The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress

by Ariel Lawhon

Stella Crater, the judge's wife, is the picture of propriety. 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. 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....

• ISBN10: 038553762X
• ISBN13: 9780385537629
• Publish Date: 28 January 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Doubleday Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 307
• Language: English

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Upon starting The Wife, the Maid and the Mistress I had no knowledge of the Joesph Crater disappearance and, therefore, saw it as a work of fiction rather than analyzing it for historical accuracy. I immediately became engrossed in this mystery of sorts and on the turn of a dime was invested in the women behind the man, the wife, maid and mistress of our story.

Stella, who as Joesph Crater's wife and, in my opinion, was made to be the main character out of the three was just a spoiled child who realized her decisions had led to unfortunate consequences and for the majority of the book felt like she pouted. Because of this, I found her annoying instead of the pity she so desired.

Maria was extremely well developed and could have been a novel all her own. She was as sly as a fox, underneath her demure, nieve facade lay a calculating maid, but without landing herself on the tv show "Devious Maids." She was by far my favorite character as she was so multi-layered.

With Ritzi, I had a "take it or leave it" attitude. She was definitely an intrical part of the story but didn't think she was a brightly drawn as the other two. I did prefer her story of intrigue and attempt to rise to fame over Stella but as a character, she just fell flat.

I loved how the whole story tied together and had an Ocean's Eleven/Double Indemnity vibe to it. Overall, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress is an accelerated puzzle that is meticulously put together with this reader anxiously awaiting that last corner piece.