Karren HodgkinsLots of tension, many threads and twists and turns!
The lead is a committed professional who doesn’t appreciate the double standards of the times. Like her colleagues, she wants to write stories that are relevant and be given recognition for a job well done. She is brave, intelligent and inspiring. Understandably, she drives the men in her life to distraction. This includes her ‘partner’ in solving the murder mystery. She takes some at times life-threatening risks and when challenged struggles to understand why her being a woman is the issue quoted back to her!
The storyline was complicated, the characters have such depth. I enjoyed the contrast between the upper and lower sides (the rich and the poor), that the story was more than a murder, rather it was also about the mores of that society, expectations, greed and corruption.
The story was rich, it was just brilliant and had such an unexpected ending.
Well done indeed. A thoroughly enjoyable read. I am so looking forward to picking up the next one. Five stars!
From the back cover:
Glittering Gilded-Age New York holds its lavish charms–and a litany of deadly sins–as intrepid reporter Genevieve Stewart uncovers a trail of corruption and murder.
As a chill sets in on New York City in the winter of 1888, a jewel thief dubbed the “Robin Hood of the Lower East Side” has been stealing from the city’s wealthiest and giving to the poor. Genevieve Stewart–a young woman whose family is part of Mrs. Astor’s famed 400 but who has forged a life of her own as a reporter–decides to chase the story, but gets more than she bargained for: a murder victim sprawled in a dark alley in the dangerous Five Points neighborhood.
A handsome neighborhood tough comes to her rescue–but when she encounters the same man at a glamorous ball a few nights later, she realizes he’s society scion Daniel McCaffrey. Could this be her Robin Hood? When two more murders rock the Knickerbocker world, it becomes apparent that something much more sinister is afoot than a few stolen diamond necklaces. Genevieve is determined to prove that Daniel is Robin Hood–but she’s loath to believe he is a killer as well. From the glittering lights of Fifth Avenue to the sordid back alleys of Five Points, the truth is just one murder away.
With thanks to #NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and the author for my free advanced reader copy to review in exchange for an honest opinion.
