Thirty real-life accounts of passion gone lethally wrong Celebrated mystery writer Howard Engel traces the history of the crime of passion through France, England, Canada, and the United States in his first nonfiction book. The story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England, is explored along with more familiar, modern cases, such as those of O. J. Simpson and Lorena Bobbitt. With each sordid tale, Engel explores the legal codes and moral implications surrounding crimes of passion throughout history. Careful research and a novelist’s eye for detail and dramatization bring each grisly case into chilling clarity. Crimes of Passion is a must-read for true crime enthusiasts, armchair historians, and fans of the macabre.

Recounts several murder cases where the crime was motivated by emotional factors, including the stories of Jean Harris, Carolyn Warmus, Ruth Ellis, Betty Broderick, and others

The motives and actions of over 100 murderers who committed notorious crimes of passion are revealed in this book.

Bringing key Shakespeare texts into dialogue with feminist socio-legal research, this book investigates the notion of a ‘crime of passion’ – indicatively, wife-killing. Its key concern is to bring attention to a cultural and legal revolution widely overlooked even in the law field where it occurred. In 2009, the English Parliament passed a controversial law abolishing the defence of provocation. Explaining the new law, reformers said that this so-called ‘heat of passion’ defence had allowed men to get away with murder by blaming the victim. Abolishing it in cases of alleged ‘infidelity’ would ‘end the culture of excuses’. Unpacking what was at stake in the reformers’ revolutionary challenge to the English law of murder’s age-old concession to ‘human frailty’ in ‘red mist’ rage cases, this book charts passion’s progress in wife-killing cases over the centuries. It commences in the early modern era when jurists were busy distinguishing murder from manslaughter and, contemporaneously, Shakespeare set about querying culturally inscribed excuses for femicide in his plays, Titus Andronicus and Othello. This book will appeal to feminist and socio-legal scholars, criminologists and those working in the fields of law and literature, legal theory and Shakespeare studies. More widely, it will appeal to anyone interested in so-called ‘crimes of passion’.

Obsession, Unrequited Love, Jealousy, Revenge, and Violence Collide in this Page-Turning Anthology #1 New Release in Forensic Science Law and Hoaxes & Deceptions Crimes of passion are both eerie and strangely tantalizing. How can someone you hold dear become someone you fear? This riveting anthology explores the question through some of the most compelling true crime accounts and stories of obsession and vengeance. Crimes fueled by emotions. Love, passion, obsession, jealousy, and betrayal. When it comes to the emotions, people can react in strange and unexpected ways. Whether it’s a heart hurt by unrequited love, or a lover so passionate they’ll stop at nothing to get their way—even the most mild-mannered soul can suddenly flip, becoming a vengeful spirit with dark intentions. From the ancient Greek myth of Jason and Medea to Shakespeare’s Othello, themes dealing with deeply felt emotions have persisted. But unlike mythology or fiction, The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge contains stories from real life. A special selection of stories written exclusively for this book. The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge includes stories from around the world and from different times. As with all titles in the popular The Best New True Crime Stories series, this volume contains original nonfiction accounts penned by writers from across the literary spectrum. Dive into these twisted true tales of passion and unrequited love turned violent. Examine why some have fully embraced their dark side, resorting to crime to achieve their own special brand of satisfaction and retribution. If you enjoyed Mitzi's last book in her series, The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals, and books like You Love Me, and The Big Book of Serial Killers Volume 2, then you’ll love The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge.