Sitting on the edge of the bed in the front room, Blanche stoops to rip at the laces of her gaiters. Here are the first two paragraphs of the book: It’s the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers, and arrogant millionaires of jealous men, icy women, and damaged children. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny’s murderer to justice–if he doesn’t track her down first. The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. I’ve never read Donoghue before, but was attracted to this book because it has a similar premise (fiction based on a true crime) to The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon (my favorite book of the year so far). I’ve been seeing this book everywhere lately and the reviews have been glowing.

The Ultimate List of Family Drama BooksĮvery Tuesday fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.

16 Character-Driven Novels I Couldn’t Put Down.Books That Would Make Great Gifts for Moms.Book Club Recommendations That Are Great for Summer.Best Books of 2012 / Holiday Gift Guide.Best Books of 2013 / Holiday Gift Guide.

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