Killer Cocktails From Holly Frey And Maria Trimarchi

Arroe Collins Unplugged and Totally Uncut

What pairs well with the story of an identity-shifting murderess who burned her house down to cover up a crime? A fiery jalapeño cocktail (or mocktail), of course. How about the Charles Dickens super-fan who took things a bit too far? That one's less obvious, so you'll have to consult page 44. From poison to pirates, identity theft to art heists, KILLER COCKTAILS has a cocktail - and mocktail option - to pair with 144 of the wildest, wackiest historical crimes that co-authors Holly Frey and Maria Trimarchi could dig up. A small sampling of the menu:

The Legend of Locusta, the Imperial Poison Maker of Ancient Rome (p20) and cocktail: The Botanist's Latte (p22)

This Just In: Elizabeth "Betty" Bigley Was Not Really the Daughter of Andrew Carnegie (71) and cocktail: The Calling Card (74)

Jeanne de Clisson and Her Bloodthirsty Revenge (108) and cocktail: Red Sails (110)

William Cunningham, the "Bogeyman" of Cincinnati (163) and cocktail: Corpse Juice (165)

The Day the Dali Escaped From Prison (240) and cocktail: Dali's Antics (242)

Why the combo of baddies and booze? The authors explain: "In some instances, the cocktail is a way to lighten the mood after a particularly grueling or grisly tale. In others, it's about celebrating someone who bypasses the law for the common good, or even someone who has transitioned from villainous to . . . less villainous? More than anything, it's about finding ways to give stories from the past a festive, exciting, and new spin-and have fun doing it."

The beloved co-hosts of iHeartPodcasts' "Criminalia" (both) and "Stuff You Missed in History Class" (Frey) bring their trademark humor and deep research - as well as their mixology skills - to the project. But as they write in the introduction, "It's OK to play. Tweak your drinks to your tastes! If you make a bad drink you'll only mourn the wasted ingredients. There's no such thing as cocktail jail and the family will not seek revenge. usually."