Book cover of The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress

Book description

From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia comes a “genuinely surprising whodunit” (USA Today)that tantalizingly reimagines a scandalous murder mystery that rocked the nation.

One summer night in 1930, Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. Behind…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I can’t help myself—I’m an author: I love an elegantly structured novel.

Ariel Lawhon’s novel is so entertaining and so well-paced that it was easy to lose myself in it. It all starts with the 1930 disappearance of Justice Joseph Crater.

Then we get chapters told from the points of view of his wife, maid, and mistress, with the chapters alternating and dovetailing in such a way as to provide a fascinating peek into the lives of the characters who revolve around the judge.

When I reached the final chapter, I felt like a big Rubik’s cube had clicked into…

From Maryka's list on puzzling true crimes from history.

What could be better than one wily, take-charge woman? How about three? This is Ariel Lawhon’s debut novel, and it is pure fun. (I have enjoyed all her novels, but this one is a real romp.) The story launches one summer night in 1930 when Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. I loved how we learn the judge is a not-so-honorable character, involved with three women: Stella, his fashionable wife, the picture of propriety; Maria, their steadfast maid, indebted to the judge; and Ritzi, his showgirl mistress, willing to seize…

From Maryka's list on wily, take-charge women.

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Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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