The introduction to this book says that some people may think this book borders on the Macabre, and then goes on to justify why this is not the case and explains why these historical chronicles are important. The next 44 profiles of death would predominantly not only border on the Macabre but jump into the depths of the Macabre with both feet.
 
 It's hard to argue the case that these are well written, but keeping in mind they are journalistic works and not originally intended to be read back-to-back means we can give a little leeway. The biggest problem I found while reading this was the chronology of each profile. The order events were told was seemingly arbitrary. Some would start with the death, then the history of the people, then the outcome, others in a different order, sections would repeat themselves despite the articles only being 2 or 3 pages long and so on. On a positive note, the author does know how to write a hook, the introductory paragraph for each profile was almost always the standout section, with the following quote illustrating the author in all his glory.