The Murderess

Published in 1903, Alexandros Papadiamantis's The Murderess is a grim and terrifying little novel about a sixty-year-old Greek woman (Hadoula) who is driven by poverty and circumstance to commit shocking crimes. I hesitate to share further details — partly because the reader should be surprised by the plot as it unfolds, but also because any description of it will sound ridiculous (and maybe even a bit comedic). But the book is not humorous at all; it is powerful and relentless as it drives to a chilling conclusion. This is much more than a typical crime novel.