Author: Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
Published by: Andrews McMeel Publishing
I relate so much to the author and the premise of this graphic memoir being an avid true crime fan myself. I’ve also spent a lot of time worrying and wondering why such a macabre topic could be so fascinating to me. In fact, I think this is a universal experience when it comes to being interested in the genre, especially when the rest of society implies that those who possess this interest are sick in the head. Campbell presents several factors that can lead to our fascination (in my case, all of them apply): being addicted to seeing justice carried out, being intrigued by human behavior and the reasons behind the act of murder, enjoying the act of trying to figure the case out, relating to the victim, etc. Most of all though, I believe that the biggest contributor to our fascination with true crime, especially when it comes to women (who are the majority of the true-crime “audience”), is the feeling that by watching these documentaries and reading these books we’re protecting ourselves. Women are almost always the victims in true crime cases and, because of that, when we consume those pieces of media we’re attempting to learn how to avoid being murdered.
As this is a memoir, Campbell tells us a great deal about her life and how her true-crime obsession came to be. She informs the reader that she’s always been close to her mother and that the women in her family have always been interested in true crime, which I think is so nice that they all bond over this shared interest (something I don’t have with my family). The author is successful in blending information about the cases that marked her the most with the flow of the memoir without making it seem forced. Furthermore, she explains the cases better than several true crime podcasts I’ve listened to, and not only does she provide a ton of information on them, but also recommends great true crime books/writers. Campbell doesn’t overlook the racist bias that permeates the subject, she criticizes how the media only publicizes the murders of white women, whereas the murders of BIPOC are ignored. She also points out how misogynistic the coverage of the cases is and calls out those who victim-blame the women who get murdered.
On top of all that, the book is incredibly funny, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since Campbell is also a stand-up comedian. I loved the art style; however, I found the font a little hard to read and was unable to decipher some of the smaller text, maybe that happened because I was reading it on the computer, but I don’t recommend the e-book version because of this reason. The only other negative thing about this is that the author goes off-topic a little too often in the beginning and it gets irritating after the first couple of times.
Originally written in September/2021
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