Kate's Picks: Texas Monthly

Check out Kate's fabulous finds that you can enjoy, too!

This week's pick: Texas Monthly

You might be shocked by my recommendation this week, but stick with me.

I love true crime. I like murder mysteries, too. That makes me a pretty normal woman, because women are by far the greatest consumers of those genres. Here’s a nice explainer about women and true crime. Mystery novels give the same satisfaction.

What does this have to do with fairy tales? I’ve long thought that we don’t look at fairy tales as crime stories that they are, but I don’t know why. Hansel and Gretel are neglected and left to die. Cinderella is abused. Snow White is repeatedly the focus of attempted murder. In the original “Sleeping Beauty” (“Sun, Moon and Talia”) she’s a rape victim, and her mother-in-law is an ogre who wants to eat her own grandchildren.

You get my drift.

If you love true crime the following suggestion will be a gift: Subscribe to Texas Monthly, the greatest source of true crime stories ever. You can go back decades for truly riveting content. But it’s been the work and leadership of Skip Hollandsworth (probably the greatest writer and editor of short-form crime writing ever) that has made it the greatest source of true crime reporting in the US.

Let me tell you, Texas has riveting murders. No other state comes close. Now, I’m aware that that’s a terrible thing, because murders always leave a lot of pain and sorrow, but true crime is a literary genre and stories deserve to be told. The folks at Texas Monthly get that. The storytelling is always sensitive, and the editorial standards are second to none. And the sheer readability of them is extraordinary.

Don’t get the print issue, because what you want is digital. That way you can comb through decades of excellent stories—for only $15 a year!

And if you’d like to talk about fairy tales and true crime, become part of our Fairy Godparents Club. We’ll have nine Zoom events this year and one of them will be about fairy tales and crime (each meeting will have a different focus). Plus, we’ll have guest authors, merch giveaways, and lots more! Just email me at katewolford1@gmail.com and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice or Venmo request. It’s just $65, and you’ll meet some great people and have fun!

Yours in Enchantment,

Kate

Image by Disney. People, this is a crime scene! Not “just” a fairy tale.