online.

Still, it's a fun read for fans of Chicago, like me. I wish there weren't two chapters on Leopold and Loeb. I know Maurine Watkins, etc., covered their story, but still...too much.

I'm glad I listened.

Boring

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone into Chicago's political history

Any additional comments?

I couldn't make it past the past two hours. The narrator was bland and there were way too many historical notes covering up the actual story to enjoy it.