Henri Landru was one of the most prolific murderers of the twentieth century. Over a course of only five years he murdered possibly scores of women for their money. Dubbed "Bluebeard" after the murderer in the famous fairy tale, Landru was meticulous about destroying evidence of his crimes. But an obsession with keeping written records led to his conviction and ultimately his execution.

Born in Paris in 1869, Landru seemed destined to lead an inconspicuous life. He made his living selling used furniture, but he augmented his income with petty theft. Between 1900 and 1914 he spent a total of nine years in prison for orchestrating swindles and confidence games. In 1914, however, he decided to move beyond petty theft as a means of financial gain.

Landru began running matrimonial advertisements in several newspapers. Using several aliases, he described himself basically the same way in each ad: a well-to-do, lonely widower seeking...