Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read Death in the Ladies’ Goddess Club by Julian Leatherdale.
This book is set in Kings Cross in 1932.
Joan Linderman has left her comfortable middle class home, where the expectations of her parents were for her to marry and become a housewife.
Joan is drawn to the excitement of Kings Cross. She finds a flat with her friend Bernice. By day Joan is a sub-editor for the Australian Woman’s Mirror. By night she lives the bohemian life, wild parties, and mixing with fascinating artists, writers, and poets.
Joan aspires to be a fiction crime writer and is working on her first book. Her real-life hero and the leading character in her book is a pioneering female Police Sargent Lillian Armfield. Joan never expects to meet her hero. However, their paths cross when a crime is committed.
With Joan’s natural interest in crime, she throws herself into her own investigation.
Joan enters a world of criminals, blackmail, drugs, and a sex cult. Between the Police investigation and Joan’s investigation, the twists and turns lead to an unexpected ending.
Julian Leatherdale’s extensive research shows us the Sydney and Kings Cross of the 1930s. The gulf between the rich, the middle class, and the poor. The social issues post World War 1 with the returned veterans. The excitement as the Sydney Harbour bridge is finished and opened.
A definite must read for lovers of crime thrillers and Australian History.
Four stars!
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading Death in the Ladies Goddess Club. You can read their reviews in the comments below, or add your own!
I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.