"God will not always punish; my mother was right about that. He might not even help those who strive to help themselves, but I could. For weeks after his death I barely slept; I lay awake...at night staring into the darkness, riding that joy as a liquor...It was strong and pure, that joy; it made me feel powerful and happy. I had never felt anything as strong and pure as that. As if I could do anything. As if there were no limit. I had paid him back."

In the late 1800s a young Norwegian woman emigrated to America for a new life away from poverty, her alcoholic father, violent mother and the farmer's son who injured her to force her to miscarry his child. There Bella Sorensen stays with sister Nellie and her family whilst hunting for a good husband to support her. She soon finds Mads and adopting children, her life appears to be complete. Until Mads is not enough and then Bella takes matters into her own hands again. What follows is her life as she adopts children, is widowed and remarries under some very suspicious circumstances. Men don't survive long around Bella.

Marrying true crime of a female serial killer with biography and historic fiction, this is a fascinating endeavour. Chapters alternative between Bella and Nellie, which helps to give a sibling's perspective. Bella's behaviour, despite the horror is somewhat understandable initially, as she fights to make her way in a world designed by and for men. She is unlikeable yet compelling. Once she purchases the La Porte farm in Indiana, it becomes more and more gruesome. A Victorian, Norwegian Killing Eve, this is an engrossing tale of motherhood, murder and revenge. 

This book was gifted to me by the publisher, Michael Joseph Books.