The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel [Kindle Edition] Author: Ariel Lawhon | Language: English | ISBN:
B00EBRU0AS | Format: PDF, EPUB
The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel Epub Download
Download for free books The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel Epub Download from with Mediafire Link Download Link “Inspired by a real-life unsolved mystery, this mesmerizing novel features characters that make a lasting impression.”--PEOPLE MAGAZINE
"More meticulously choreographed than a chorus line. It all pays off."--THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
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. Direct download links available for The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel Epub Download
- File Size: 1477 KB
- Print Length: 322 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 038553762X
- Publisher: Doubleday (January 28, 2014)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00EBRU0AS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,422 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #33
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Historical - #38
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense - #44
in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Hard-Boiled
- #33
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Historical - #38
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense - #44
in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Hard-Boiled
As usual, I didn't pay anything for this book but instead received it for free directly from the publisher. Also as usual, despite that kindness I will proceed to be completely honest about it.
At a high level, this book is the speculative history of the disappearance of Joseph Force Crater in 1930. At the time the story kept the world riveted to their newspapers and was the object of much editorial speculation. This narrative cobbles the story together from the perspective of the women in Judge Crater's life.
On the positive side, Lawhon's novel is set in a wonderfully provocative period in history and gives us a story as capable of captivating an audience as it was 80 years ago. Lawhon's characters are believable and sympathetic and she renders them wonderfully. She also very skillfully weaves her fictional threads through the facts of the case in a way that gives it great credibility. In her ending notes, she describes some of the liberties she took with the story and based on these tiny provisos, she has been very true to the tale which inspired her.
To the negative, despite the above, the novel does seem to take a while to get started. It took a week to get through the first half and a day to get through the last half. This is not the sort of novel that immediately inspires one to long persistent reading, though it does eventually gain momentum. Also, despite the wonderfully entertaining locale and time period, one cannot help but think it was not put to as great a use as it could be. While it was easy to tell we were in the 1930s, the story didn't take full advantage of that fact. I would have anticipated greater use of the language of the times and a truer rendering of the culture.
In summary, a great story set in a grand part of history.
Hooray! This is the first book of the year that I have absolutely loved and it will definitely make an appearance on my "Best Books of 2014" List come December (click here for previous "Best Books of the Year" Lists). The "true crime" angle reminded me of Sutton by J.R. Moehringer, while the setting of 1930 NYC is reminiscent of Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Both books that I loved!
Apparently, this still unsolved crime was a huge story when it happened - in both hard news and the gossip rags. Many theories surrounded Crater's disappearance, which is easy to imagine given the cast of characters in his life (gangsters, prostitutes, Broadway showgirls, and various other crooked characters). These characters, along with Stella (his wife), Ritzi (his mistress), and Maria (his maid), also lend themselves to a great story! Some are real people from the case and that time in NYC and some are fictional characters that the author included as composites of multiple people or for the purpose of the narrative. The "Author's Note" at the end of the book clearly lays out what/who is real vs. fiction, but I recommend saving it until after you've read the story - it makes it more fun!
The story builds slowly at first, setting the scene, allowing the reader to get to know the characters, and really making you feel that time period in NYC. Once I hit the halfway point, I couldn't put it down! Lawhon expertly releases bits of information at the perfect times and I was dying to know how everything fit together. However, I was thankful that she didn't rush things because the initial focus on the time period and characters added more power to the story in the end.
{shorttile} Epub Download
Please Wait...