Reanimating history is an important skill in the storyteller’s toolbox, but Telfer is equally adroit at reporting out more recent, and more obscure, femmes de confidence.

Telfer profiles those whose misdeeds are more of the grifting than the murdering variety.

It’s awful stuff, but with Telfer at the wheel, reading these tales of plunder—littered with diamonds, fancy cars, mansions, booze and furs—is a fun, spicy romp.

This is an absolute must read for those of us who choose to spend our 'me time' sitting on the couch watching episode after episode of Deadly Women, Snapped, or similar television shows.

Whether she’s describing women pretending to be doctors, socialites, or just another nice lady who desperately needed help, Telfer dishes up their scandalous schemes for true-crime fans to relish. Recommended for fans of Rachel DeLoache Williams’ true-crime memoir, My Friend Anna (2019)..

Telfer can coherently summarize an intentionally convoluted scheme, such as a real estate swindle targeting China’s elite, while acknowledging the human cost. She also embraces the morbid humor of situations.

In this compulsively readable account, Telfer delivers a darkly humorous tale of some of the most outrageous con women who ever scammed the public.