I purchased this book for my own personal collection.
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: August 1, 2023
Summary:
New York in the Roaring Twenties—a riveting true-crime novel, based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the era, where power, politics, and secrets conspire to bury the truth.
Manhattan, 1923. Scandalous flapper Dot King is found dead in her Midtown apartment, a bottle of chloroform beside her and a fortune in jewels missing. Dot’s headline-making murder grips the city. It also draws a clutch of lovers, parasites, and justice seekers into one of the city’s most mesmerizing mysteries.
Among them: Daily News crime reporter Julia Harpman, chasing the story while navigating a male-dominated industry; righteous NYPD detective John D. Coughlin, struggling against city corruption; and Ella Bradford, the victim’s Harlem maid, closest confidante, and keeper of secrets. Adding fuel to the already volatile crime: a politically connected Philadelphia socialite, an Atlantic City bootlegger, Dot’s dicey gigolo lover, a sultry Broadway dancer, and a cagey sugar daddy guarding secrets of his own.
From Broadway’s glittering lights to its sordid underbelly to the machinations of the country’s most powerful men, Julia embarks on a quest for justice. What she discovers, twist after breathtaking twist, might be even more nefarious than murder.
My thoughts:
This was easily one of the best books I’ve read in a while. And I was lucky to get to go to Sara’s book launch which was just icing on the cake. Hearing her speak about this book, her love for this topic clearly shines – and that’s a good thing as it took her nine years to write. Talk about a labor of love! It is impeccably researched and that is so evident as you read the book.
This book completely captivated me right from the start and even though it comes in at just over 400 pages, I flew through it. I was so wrapped up in what was going on that I just could not put it down. I found myself completely immersed in the world that Sara created. Weaving together a whodunit with historical true crime, you will find yourself trying to figure out just who killed Dot King yourself as you are whisked back to the 1920s. The coverups that are exposed, the corruption, the power – this might be true crime, but oh does it read like a thriller!
I loved the people we meet along the way – all real people who had their own stories to tell. There are so many issues that come up, from race and classism to power struggles and money and even gender issues – not unlike many of the issues that we are still dealing with today. This book might be set in the 1920s but unfortunately it is all to timely and relevant in terms of these themes.
Sara knocked it out of the park with this book and I cannot wait to see what comes next from her. This is a book that will be staying with me for a long time and one that I will absolutely be recommending to anyone that likes historical fiction, true crime or a book set in NYC!
