My obsession with the Countess continues

A book about the Countess!!!!!  Awesome!  Several years ago, my husband was up late into the night because, obviously, he couldn't sleep.  The next day, he told me about this documentary he'd watched about this woman who had bathed in the blood of virgins to stay young.  She'd killed upwards of 600 girls!  Fascinated, I began doing some research and I've been researching, reading, and studying Countess Elizabeth (Erzsebet) Bathory--and obsessed--ever since!  I just can't seem to read enough about her.  I don't know why she fascinates me as much as she does, but I find myself buying one book after another about her and even talking about her to anyone who will let me talk about her.

Needless to say, when I ran across Linda Lafferty's book HOUSE OF BATHORY while searching in Amazon, I bought it immediately.  Because I'm also read the GAME OF THRONES series, it's taken me a little longer than usual to finish this book, but it certainly quickly became my top reading priority as I delved deeper into the story of the Countess along with a modern-day parallel.

I've heard that other authors seem to have begun using a plot device where they have two separate stories happening at once in a book, so it did not come as much of a surprise to find that Lafferty did something like that in her book.  Granted, this is the first book I personally have read with that plot device, so for me, it was a new feature.  I liked it ok.  In one chapter, I read about the Countess in 1610 during her last days before she was "arrested."  In the next chapter, I read about a psychologist in 2010 who is treating an extremely unbalanced Goth girl.  It is difficult to see how the two stories will interact, but it is obvious, even from the beginning, that the stories will eventually come together and make sense.

For anyone who is a "fan" (that's not the right word--but it fits anyone who's as fascinated by the Countess as I am) of Countess Bathory, the portion of the book that follows her story is nothing new except that it is told is narrative form which isn't new either except that this is the first time Lafferty has ventured into that realm.  It does not take away from the interest level of the read when reading the Bathory chapters, though.  It's simply interesting to read much of what I've already read and have much of the information confirmed--again.

The story that takes place in 2010 is interesting, but not as interesting as the story of the Countess.  Regardless, if you are a "fan" of the Countess and/or of mysteries, you'll more than likely enjoy Linda Lafferty's HOUSE OF BATHORY.

The Bloody Countess

I am absolutely fascinated by the Countess Bathory.  Ever since I first heard about her about 2 or 3 years ago, she has fascinated me.  My husband had had trouble sleeping one night, so he had watched some tv while he was awake.  He watched this show about this woman who had murdered young virgins to use their blood so she could look and feel young.  My husband told me about the show and I have been obsessed with Erzebet Bathory ever since.  I now own several books about her, both fiction and nonfiction.  This little book tells the essential story in an overview but with enough detail that anyone new to the Countess will understand the whole story. 

I wish I knew what was so fascinating about a woman serial killer such as the Countess.  She is probably the most horrific woman ever to have lived--that we know about, but yet I can't get enough information about her--who she was and what she did.  And how she did it. 

What fascinates me more than anything else about the Countess is that Bram Stoker did know about her when he wrote his wonderful novel DRACULA.  He had planned on using her in his novel, but it just didn't work out.  In his notes for a sequel, she played a major role.  That sequel was written recently by a great-great-great (I can't remember how many greats) newphew of Bram Stoker and the Countess plays a central role to the story as a whole.  It's wonderful! 

If you want a quick overview of who the Countess is, this little book is a nice, quick, easy, but thorough read.

The Bloody Countess by Amber Holbrook