The Wife, The Maid, and the Mistress ⭐⭐⭐💫

The Wife, The Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

COVER WARS! Which is your favorite? I like 2 and 3.

^The Audiobook Cover

^#2 This is the cover for the Kindle "Anchor" version
There is a different one for Kindle "Simon & Schuster"
and yet another Kindle by “Swift Press”. EiYiYi

^#3 This one is the Hardcover

^#4 This is the Paperback

Goodreads

One summer night in 1930, Judge Joseph Crater steps into a New York City cab and is never heard from again. Behind this great man are three women, each with her own tale to tell: Stella, his fashionable wife, the picture of propriety; Maria, their steadfast maid, indebted to the judge; and Ritzi, his showgirl mistress, willing to seize any chance to break out of the chorus line.

As the twisted truth emerges, Ariel Lawhon’s wickedly entertaining debut mystery transports us into the smoky jazz clubs, the seedy backstage dressing rooms, and the shadowy streets beneath the Art Deco skyline.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

The How/Why: I'm not sure how this one got on my TBR. Possibly an ad on SM by somebody I follow.  

⭐⭐⭐💫3.5 Stars 

🎉 Overall Enjoyment? 🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Maybe 🤷 Probably not.

 🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕ She wrote Code Name Hélène which was one of five star favorites. Review here. 

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: Sɇxuɐl Violɇncɇ, GÜƝ Violɇncɇ (0rgɐnizɇd cŖimɇ, coŖŖuƤƤtion, KidnaƤƤinᵷ) I say none. There was behind closed doors mention but nothing graphic.

🌶 Spice? Google says low, more steamy ♨️ than spicy 🌶 . I say none.

🌪 Plot Twist? No

👟 Pace? Uneven and too long

💻 Tidbits ~ A crooked politician, a beautiful and classy wife, a maid who sees all. Living the life, until you’re not. This is one where the historical part is more intriguing than the fictional part, especially the ending. I did not enjoy what the investigator did after the “deathbed confession” and thought it took away from the authenticity of the story and the stellar work he did on the case. Keeping in mind it’s historical fiction and not a biography.  

The author painted a great picture of the time period and their lifestyles. I deducted half star for the retired investigator’s shenanigans at the end, half star for being too long (I was ready for it to be over long before the epilogue), and half star for the female narrator. Her voice inflection was good but not altered so it was hard to decipher which character she was in.  

Favorite Character: Emma, the wife’s mother.  

🎧 Narrator: Ann Marie Lee 👎, Mark Bramhall👍

🎧12.0-13.0 hours 🕮 304 pages

Extra Tidbits: In Real Life - He was not a very nice man! 
The Vanishing: On August 6, 1930,  41 year old Judge Crater vanished after dinner with a showgirl allegedly hailing a taxi and was never seen again.
Corruption: He disappeared during a massive investigation into Tammany Hall political corruption. He reportedly cashed large checks and emptied his safe deposit box just before vanishing. 🤔
The Women: His wife Stella spent decades searching for him. He had known connections with showgirls and mistresses. Sally Ritz (mistress) was one of the last people to see him.
Cold Case: Over 16,000 tips and a 40 year investigation, no trace was ever found. He was declared legally dead in 1939. 
The Coney Island Theory: in 2005 a deathbed confession suggested he was murdered by a coŖŖupt c0p and taxi driver and buried under the Coney Island Boardwalk, though excavation found nothing. 

Known as the "missingest man" in New York, his case became of the most famous unsolved mysteries in American history. 



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