dnsyl57's Reviews > A Case for the Ladies

"A Case For The Ladies: A Dot And Amelia Mystery" by Maddie Day.

"Amid Prohibition, Irish gangs, the KKK, and rampant mistreatment of immigrant women, intrepid private investigator Dorothy Henderson and her pal Amelia Earhart seek justice for several murdered young women in 1926 Boston. As tensions mount, the sleuths, along with their reporter friend Jeanette and Dot’s maiden aunt Etta. experience their own mistreatment at the hand of society and wonder who they can really trust.This novel brings a pre-fame Amelia Earhart to life in 1926, when she lived in a Boston suburb and worked as a teacher and social worker at a settlement house founded to help immigrant women. After Amelia meets fictional lady PI Dot Henderson, and more than one young immigrant woman is found murdered, the two put their heads together to seek justice for the less powerful. Meanwhile, Etta Rogers, a founder of the settlement house and a Wellesley professor, works with reporter Jeanette Colby to investigate the Irish gangs who are not only running illicit liquor but also seeking to take over the settlement house real estate."

My thoughts:
Maddie Day has outdone herself with this book. Set in 1926 Boston, the core characters are both believable and well defined. The vivid descriptions of the time period easily transports the reader back to a time when women had little rights and immigrants had even less. Blatant racism, injustice, corruption, the KKK and bootleggers are all in the mix. The women who dared to stand up for themselves and those less fortunate were often targeted.

While PI Dot Henderson is visiting her Aunt Etta, a number of murders occur but for the most part, the police don't really seem to be doing much to solve them. Dorothy, Amelia and their friend Jeanette step up to try to find justice for the victims and their families.

This is a far deeper and more complex story than Ms. Day usually tells but it is clearly done with great research and respect to the time period and those who lived through that time.

Details of fashion, transportation, the newness of home telephones and attention to both common and slang language of the day add to the authenticity of the time period.

Reading the details of life for the immigrants and how horridly they were often treated is heartbreaking. The closed minded ignorance of the killers and gangs is reprehensible.

Though this is a fictional story, it also made me shudder at the poor treatment and shed a tear for those who died. At the same time, I also cheered on Dot, her friends and her aunt who didn't back down.

As tempting as it my be, do NOT skip over reading the Authors Note at the beginning of this book. Ms. Day gives a brief but insightful look at how deeply researched this book is. Accurately depicting life in 1926 Boston was a major undertaking. Melding the realities of the time period with the fictional is not an easy task. Her crafting that info along with various characters - real and fictional - into a page turning read is masterful!

Brava Maddie Day!