Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion
December 7, 2020
In this compulsively readable account, Telfer (Lady Killers) delivers a darkly humorous tale of some of the most outrageous con women who ever scammed the public. Her subjects range from Jeanne de Saint-Rémy, who engineered a scheme in 18th-century France involving a cardinal, a diamond necklace, and Marie Antoinette that led to a scandal and contributed to the fall of the French monarchy, to Bonny Lee Bakley, who ran a mail-order porn scam, conned actor Robert Blake into marrying her—and wound up murdered for it in 2001. In the early part of the 20th century, there were hundreds of fake Anastasias, purporting to be the Russian princess, who bilked believers out of money, apartments, cars, and furs. More recently, Telfer writes, fake spiritualists and mediums have swindled the American public out of $2.1 billion a year, among them Rose Marks, who gave spiritual advice to romance novelist Jude Deveraux to the tune of $17 million from 1991 to 2008. Then there’s Alicia Head, who had a horrifying story of surviving 9/11 that made her famous and the leader of a survivor network. It wasn’t until 2007 that the New York Times outed Head as a fake who wasn’t even in the country on 9/11. Assured prose complements the vivid portraits. True crime fans are in for a treat. Agent: Erin Hosier, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary.
December 1, 2020
Keep your hand firmly on your wallet as Telfer (Lady Killers) takes you from the court of Marie Antoinette to Harlem's occult scene to the aftermath of 9/11. She shines a spotlight on infamous grifters, adventuresses, imposters, and femmes fatales--each exhibiting brazen confidence and the uncanny ability to sell an outlandish story. Her rogues gallery is divided into four con artist categories--the Glitterati, the Seers, the Fabulists, and the Drifters--with memorable examples highlighting each section. Telfer can coherently summarize an intentionally convoluted scheme, such as a real estate swindle targeting China's elite, while acknowledging the human cost. She also embraces the morbid humor of situations such as Roxie Ann Rice performing a trick play on the NFL with information gleaned from an issue of Ebony. Then there's the outright tragic, including those who profit from disasters or the ill-fated Bonny Lee Bakley, who desperately wanted to marry a Hollywood star. VERDICT Readers who appreciate a well-executed sting will enjoy this thoroughly researched yet breezy guide to notorious women.--Terry Bosky, Madison, WI
Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 1, 2020
As she did in her previous book, Lady Killers (2017), popular internet columnist and podcaster Telfer brings readers more babes who've done bad, bad things. This time, she swerves toward opportunistic tricksters, with short accounts organized by the nature of their crimes: the fame- and luxury-chasing Glitterati, the otherworldly Seers, the Fabulists, and the Drifters. While Telfer mines history for interesting examples of women who infiltrated the French royal court or who hit the town, pulled their scams, then drove off in pink cars full of puppies, she also includes more recent grifters like the pseudo-rich Anna Delvey, fake Grenfell and 9/11 victims, and other assorted con women of the internet era. Whether she's describing women pretending to be doctors, socialites, or just another nice lady who desperately needed help, Telfer dishes up their scandalous schemes for true-crime fans to relish. Recommended for fans of Rachel DeLoache Williams' true-crime memoir, My Friend Anna (2019).Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020
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