Sweet Madness

by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
Sweet Madness was basically a compilation of a lot of fabulous things rolled into one.
Fast paced?

Mysterious?

Historical awesomeness?

Fabulous, multifaceted characters?

Twists I did not see coming?

Lizzie freaking Borden?

(Granted, that last one is pretty unique to this book, but that doesn't make it less fabulous.)

If you know about the Lizzie Borden case, you'll know how creepily fascinating the whole thing is. If you don't know about it... well, get thyself to Wikipedia. While I've never read any fiction about the Bordens before, I have watched an unhealthy amount of documentaries about them. There were a couple years where Investigation Discovery channel was my jam, and nothing was more fun that an old timey mystery. Also, Lizzie had the crazy eyes. For real.

So it's told via Bridget's point of view. She's the maid, and she is so likable, which I think is the key to this story. I mean, I don't think you could make Lizzie likeable enough to tell a book from her POV, because she (historically speaking, not just in this book) was one high maintenance lady. But I think that the authors did a fabulous job of humanizing everyone in this book. Through the story, there was no "villain", it was just a family with a lot of issues, a maid caught up in their nonsense, a town that knew they were all batshit crazy, and it made it impossible to know the outcome ahead of time, which for me was perfect!

I also loved how the authors were able to really make you feel like you were in Fall River in the late 1800s, but more specifically, what it would have been like to live in the Borden household. There was a lot of very relevant historical stuff included, but in such a way that made it so fascinating. We're meant to think some of their behavior was odd, just like Bridget would have, but there's also the glimpses into the each of the family members that show that they were far more than their historical caricaturizations.

Bottom Line: This book is addictive and fast paced, I enjoyed the characters and the mystery; I enjoyed the historical accuracy and ambience. Basically, I loved Sweet Madness a lot. Consider this my open letter to Lindsay Currie and Trisha Leaver to keep writing together for the rest of time.

*Copy provided by publisher for review.*