womens studies

Sue does a great job in this book about Aileen Wuornos - the subject of the film 'Monster'. Sue did extensive research to write this biography of Aileen and it really shows. The book has loads of details about Aileen's childhood from the people that grew up around her. It also includes details from those that knew her when she was older and moving around from motel to trailer park, etc - the times leading up to the killings. This book will explain many of your questions about Aileen and what happened to her to turn her into a killer. Sue's book is easy to read (non-technical) and is hard to put down once you start reading it. If you want to learn more about Aileen,
put Sue Russell's Lethal Intent book on your MUST READ list.
Thanks for reading my review. RKC, St. Louis, MO USA

Women serial killers are not quite my favorite true crime book subject, however, Sue Russell takes me into this world I had never seen--a world of sex, money, and manipulation. Aileen Wournos knew prostitution before she knew much about her own puberty.

And this story reeled me in from the very first sentence: "Snarling with rage, she rammed the barrel of her .22 revolver into Dick Humphrey's ribs with such violent, malevolent force, that it broke the skin right through his shirt..."

Wournos would meet with the young boys of the neighborhood and trade sex for money, using the proceeds to finance her lifestyle of cigarettes, alcohol, and freedom.

Ms. Russell does not in any way condone Wournos's lifetime achievement of murdering men during her hitchhiking excursions searching for easy money, but she shows us in great detail how a life can go so wrong. To learn about preventing future crime sprees from someone like Aileen Wournos, we have to know about the past. We have to know what made her tick, why she killed whom she killed, and warning signs along the way.

Worse still is the passive Tyria Moore, who--though she ultimately helped convict Wournos, did nothing to stop the murders. Again, without the knowledge of why this abused and possibly lesbian lover of Wournos, stayed and allowed bad things to continue... how can we change things in the future?

Russell managed to interview grown men who openly discussed their involvement of sexual gratification when they were as young as she was in the beginning: only 12. They show remorse and will always wonder if they are partly to blame for the killing spree no one expected.

Well, if I tell much more, I give the book away. This book is written professionally and with great imagry. Sue Russell is sure to become a true crime author to remember.

Teraisa J. Rogers
Fanatic, Inc.
TrueCrimeFanatic.com

I really do recommend this book for people interested in the Wuornos case. Lethal Intent is a highly detailed book, starting from the very beginning of Aileen's tragic life. The book is great for trying to understand why Aileen done what she did, and in an unbiased way. Russell gives you the facts, and lets you come to your own conclusions. The story made me laugh, made me cry, and often made me angry because of the way Aileen was treated. The book is also complete with some excellent pictures of Aileen and her family. I couldn't put the book down once I started. All in all a wonderfully written book!