I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.
The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
Goodreads.com Synopsis:
A tantalizing reimagining of a scandalous mystery that rocked the nation in 1930-Justice Joseph Crater’s infamous disappearance-as seen through the eyes of the three women who knew him best.
They say behind every great man, there’s a woman. In this case, there are three. Stella Crater, the judge’s wife, is the picture of propriety draped in long pearls and the latest Chanel. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl with Broadway aspirations, thinks moonlighting in the judge’s bed is the quickest way off the chorus line. Maria Simon, the dutiful maid, has the judge to thank for her husband’s recent promotion to detective in the NYPD. Meanwhile, Crater is equally indebted to Tammany Hall leaders and the city’s most notorious gangster, Owney “The Killer” Madden.
On a sultry summer night, as rumors circulate about the judge’s involvement in wide-scale political corruption, the Honorable Joseph Crater steps into a cab and disappears without a trace. Or does he?
After 39 years of necessary duplicity, Stella Crater is finally ready to reveal what she knows. Sliding into a plush leather banquette at Club Abbey, the site of many absinthe-soaked affairs and the judge’s favorite watering hole back in the day, Stella orders two whiskeys on the rocks-one for her and one in honor of her missing husband. Stirring the ice cubes in the lowball glass, Stella begins to tell a tale-of greed, lust, and deceit. As the novel unfolds and the women slyly break out of their prescribed roles, it becomes clear that each knows more than she has initially let on.
With a layered intensity and prose as effervescent as the bubbly that flows every night, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress is a wickedly entertaining historical mystery that will transport readers to a bygone era with tipsy spins through subterranean jazz clubs and backstage dressing rooms. But beneath the Art Deco skyline and amid the intoxicating smell of smoke and whiskey, the question of why Judge Crater disappeared lingers seductively until a twist in the very last pages.
My Review: 5 out of 5 stars. OMG….this book. Go grab it right now. First, I love that it’s based on a real life, never been solved, mystery. I love how Ariel created a story around it. A lot of the people in the book were real people. (I loved learning more about them all after I finished reading it…well the ones that were real.) I love the time period of the book. And the ending…WHOA! Go get this book and get to reading! Highly recommend!!
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5 out of 5?! whoa…
Sounds like a really interesting book! I will have to check it out!
I am going to have to add this to my reading list it sounds really good!!
It sounds amazing. Putting this on my Goodread “to read” list right now!
~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
acutelifestyle.blogspot.com
That’s high praise. If I get through my 2014 list I will have to add it. I LOVE reading realistic fiction. Knowing the characters are real make it even better!