Each chapter is interspersed with fictional accounts of 'real' scenes from the life of Kate Leigh, told through her eyes. These scenes may be intended to create a sense of intimacy between the reader and Leigh, but they resemble pedestrian historical crime fiction and fail to summon the spirit of Leigh. Perhaps, as non-fiction, these scenes could have provided the colour The Worst Woman in Sydney so severely lacks.

To the author's credit, one assumes Straw is experimenting with the form of historical writing – through the inclusion of the fiction chapters and the author as a character – in order to write compelling non-fiction. Unfortunately, for the academic reader The Worst Woman in Sydney will feel sloppy and for a more general audience the story doesn't follow an engaging storytelling arc.